PHP + PayPal IPN + SQLite = a mysterious 503 error? - php

Question

I have a simple php Paypal ipn listener which inserts the raw POST data into an SQLite (v2) database. It was working. Then...it stopped working. (I don't recall making any changes to it.) It uses a basic php sample that Paypal provides using CURL to communicate with Paypal (followed by the db insert). It just gives a 503 Service Unavailable error now.
It works (minus actually doing anything :)) if I comment out the final line, that simple contains "sqlite_exec(...)".
Alternatively, a MySQL insert works fine.Mailing results works as well.
The SQLite database appears normal. Another script reads & updates as normal.
Web host sees no issues on the server side.
Can anyone make sense of this?
Or maybe there is a way to send the POST data to another script so that it gets processed separately, on its own, instead of altogether as one page?
Update: What I'm trying to insert is the "raw post data" string...
$raw_post_data = file_get_contents('php://input');
...as seen on the top line here under php sample code: https://www.x.com/developers/PayPal/documentation-tools/code-sample/216623 . My script is the same except with an insert at the bottom, which basically looks like this:
$dbloc = "/db/ipn.sqlite";
if($db = sqlite_open("$dbloc", 0666, $sqlite_error)){}else{die ($sqlite_error);}
$datetime = date("Y-m-d H:i:s");
$data = $raw_post_data;
$sql="INSERT INTO Paypal (entrydate,verified,data) values ('$datetime',$verified,'$data')";
sqlite_exec($sql,$db);

Answer 1

From when are you getting this error ?
Paypal has done some IPN changes recently.
please check this links:
https://www.x.com/content/bulletin-ipn-and-pdt-scripts-and-http-1-1
http://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/forum/topic/paypal-ipn-and-pdt-changes-effective-from-1st-february-2013
please let us know what you are trying to insert into the db.