IMMO-BLOCK A product that avoids the Key Fob double-tap to start a 993!

 

I rarely endorse third-party products but this one is truly plug-and-play and completely eliminates the timing-out function of the ignition when the car is left to sit while still immobilizing the ignition when the doors are locked. Most importantly it avoids doing expensive internal ECU and fusebox/relay modifications to achieve similar results that can cause technical problems down the road and are not easily reversed when sorting out Ignition/Alarm/Immobilizer issues or when selling the car.

The 993 comes with an ignition immobilizer function as an anti-drive-off security feature. It is enabled in two ways. 

• One when the doors are locked using the electronic key fob and the other; 
• When the car is simply left to sit for three minutes or more.

The annoyance comes into play when one has a good reason to leave the car standing for greater than three minutes forcing one to double-tap the fob or fiddle with the fob button while the key is in the ignition to disable the immobilizer. This happens every time: 

• One goes out to the garage to use their 993 having sat overnight with the doors unlocked;
• One fills their tank with gas;
• One takes their 993 in for service sometimes resulting in a call from your mechanic asking why their car won't start or from simply; 
• Sitting in your car or washing your car;
• Also, when using the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port one needs to disable the Immobilizer to use the reader.

Doing the double-tap dance also causes literally hundreds of unnecessary door lock actuations potentially leading to excessive door mechanisms' wear. This is the dollar value proposition of this product, by avoiding just one servicing of the door locking mechanism will pay for this product. 

I installed the IMMO- BLOCK in my 993.

https://www.ezimmoblock.com/

• Works on USA and CANADA-delivered cars;
• Just plug it in, and the installation is completely reversible;
• Has an internal 9-volt battery that has a service life of about two years;
• If the internal battery dies the immobilizer still functions normally as it did from the factory until the battery is replaced;
• It does not require internal software changes to the BOSCH Motronic Control unit as other products require;
• It does not interfere with key fob programming/mating to the car. The procedure for mating fobs can be found here.
• It disables the normal door chime function as it replaces the door chime relay behind the gauges in the dash;
• It does not add any meaningful draw (parasitic battery loss) to the overall electrical system;
• I added aftermarket automatic door locks and a headlight /turn signal left-on chimes to my car previously and it doesn't interfere with their function;
• For those engineers among us who want the option to eliminate the 9 Volt battery internal to IMMO-BLOCK, Here is a page that describes how to do it.
• Designed and manufactured by a really nice guy Jay Mingrone, jay@EZimmoblock.com, who is very active on rennlist.com and gives great communication and support;
• This product will not address existing system faults causing the door LEDs to flash in couplets, the Immobilizer status light in the clock to flash, losses of the ability to mate keyfobs or other faults with the Alarm/Immobilizer system. Look here to resolve such issues.

UPDATE 11/21/2021 

I have now had it in my daily driver 993 for quite some time now and have found it to be quite an enjoyable and reliable upgrade with no issues.

UPDATE 08/17/2022
Just replaced the battery in the unit in my car. It lasted about two years. Easy to replace.

UPDATE 2/19/2023
Jay now offers a procedure to eliminate the battery for those who desire this.

Here is a page describing where an IMMO BLOCK customer  did the conversion on their car as a DIY effort:
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/1336932-converting-immo-block-to-eliminate-9v-battery.html

Andy

Great companion additions to a 993 IMMO BLOCK are:

• Automatic Door Locking;
• Headlight warning buzzer
• Window control with the key out of the ignition 

If you found this page informative return to the main page and bookmark it for future 993-related servicing, repair, and upgrading guidance & information. If it saved you some time aggravation or even a little coin consider a donation through the button on the top left margin of this page.

#IMMO # imo #BLOCK # Block #IMMO-BLOCK #Immobalizer #Anti #Plug-and-play #fob #electronic  

How to read the Temperature/Oil Level/Oil Pressure Gauges on an Air-Cooled 993/964

 

The 993/964 has dry-sump lubrication where: 

• The volume of oil in reserve is scavenged from the engine bottom and stored in an oil tank; 
• Where it is pumped and distributed to the engine; 
• The system holds about 12 quarts of oil in total and; 
• At oil changes just short of 10 quarts is drained and replaced if you follow the procedure to change your oil listed on this page.

