Diagnosis & Testing
Red Shark Automotive can now offer a reliable diagnostic, repair and upgrade facility via a renowned supplier and manufacturer of parts to upgrade your Porsche 928. The supplier is based in the U.K. and has considerable experience in repair and replacement of the parts shown below and has developed testing and diagnostic equipment to help with fault finding and keeping your 928 on the road.
Mass Airflow Meter Calibration & Repair
Mass Airflow Meter (MAF)
The Porsche 928 LH Hot Wire Mass Airflow Meter (MAF) Bosch Part Number 0280 214 001 (Porsche P/N 928 606 141 00) is used on Euro S and S2 1984-86, USA 32v 1985-86, and Worldwide S4, GT, GTS 1986-95 models.
A MAF which is functional but out of calibration can cause the LH computer to revert to "Limp Home" mode. This is also the classic symptom of gross MAF failure. Less severe calibration errors will typically cause weak or rich running across the whole rev. range.
Weak running can result in a significant loss of top end power, hesitation and "flat spots" when the throttle is opened quickly for maximum acceleration.
We Offer:
- A cost effective repair, rebuild and re-calibration service.
- To check your MAF calibration for a nominal charge to assist your fault finding.
- A 2 year guarantee for all work.
Rebuildable MAFs must have the internal venturi assembly that holds the platinum wire undamaged, the flange and groove for the snap ring that holds the screen undamaged and the plastic cover over the electronics must be undamaged and the original seal intact.)
| Full rebuild exchange unit | from £310.00 |
| All prices are subject to VAT @ 17.5% | |
Testing Equipment
KTS300 Tester
Complete KTS300 testers with Porsche or Universal software, with Porsche 19 way test lead, new NiCad battery pack and charger are often available. These are refurbished units.
Software modules for the KTS300 which will test 928, 964, 944, 968 and 993 cars from 1988 onwards. English and German language versions available. For availability and prices please mail us.
19 way car diagnostic plug lead to 8 way KTS300 lead assemblies are available. These use a 19 way connector of the suppliers our own manufacture. We can also supply a 12 way rectangular plug, to KTS300 8 way connector lead assembly, which is used for the 1988 MY 928 and 944S2 cars. For price and delivery please mail us using the link below.
Note: 1987 MY 928S4 can be easily upgraded for diagnostics. This requires new EPROMs in the LH and EZK ECUs, which we can supply, and the 12 way to 8 way lead as described above. The vehicle is already wired for diagnostics, and requires no changes to the wiring cableforms.
| Testing Equipment | £ 995.00 |
| All prices are subject to VAT @ 17.5% | |
ECU Upgrade and Repair
From August 1986 (Porsche 1987 model year) with the introduction of the S4 model, all 928 models used the Bosch LH 2.3 Jetronic fuel injection ECU (sometimes called the “Brain”).
The Porsche part numbers are in a series 928.618.123.10 to 928.618.123.30. The corresponding Bosch part numbers are 0280.002.504 to 0280.002.514 respectively. These are used in the S4, CS, SE, GT and GTS models.
These ECUs have a poor reliability history. This is almost entirely due to failure of the “tile” – a Thick Film hybrid circuit exclusive to Bosch. JDSPorsche has developed a re-engineered replacement for this vital component.
A common LH ECU failure is for the fuel pump to fail to run due to the fuel pump relay not being energised by the LH ECU. Often, a regular clicking will be heard in the engine bay as soon as the ignition is switched on.
We are now able to offer re-manufactured LH ECUs to Porsche enthusiasts, at a very competitive price. Due to the large number of variants of the basic unit, it is often not possible to offer an exchange unit from stock. Your faulty unit can usually be turned around by our workshop in 2-4 working days.
| ECU Upgrade and Repair | £ 325.00 |
| All prices are subject to VAT @ 17.5% | |
Bosch 928 LH2.3 EZK Ignition ECU Repair
From August 1986 (Porsche 1987 model year) with the introduction of the S4 model, all 928 models used the Bosch LH 2.3 Jetronic Ignition ECU. This was used in conjunction with a separate ECU for the fuel delivery system - the LH ECU.
