Ok, I have the 996 that's driving me nuts with little simple issues.
My new problem that to me, doesn't make sense:

The car is a 1999 996 cabriolet with 38K miles on it.
Issue: Car acts like it has a dead-ish battery. If I let the battery sit over night then try to start up the car, I hear a funky clicking (starter?) and the car will not have enough ooomph to actually start up. If I put a charger on the battery for 15-20 min. The car will start. A bit of a slow start when twisting the key though... to me. It doesn't sound the like battery is cranking the car over quickly. The battery that reads 12.8 with a volt meter, and is a brand new Ultima battery with 800 cranking amps.

At first I was thinking bad alternator. So I put the voltmeter on the posts as the car's running. I get a 14.2 reading. Which should mean I have a good alternator.

So now I'm thinking it has a bad starter. But here's the funky part: If I have the battery fully charged... it starts the car. If I let the car sit for a few hours, the car acts like it has a dead-isn battery... enough so, that it will not have enough power to start the car! Again.. the battery is a new Ultima battery with 800 CA, and 1000 CCA.

I may try to post a video of it when it's having the "issue" of not starting. To see if anyone can identify the strange noise it makes when trying to start (but can't muster the power needed to start).

Has anyone had a reading of a good alternator (14.2 voltmeter reading when running) and a reading of 12.8 when not running. and not been able to start their car? Would this be a sign of a bad starter?

 

How are the ground cables to the starter? Perhaps there is a poor connection?

I would start by testing the battery first with a battery tester. All stores do this for free.

The inspect the starter connection next.

 

I would bet that the "Y" cable is bad. It can look brand new on the outside but will be corroded on the inside (under the insulation). Here are some useful links. Also check out the Ground cable.
http://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum...ter-cable.html
http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...trap-location/

 

Finally figured out what my problem was with the car not wanting to start. Needed a new fuel pump.