Calling the engine air-cooled is a bit misleading as it is in large part oil-cooled by the rather large amount of oil circulating in the system. It even has a fan-driven oil radiator called an oil cooler much like the coolant radiator in a water-cooled engine. Being a dry-sump system the gauges related to oil are not just read directly at face value they need to be read under specific running conditions and a little interpretation is needed to arrive at what is going on with the oil system.

First of all, the system is dynamic: 

• Pumping oil at various rates dependant on engine speed and; 
• Fluctuating oil viscosity based on oil temperature. 

For these reasons the amount of reserve oil volume in the oil tank varies quite a bit by engine speed and oil temperature, 

Also both: 

• The oil volume gauge in the dash and; 
• The dip-stick; 

give a measurement of the oil volume in reserve in the tank, not in an engine oil pan as is the case in most other vehicles featuring wet-sump lubrication systems.

The dynamic nature of the volume of oil in reserve in the tank is why the oil level is measured under the following specific conditions:

• The engine fully warmed as on a 70F to 80F day after a twenty minutes drive, where the oil pressure gauge that was pinned to the top when cold has fallen down into its normal operating range between 2 and 2.5 Bar at idle.
• With the car on level ground;
• With the engine running at idle;
  
  
  
• Measured by way of the dip-stick, not the gauge. The dipstick is more accurate in absolute terms and the gauge only approximately correlates to its measurement. 

Once the behavior of the gauge is understood for a specific car it can be a leading indicator that one needs to check their oil level with the dip-stick. 

For example, in my specific 993 the gauge floats in in the red zone when the oil is properly filled via dipstick measurement.

Also, the entire scale of the dipstick and the oil gauge is a lot less than one quart in oil volume.

To measure the oil under the above conditions it is properly filled if:

• Dip-stick fill level measures at 1/4 to 1/3 of its measuring scale from the bottom;
• Overfilling is more of a problem than underfilling in a 993 as the system holds so much oil. Overfilling will result in excess oil being sucked into the air intake gumming up the works and possibly contributing to problems such as a clogged air injector system. Overfilling also can lead some to the conclusion that their car is burning oil requiring unnecessary engine work where no such condition exists. 
• Filling the oil into the proper measure fill range using the dipstick with a cold or not-running engine will result in grossly overfilling the oil;
• The fill level even under the proper conditions should never be "topped off" to the top of the dipstick measuring range. This will overfill the oil.

When properly filled under the above conditions the gauges should show the following approximate conditions;

 

How the gauges should approximately look when
 the engine is fully warmed on level ground at idle.

• Oil temperature gauge at approximately between 7:30 and 8:00 o'clock position;
• The oil level gauge at about 1/4 to 1/3 of its scale from the bottom, if properly calibrated;
• And the oil pressure gauge is between 2 Bar to 2.5 Bar depending on the viscosity rating of the oil and its exact temperature.

Even if the oil level is a little low so when fully warm and idling it just moves slightly off the dead bottom of the gauge's red section there really should be little concern about oil starviation due to the large amount of oil in the system overall and the less than a quart mesuring range of the gauge.

 Here is a Do -It-Yourself  How-To for changing the oil on a 993 without overfilling the oil tank and information about other 993 body fluids.

At speed above idle the gauges will show: 

• The oil pressure gauge does little more than tell you if the engine is oil starved if the pressure is not above 3 Bar above idle, it should be between 4 Bar and pinned at the top, most of the time;
• The oil level gauge is of no value and will likely just sit at the bottom above idle; 
• The temperature gauge if at or above 9 o'clock tells you your engine is running hotter than it usually does. This can be normal in hot weather (90F+) especially sitting in traffic or when extreme demands are being made on the cooling system such as in an autocross event just coming off a timed run or sitting in the run queue.
• When the oil temperature gauge is slightly above 9:00 the low-speed blower for the oil cooler in the front of the car should kick in and one should be able to hear it. If you are not sure if your oil cooler blower is working at low speed, a known issue with the 993,  see the bottom of this page to learn how to test its operation.

As one drives the car hard and it heats up further in warm weather:

•  The warmer the oil the greater the amount of oil retained in the oil tank and the oil level gauge reads higher at idle;
• The warmer the oil the lower its viscosity and the lower the oil pressure that will be read on the oil pressure gauge at idle.

So as the temperature gauge rises to 9 o'clock or beyond the oil pressure gauge can fall just below 2 Bar at idle and the oil tank fill gauge can rise to the halfway point or above. 

