I know this is the 911 board and my car is a Cayman but I know there are a lot of smart guys here and have not yet used the Boxster/Cayman forum.
I just purchased a 2006 Cayman S with 23K miles on it. It is in nearly mint condition. However, when the dealer (small independent broker) took it to get smogged, it wouldn't pass. BTW, the car is in San Francisco and I am in Fresno and expecting to pick up the car on Sunday. I'm trying to get this resolved prior to pickup.
He told me that there are no fault codes on the computer but that during the smog test, it registered an "SAI System Readyness Flag". He stated that his mechanic stated that there is a special boot up procedure after the battery is disconnected for a period of time and the computer loses stored info.
I ran this by my local mechanic and he told me that this is a very common issue with Boxsters/Caymans. He agreed with the special boot up but also told me that it could be a vacuum leak and that he usually tests with a smoke test. He stated that the Cayman has some corrugated vacuum lines and it's very difficult to spot a micro-crack.
My mechanic also stated to use this procedure for boot up:
1) Car must be overnight cold
2) start car with all electrical accessories on (i.e., lights, a/c, radio, etc).
3) let car run 3-5 min and the SAI system will re-boot itself.
Dealer stated he has to do the following:
1) idle 5 min
2) 20mph for 30 min
3) 60mph for 30 min.
I'm hoping someone here is knowledgeable and can chime in on their experiences.
Thanks!
PS, here's the car:
