Cayman 981S Aircon fail

[hixster]

Had a quick search, but couldn't find any other topics on this.

I haven't driven the car for about 10 days, but decided to drive to work in it today. (Car is 981S MY2013)
Basically the aircon didn't come on at all, all switches and controls worked, but no fan/air coming from the vents regardless or what settings I changed.
I stopped the car and restarted it a couple of times.

My drive to work is about 20 mins. I spent most of it faffing around with steamed up windows for most of the journey as no fans/air at at all.

2 mins away from work, the aircon suddenly kicked in and the fans came on.

Anyone else experienced this? Could be a loose connection?

[V800MJH]

When the car is turned off but ignition on have you tried turning the air con on to see if you can hear the compressor firing up or doing anything?

[Flyferrari]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this is a well known fault (there is a massive thread on it). It’s a sticking fan problem. Porsche have washed their hands of it and apparently changing the fan is not a guaranteed cure. This affects all 981 as mine is a ‘16 plate and suffers. The relatively quick fix is 1) open bonnet and remove scuttle/battery cover. 2) release the clips on the filter housing on the left hand side and remove cover. 3) reach in a flick the fan impeller so it spins.(make sure the ignition is off or your fingers might be!) 4) fan will now work. This problem is intermittent but I’ve found it more prevalent in cold, wet weather. I hope this helps.

[hixster]

V800MJH said:

When the car is turned off but ignition on have you tried turning the air con on to see if you can hear the compressor firing up or doing anything?

Thanks - I haven't, but i'll give it a go, see what happens.

[hixster]

Flyferrari said:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this is a well known fault (there is a massive thread on it). It’s a sticking fan problem. Porsche have washed their hands of it and apparently changing the fan is not a guaranteed cure. This affects all 981 as mine is a ‘16 plate and suffers. The relatively quick fix is 1) open bonnet and remove scuttle/battery cover. 2) release the clips on the filter housing on the left hand side and remove cover. 3) reach in a flick the fan impeller so it spins.(make sure the ignition is off or your fingers might be!) 4) fan will now work. This problem is intermittent but I’ve found it more prevalent in cold, wet weather. I hope this helps.

Thanks - i was going to mention that, the last time I drove the car it was absolutely p***ing it down and cold. It's been sat in the garage since then as we went on holiday. Will investigate further and try your suggestion. cheers.

[Polome]

hixster said:

V800MJH said:

When the car is turned off but ignition on have you tried turning the air con on to see if you can hear the compressor firing up or doing anything?

Thanks - I haven't, but i'll give it a go, see what happens.

You won't hear the compressor with engine switched off . I think what the op means is the condenser fans in the front air intakes. The engine needs to be running to check these items. You ' may' be able to hear the heater fan running ( located behind dash) with just the ignition on. This would check if it's the sticky fan is your problem...good luck with the fix.

[kustard]

I had this happen the other day too.

I started driving, but because the car had been sat in the cold for about a week, it quickly started fogging up inside without working aircon / fans. It was dark at the time, which as you can imagine become very hazardous, very quickly. I ended up pulling over to ponder my options and Google the problem. After about 30 mins, they finally started to work and I was on my way. I'm just hoping it's a very infrequent issue, in which case I can live with it.

[Sir_Dave]

Detailed thread on the problem here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

One of those cases where the response "they all do that sir" is relevant

The newer fans apparently dont fix the problem, so i havent bothered replacing mine.

[StevenRugg]

Yeah I commented on that other thread linked above, but does seem to be common. Mine was under warranty and went off to local OPC who confidently told me they've not replaced it, but got it going again, and essentially just promised it won't happen again.