Oil viscosity will affect what the gauges read. If one uses a 40-weight multi-grade oil, say Mobil 1 brand FS 0W-40 in warmer climates (85F+), and finds their oil pressure regularly dips below 2 bar with a fully warmed engine one can consider a heavier-weight oil such as Mobil 1 FS X2 5W-50 at their next oil change. Both of these oils also have slightly higher zinc levels, of 1100 parts per million (ppm) versus. 900 ppm in other Mobil 1 oils. This higher level is recommended for our cars to protect the valve train, but not so high, as up to 1850ppm found in motorcycle or racing oils that may shorten the life of the catalytic converter.

That blue plume of smoke occasionally at startup:
In the normally aspirated - non-turbo car an occasional plume of blue smoke can be observed at startup. Some say it is due to the boxer layout of the engine where some crankcase oil seeps past the rings as the car sits idle and burns at startup. Others suggest it is the result of oil fumes vented from the case/oil tank to the intake that has condensed on the inside of the intake manifold and is pulled into the engine at startup and burns. In any event, an occasional plume of blue smoke is normal for these cars. If it is a constant issue the oil fill level should be investigated also a higher viscosity oil can be considered in the absence of other gross running symptoms, I would not worry about it too much.

Special Considerations for the Turbo model varient: 

If your 993 is the Turbo variant there are special considerations to avoid oil smoking at startup. One theory is when at rest some oil may backflow into the turbo lubricating system and can cause a small quantity of oil to leak internally to the turbos. This oil will burn at startup making for a blue plume of smoke.  Some argue that this is not plausible because at startup the turbos are cold and any oil present will not be hot enough to initially burn and cause immediate smoking. Another theory is much like in the normally asperated Carrera oil vapor is vented to the intake, condenses on the inside of the intake plumbing and is immediatly ingested and burns at start-up  and causes the plume. In any event here is what some have done to minimize smoking at startup.

• Switching to a heavier weight (20W-50W Multigrade) oil, preferably one with the higher zinc levels, > = 1000 PPM such as Mobil 1 FS X2 5W-50. I have come to understand this elevated zinc content reduces the scuffing of components in the valve train.
• Verifying the oil filters used have the internal valving to limit the back-flow such as the  Porsche branded Turbo specific filters, the valve can usually be observed through the oil passageway holes in the bottom of the filter.;
  
• Making sure the oil is not overfilled (lower 1/3 of dipstick), probably having the most influence.

•  There are also aftermarket oil line check-valves available claiming to address this problem systematically.

In Conclusion:

By filling one's oil to the proper level and observing the gauges one can infer an adequate oil volume is in the system and how hot it is.

Hope this helps,

Andy

If you found this page informative return to the main page and bookmark it for future 993-related servicing, repair, upgrading guidance, and information. If it saved you some time, aggravation or even some coin consider a donation through the button on the top left margin of this page.

Getting that charger plug to fit snugly into the cigarette lighter socket on a 993

The 993 has the older style large-diameter cigarette lighter socket. It is an unswitched outlet so it is ideal for plugging in a car battery maintainer/charger.

Turns out my charger's plug won't make a reliable connection to the lighter socket in my 993 as the plug is the newer smaller diameter and fits too loosely.

So I cut a strip of aluminum sheet flashing, thin sheet metal, and made a spacer that wraps around the barrel of the plug so its two ends overlap and tuck under one of the barrel contact springs on the plug. Now the plug fits firmly in the socket easy peasy!

#lighter #charger #maintainer #adapter #plug #socket

Introduction, About Us & Contact Page

Hi Folks,

The purpose of this blog is to describe my learnings along the road to becoming an empowered 993 owner. This blog includes over 100 major topics about servicing, repairing, and upgrading your 993. 

Expand the list of topics in the left-hand column to review the subjects available or simply use the "Search This Blog" window in the upper left corner of this page to find topics of interest to you. It seems the search function is a little hit or miss so for best results first review the topics in the left-hand list to see if you find what you are looking for then use the search window. 

A limited number of topics are linked to a "#" for example; Typing in "#alarm or #OBD in the search box will bring up a group of related topics to this subject 

And finally, this will take you to a limited list of fun stuff I've added to my car.