The Porsche part numbers are in a series 928.618.124.11 to 928.618.124.30. The corresponding Bosch part numbers are 0227.400.035 to 0227.400.197 respectively. These are used in the S4, CS, SE, GT and GTS models.
The EZK ECU takes engine speed pulses from a sensor on top of the engine bellhousing from a gearwheel below. These pulses are processed in the EZK ECU, and the ignition timing is fully mapped according to engine rpm, throttle opening, engine temperature. The output of the EZK is used to trigger two external output stages, which drive the twin ignition coils.
These ECUs are usually very reliable. However there are now a significant number of these units failing, and accordingly our supplier has constructed a dedicated test jig in order to fault find and repair these units.
| Repair Price | £ 395.00 |
| All prices are subject to VAT @ 17.5% | |
'The Spanner' - Diagnostic Tester for the Porsche 928
The ‘Spanner’ Porsche Diagnostic Tester is an enhanced flashing code tester for ECU fault code reading, clearing fault codes, idle adaptation, and digital dash diagnosis on Porsche cars from 1987 – 1994. It provides the home mechanic or Independent Porsche Specialist with a cost effective and invaluable tool to aid servicing and fault finding on Porsche cars.
Features & Functions
- Reading stored ECU fault codes, giving a fast “health check” on the car’s electronic systems.
- Actuator tests allow the operator to energise various actuators in the car as required to assist with fault finding.
- Clearing stored fault codes after the fault has been rectified.
- Knock counts of detonation can be carried out while driving the car on the road, or on a rolling road .
- Reset the idle speed of some models.
- Activates diagnosis of the digital dashboard used in later 928 models.
- Diagnose and test 928 S4 , GT, SE.CS and GTS, 944S/S2 and 944 Turbo, all 964 models, all 968 models.
Note: The first production release of software is for the 928 range only. Further software updates for other Porsche models will be available when testing is finalised.
Product Description
It is a small hand held unit. It is powered from the vehicle supply, so there are no internal batteries.
It has a 40 character 2 line alpha-numeric display. This enables operating instructions, menus and fault displays to be clearly shown without reference to written manuals. The display has a back light for operation in difficult environments.
The operation is intuitive and easy to use, with a single enter button for operation of all functions through scrolling options and on-screen prompts.
It is connected to the vehicle under test by a custom made lead. Two types of lead are available – one with the 12 pin rectangular connector used on 1987 and 1988 model cars, and another with the 19 way circular connector used on all other years.
An RS232 connection is also provided, enabling the use of a laptop computer for data viewing and control.
The RS232 port is also used for software updates.
Operational menus
When the unit is plugged into the car, the introductory screen display is shown. This is followed by a screen to select the type of car to be tested from the following options :
928; 944S; 944 TB; 964; 968
The display scrolls through these options in turn, and the required one is selected by the enter button.
Note: Not all versions of software offer all these types.
On pressing enter, the following options are shown in sequence (this example is for the 928, other cars are similar)
- Select LH/EZK/PSD ECU test
- Select actuator drive tests
- Select Airbag test
- Select Idle stabilisation adaptation
- Select knock counting tests
- Select digital dash diagnosis
If LH/EZK/PSD ECU test is selected, then the operator will be requested to press the enter button to proceed. Then a request to switch on the ignition is shown, or if it has been left on in error, to turn it off and re-start the test.
The tester will then establish communication with the ECUs fitted to the car, these are LH/EZK or DME (combined Motronic fuel and ignition control) , PSD, Tiptronic (964 only) and Heater ECU (964 only).
If there any stored fault codes in the ECUs, they will be shown on the display with their fault code number, and also a text description - such as “O2 sensor over-rich mixture 1123” or “Knock sensor 1 faulty 2132".
The fault code number is the same as used in the fault finding section of the workshop manuals, which give detailed fault analysis routines.
After reading all the fault codes, the user is given the options of clearing the codes, or leaving them stored, and to proceed to the next ECU in sequence. When all the available ECUs fitted to the car have been read, then the tester displays “no further ECU responses” and returns the user to the top menu.
The airbag ECU is read in a different manner by the tester, so its diagnosis is selected from the top menu.
The second figure can either be a 1 or a 2. The former signifies that the fault is currently present, the latter that the fault is not always present (intermittent).
