[Cpiendl]

Bought a 2012 Cayman R a month ago(love it). Has 30000km on it with only few DE days on it. Is PDK and just did IDP plenum and throttle body and Cargraphic sport headers. Only had 911's before and don't know Cayman's. Took out for drive 2 weeks ago and after a minute temp gauge spiked to red, shut off right away and started right away and temp instantly went normal. Thought it was most likely air pocket. When got home I noticed couple coolant drips under where my car was parked in the garage(roughly centre of car, 2 feet in from back).
Let her cool for the night, checked coolant level in morning and took 2 litres of distilled water to fill just below max.

Here's the weird part, I don't know Cayman's but when I go out for a normal drive and park my car in the garage. After about a minute, the cooling fan comes on and stays on for about 10-12 minutes. Garage doors are open so not hot in garage. And I smell a hint of coolant from the exhaust vent the fan blows out of.
I took it to the shop I bought car from(is a Porsche race team of cayman gt4's and gt3's and head mechanic very good). He said he ran it good and went through everything and can't find any leaks(tightened all hoses and he pressurized it and held pressure). He said couple drips could have been from overflow but he is stumped and said keep an eye on it.

Anyone else experience something similar?
Should I be worried....

Thanks in advance....

 

[Cpiendl]

By the way, the temp gauge never creeps from 80. Holds still accept for that one spike....

 

[BE455]

Your cooling fan behavior is normal. Although the engine compartment fan seems to have a mind of its own, mine has acted similarly since I first took delivery. Not uncommon for it to come on after the car has been off for a bit. It eventually shuts down

The time spike could have been air in the system, but why? Any work done recently? Shouldn't just happen spontaneously, although the very low coolant level itself could be the sole culprit.

The dash gauge is essentially worthless though. As I understand it, it isn't a true continuous temp gauge. It stays right in the middle, until some specific high threshold is hit, then the needle pins high. For true temps, you'll need to read off the ECU (a cheap Bluetooth OBD reader and your phone would work fine). For now, I suppose just check your coolant level from time to time and see if it drops again. But the gauge staying midline isn't necessarily a definite "all clear."

 

[Terry Thomas]

The dash gauge is essentially worthless though. As I understand it, it isn't a true continuous temp gauge. It stays right in the middle, until some specific high threshold is hit, then the needle pins high. For true temps, you'll need to read off the ECU (a cheap Bluetooth OBD reader and your phone would work fine). For now, I suppose just check your coolant level from time to time and see if it drops again. But the gauge staying midline isn't necessarily a definite "all clear."

I think the dash gauge is a bit better than you describe. Mine, which usually sits straight up at 12 o'clock, went about half way up to high the last time I was out on track on a hot day. It did not pin on high, and it came down gradually as I backed off and let the car cool. I was surprised, as I had always assumed what you said about the gauge.

A project I have planned for this winter will be adding bluetooth-enabled coolant, oil temp, and oil pressure gauges.

 

[rbpeirce]

Here's the weird part, I don't know Cayman's but when I go out for a normal drive and park my car in the garage. After about a minute, the cooling fan comes on and stays on for about 10-12 minutes. Garage doors are open so not hot in garage.

That's exactly what mine does. I suspect, but don't know, that heat that is blown off by moving sticks around when the car is first parked, causing the fan to come on even tho you are parked. I stopped worrying about it the second or third time it happened.

 

[CGH3]

If you drive it hard, or drive it enthusiastically in hot weather, the fan does have a mind of its own. The engine needs cooling and Porsche figured out a good way to provide it with no driver input needed.

 

[cobby]

That's exactly what mine does. I suspect, but don't know, that heat that is blown off by moving sticks around when the car is first parked, causing the fan to come on even tho you are parked. I stopped worrying about it the second or third time it happened.

My 2010 CS did the same thing. CGTS never did. Better cooling overall than the CS.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Morbo]

Yes, my 2010 does that often. Especially if I pull it into the garage after a spirited drive. It usually kicks on about 5 minutes after i park it, and i just leave the garage door open to let it do it's thing. Fan will spin for for several minutes. Not related to coolant at all, I think it's programmed to do that based on engine bay temps once car stops.

 

[snoopy]

Engine compartment purge fan
There are engine compartment purge fans installed on the left and right in the engine
compartment for cooling (Figure 2_30_12 and 2_31_12); these fans blow cool air
into the engine compartment when required. The electrically activated fan motors
can be operated at two speed settings (low and high). There is one relay for each of
the two settings. The fan motors are activated by the DME control unit. Activation
takes place as a function of the engine compartment temperature, which is reported
to the DME control unit by an engine compartment temperature sensor installed at
the intake manifold. Another variable is the engine coolant temperature.
Operating condition: With the engine running:
The specified values correspond to an ambient temperature > 50° F (10° C).
Fan setting 1 is switched:
• “On” when intake air temperature > 77° F (25° C)
• “Off” when intake air temperature < 59° F (15° C)
Fan setting 2 is switched:
• “On” when intake air temperature > 149° F (65° C)
• “Off” when intake air temperature < 145° F (63° C)
or
• “On” when engine compartment temperature > 160° F (71° C)
• “Off” when engine compartment temperature < 153° F (67° C)
or
• “On” when coolant temperature > 226° F (108° C)
• “Off” when coolant temperature < 221° F (105° C)
Operating condition: Engine switched off
If the ignition was switched off at an engine compartment temperature > 113° F
(45° C), the DME control unit enters an “extended motor control unit run-on” mode
for up to 25 minutes. The engine compartment purge fans can be activated as follows
in this case:
Fan setting 1:
• “On” when engine compartment temperature > 147° F (64° C)
• “Off” when engine compartment temperature < 144° F (62° C)
Fan setting 2:
• “On” when engine compartment temperature > 167° F (75° C)
• “Off” when engine compartment temperature < 147° F (64° C)

 

[Myfirst]

Engine compartment purge fan
There are engine compartment purge fans installed on the left and right in the engine
compartment for cooling (Figure 2_30_12 and 2_31_12); these fans blow cool air
into the engine compartment when required. The electrically activated fan motors
can be operated at two speed settings (low and high). There is one relay for each of
the two settings. The fan motors are activated by the DME control unit. Activation
takes place as a function of the engine compartment temperature, which is reported
to the DME control unit by an engine compartment temperature sensor installed at
the intake manifold. Another variable is the engine coolant temperature.
Operating condition: With the engine running:
The specified values correspond to an ambient temperature > 50° F (10° C).
Fan setting 1 is switched:
• “On” when intake air temperature > 77° F (25° C)
• “Off” when intake air temperature < 59° F (15° C)
Fan setting 2 is switched:
• “On” when intake air temperature > 149° F (65° C)
• “Off” when intake air temperature < 145° F (63° C)
or
• “On” when engine compartment temperature > 160° F (71° C)
• “Off” when engine compartment temperature < 153° F (67° C)
or
• “On” when coolant temperature > 226° F (108° C)
• “Off” when coolant temperature < 221° F (105° C)
Operating condition: Engine switched off
If the ignition was switched off at an engine compartment temperature > 113° F
(45° C), the DME control unit enters an “extended motor control unit run-on” mode
for up to 25 minutes. The engine compartment purge fans can be activated as follows
in this case:
Fan setting 1:
• “On” when engine compartment temperature > 147° F (64° C)
• “Off” when engine compartment temperature < 144° F (62° C)
Fan setting 2:
• “On” when engine compartment temperature > 167° F (75° C)
• “Off” when engine compartment temperature < 147° F (64° C)

Good answer and thank you!