The BLOG is not authored for the professional servicer of the Porsche 993, it is for folks like me who would never contemplate an internal engine repair on their own but who is reasonably hands-on and enjoys working on cars or at least is interested in reaping the significant cost savings of doing accessible stuff on a Do-It-Yourself basis. 

Many new to the 993 read all the topics here as they form a good technical grounding for an owner going forward. Hopefully, this blog will save you money and increase your enjoyment of your Porsche 993. 

Many of the topics here also apply to the 964 as the 993 shares many of the components of a 964 and in a way, the 993 is an evolution of that series of cars.

If you chose to read or use the information in this blog take a moment to read the below:
CopyRight & Terms & Conditions for Use, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer 

Also:
Disclaimer: The content of this blog/web site, relates specifically to the Porsche 993 (911 1995 to1998) The authors here are not professional automotive technicians and some of the procedures described in these pages may not be the best to use in all situations and may be contrary to official factory recommendations.  Many times a lot can be learned by simply watching qualified professionals work on your 993. Though we strive to provide completely accurate and appropriate information on a given subject presented and we attempt to keep up to date, in some cases, some of the information you find on the website may be outdated or in error also many times the opinions expressed on this site are just that, opinions, therefore, please feel free to use the information on this site at your own risk.

Best regards,

Andy

Contact Information:
Andrew Hess
andrew.hess@differentlight.biz
804.252.3193
Preston,  Dallas, TX

About 300 miles from The Alamo.

If you found this blog informative return to the main page and bookmark it for future 993 related servicing, repair, and upgrading guidance & information.

Enhancing the working distance of the Electronic Key Fob

If your 993 remote keyless entry fob seems to only work from a very short distance even after refreshing its battery the distance can potentially be dramatically improved by replacing some inexpensive failed components. The components are in the immobilizer controller under the driver's seat on US delivered cars. 

It turns out this is simply the result of two capacitors drying out from age that affect the radio receiver in the controller under the driver's seat. If one is handy with electronics replacing the two capacitors is not too difficult. In fact, the hardest part of the job is removing the seat and the shroud covering the controller under the seat.

Here are the steps to gain access to the Immobilizer/Fob receiver and the DME controller:

• Disconnected the car's battery before starting the procedure.
• Remove the driver's seat on left-hand drive cars, here is how to do it with a minimum of drama.
• Drill out the security rivets on the cover over the controllers under the driver's seat.
• Use a shop vacuum to clean out the metal shards left from drilling before unplugging the controller to avoid contaminating the electrical connections.
• Replace the cover when finished with some self-tapping machine screws as it may be providing some required electrical shielding.

Here are the following steps to repair the Immobilizer/Fob controller:

• Detach, unplug and remove the black plastic controller box next to the metal larger Bosch DME ignition controller.
• Open the controller's housing and locate the two electrolytic capacitors that look like small metal cans wrapped in plastic shrink wrap on the circuit board.

They are labled as follwed:

• 330uF/10V,  In plain English,  330 Micofarad, 10 Volt electrolytic capacitor

and a

• 0.47uF/50V capacitor

Replacement capacitors can be purchased on eBay or at any electronics supply house, for example:

•  Allied Electronics & Automation

Be sure to pick ones with similar housings to the originals ones to facilitate the reinstallation.

 

• Note the polarity of the old capacitors by their markings on their case when removing them, see below, and install the new ones, putting the new ones in so the wires on it marked (+) and or  (-) are put in the same mounting holes as the original ones. Usually, only one wire lead is marked.

Removing and replacing the capacitors is relatively easy if you are handy with a soldering iron however the circuit board is a two-layer board with wire traces on the front and back so be sure to use a low watt pencil-style soldering iron 35 Watt max, use care not to overheat the board and solder the replacement capacitors to both the front and the back sides of the circuit board's mounting holes. The traces are very close, so use a magnifier to check that the solder joints are good and you didn't inadvertently jump and join an adjacent wire trace.

• Once the new capacitors are installed button things back up, reattach the battery, and you are done!

Updating the capacitors has resulted in my fob working from as far away as I can get from the car in my drive, where previously on a good day it would only work from five or six feet.

Who would think?

Andy

If you found this page informative return to the main page and bookmark it for future 993 related servicing, repair, and upgrading guidance & information. If it saved you some coin consider a donation through the button in the top left margin of this page.

#Alarm #fob #door lock #immoblizer #ignition kill #led flashing, #remot #entry #lighting