The third and fourth figures are the unique fault code identifier.
Examples: “Temperature sensor 2 Open circuit 1114” is a steady fault for the LH/DME ECU.
“Knock sensor 2 (rear) Faulty 2232” is an intermittent EZK fault.
Actuator drive tests
This option allows the operator to check various actuators and switch inputs into the ECUs. This is to assist fault finding.
For example, the first check is of the fuel injectors. (Code 1311) The injectors are cycled on an off on a continuous basis until stopped by the operator. This enables checks to be made to determine if one injector is not operating, and if not then the actuating voltage feed can also be checked.
The second check is of the idle stabiliser actuator. . (Code 1321) The tester switches it repeatedly from one end of its range to the other. So electrical and vacuum checks can be carried out.
The third test is for the fuel tank venting valve to the carbon canister (where fitted) . (Code 1322)
The fourth check is for the resonance flap on the inlet manifold, so electrical and vacuum checks can be carried out. . (Code 1323)
The fifth check is of the engine speed pulse into the ECU from the engine flywheel sensor. . (Code 1331)
The sixth check is the throttle idle switch . (Code 1332)
The seventh check is for the wide open throttle switch (WOT switch) . (Code 1333)
The eighth and ninth checks are for the air conditioning switched input to the ECU . (Code 1334 and 1335)
The tenth check is the auto transmission Park/neutral switch to the ECU. (where fitted) . (Code 1336)
Airbag test
Note that this option is functional for MY 90 US and Canadian market cars only at present.
Idle stabilisation adaptation
This allows a reset of the idle stabilisation loop. The engine is run for 45 seconds at idle speed, and the ECU adapts its default setting to the correct idle speed. This is routinely carried out by Porsche specialists when they have cars for serving or repair. Idle speed is properly set, and the car will generally run better generally, as the LH system is “adapted” to the engine. It is recommended that that is carried out at each annual service, and also if any work is done on the engine inlet system components.
Knock counting tests
This test monitors any engine detonations (“pinking” or “knocking”) from the engine, while being driven, over 10,000 cylinder firing cycles. Any detonation or pre-ignition as it is sometimes called can cause severe engine damage.
The tester monitors the knock count outputs from the ECU in the 10,000 period (approximately 2 minutes at 3,000 rpm). If the count is more than 50 knocks, then detonation is taking place and must be corrected.
During the test drive, the knock number display is continuously updated. At the end of the test period, the total number of counts is shown, and displays “Fault” if the total count is greater than 50.
The test can be repeated readily with a single “enter” press.
Digital dash diagnosis
This is a very useful (and little known) additional feature available to later cars with digital dashboards. Normally, a special link tool is required to enable this feature. The Spanner Porsche tester has this function built in. It is fully described in the Porsche Service Information booklet WKD 495 021 of 1989. A copy of this is provided on the CD-ROM which is supplied with the tester.
Briefly, it can display:
- Engine temperature
- Coolant temperature
- Coolant pressure
- Outside temperature
- Fuel level, including the calibration level
- Oil pressure
- Alternator voltage
- Function of all warning circuits/switches
If a fault has been signalled to the dash while driving, it will log the elapsed time or distance travelled after the warning. On some versions of digital dash, this feature of the tester can also be used to change the displayed language of the digital dashboard.
Comparison with KTS 300 “Hammer”
The KTS 300 communicates with the ECUs in a somewhat different manner. But the only major function not provided by the Spanner Porsche tester is the bleeding of the PDS system fitted to the later 928s and the PDAS system fitted to the 964 Carrera 4 cars. Any stored PDS fault codes will be read out by the Spanner Porsche tester (PDAS fault codes TBD)
Note: The Spanner Porsche tester will not diagnose the RDK system.
Availability and pricing
Production units are available now
| The price includes the tester and a 19 way lead (12 way leads can be supplied) A CD-ROM with the User Instruction Manual, Spanner Porsche Viewer installation software, Bootloader software and other useful information is also included. | £ 295.00 |
| All prices are subject to VAT @ 17.5% | |
A warranty of 2 years applies.
| Download | |
| Diagnosis And Testing (Word Document 524 KB) | Downlaod |
| All prices are subject to VAT @ 17.5% | |