Planet 9

+1 Santa Fe... what fuse would prevent the engine from starting???

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- Suneet

I agree. Fuses don't wear out or just blow because. They blow when the circuit in which they are protecting draws a lot more current than it was ever designed to in an attempt to protect the wires and prevent a fire.

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Gator Bite
PCA Cayman Register Advocate

Not true!
Fuses can "wear out".
Current(Amps) surging can cause metal fatigue in the fuse element. This can lead to a reduced current handling capacity. Its the action of hot/cold/hot and hence expand/contract/expand etc that causes metal fatigue.
Old style glass case fuses were even worse, they could have problems with the solder joint from the same reason. New fuses have no solder joint.

OK, so what is the life expectancy of a fuse? How long will it take for its current handling capacity to degrade to the point where it blows under normal use?

The oldest Cayman on the planet is a 2006. Can this degradation happen in 2 years? Are you suggesting that this is what disabled Kor's car?

I can appreciate the desire to point out the technicality, especially in regard to the old glass fuses. I too have seen those desolder themselves. But in 12 years of working on automotive electrical systems, I had never come across a car that needed fuse replacements because of old age.

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Gator Bite
PCA Cayman Register Advocate

I was only commenting about the fuse itself and not specifically with respect to the car or its operation in the car.

Understood. Theoritically speaking.

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Gator Bite
PCA Cayman Register Advocate

Kor has mentioned in the past that he drained his battery from not starting it for a month and needed to hook it up to a battery maintainer. I wonder if there was some sort of surge that occurred during that process that led to the fuse blowing.

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Very good point. That could stress a fuse out, changing voltages very quickly.

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Gator Bite
PCA Cayman Register Advocate

Not if the circuit is fused properly. If not then yes it will get hot and flex until it eventually goes out. Thats what fuseable links are for, or circuit breakers, usually found on power windows for example.

I would agree if he jump started the car and had loose battery cables. Maintainers put out very low amperage so I can't see that being the cause. Even then the battery is a huge capacitor so to speak and it would isolate allot of any surge. A bad alternator could cause a large surge as well.

Keep in mind that there are 2 sides to the fuse, only the component side draws the current which will cause a fuse to blow. Besides I believe that it wasn't even a fuse that was the problem. If it were my car I wouldn't take the whole "it was a fuse bit". Here is another theory that I've seen....fuse taps to run after market items with a weak ground can cause the fuse to heat up and blow at the most inconvenient time. My question is whats the real story, Kor?

You guys are making a big deal of a minor thing. The car has been super reliable for me and awesome, no problems at all other than my battery getting worn down which was my own fault for not watching it over the winter well enough.

If it happens again THEN its time to worry. But who cares about 1 fuse, just a freak occurrence. Porsche said it could have been any number of things - defective part, wearing out, etc etc. I stalled the car right before it happened and I doubt that is a coincidence.

I honestly don't care, it was fixed in 1 day with a smile and no charge. Sure its possible it might have been pushed by my battery issue over the winter. You also may remember that when I killed my battery I think I posted that if you plug in the Porsche charger while your door is open and your battery is dead, it caused my whole car's electronics to flicker on and off rapidly over and over, including the cluster, windows, lights, etc. At the time, that didn't seem good for the car!

I don't know what fuses the car even has, or what happens if they go dead after stalling the car.

The car is an EARLY 2006, I think built in January... so its pretty old as far as Caymans go, and it was driven in Florida in HOT temps for half its life, then shipped ALL The way across the continent and then weathered one of the COLDEST Canadian winters in Calgary in the past 10 years, at one point it was like -40C up here. Soo... who knows. It has had a long life so far!

There are no aftermarket electrical mods on the car. It has an intake and a desnork and some body mods.

I have never jump started the car but I am not the original owner either.

I drive it really hard

As for your "whats the real" story thing, you are a little creepy/insane. I have blown up engines and rebuilt them so if something serious happened I would have no problem saying so. Also I am happy to trust my dealership and tech and the level of service I have had from the dealership here has been super. When they piss me off then they will know it and I'll be in their face.

Easy there kiddo! Lets not call anyone names here. You are fully entitled to be driving in your Porsche on you way to where ever you are going and break down, it happens. My point is simple and that is IF THE DEALER said to me after having my car towed in and days later mind you, THAT IT WAS A FUSE.

One born every min, comes to mind here.....But I'm gonna chill and leave you with a you are the ....IMO of course!

Honestly I am just frustrated that despite a positive resolution I keep checking this thread and it goes on and on about how I should have done something differently or accused the very polite service guy of something or demanded some kind of satisfaction?

I really expected that a positive end to my troubles was something I would post here because people were curious - I feel to this day that its a testament to Porsche customer service and warranty.


I was happy to just shake their hand and drive my car home. I don't see how being anything but happy is how I should feel. I'm not sure why anyone on this forum would do anything different than me in my place?

Sorry if I came off harshly, I am sure people are just curious but I don't have any more info either and I resent the implication that I am a fool or a sucker for being happy with my warranty coverage and customer service and not demanding an explanation.

I also just get fed up with backseat mechanics or armchair mechanics who post on the internet as though that is like working on a car - that is more of just a chip on my shoulder from the days when I would do a lot of car work myself.

No worries, for every post that's been added here (adding to your frustration), there are a lot who've read your follow up and just mentally aknowledged the resolution of the problem and moved on.
Cheers!

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