Chris_in_NH

from what i've read, the Alarm/Control unit can only be coded once. whether this means you can only *attempt* to code it once, i don't know... sorry i can't be more helpful.

i just picked up one of these!!!

hi Andy, as you know, i used your fabulous instructions and choice of speakers for my upgrade. i didn't use the door baffle that you created... i tried and i just wasn't getting the sound i wanted. so i Dremeled out my OEM speaker enclosures to fit the 6.5" MBQ speakers. this seemed to work pretty well, but i still don't have the bass-iness that i'm looking for. i'm not a 600W hip-hop shake-the-street guy either. but i think eventually i'm going to get a real sub so i have that low end that i'm looking for. i've seen two styles of boxster doors. one is basically flat from top to bottom, and the other has the 'lip' to accomodate a speaker. without the lip, i don't see how a speaker could be added since the speaker depth would prevent the window from working correctly. maybe i'm wrong... i can't remember exactly. but i think it would be a lot of work to add door speakers for little gain.

ok, when you say 'new ignition' is this the new ignition switch that you had installed? i thought you were able to start the car here and there? if it is a 'new new ignition' what is the part number? how are you installing it? are you contorting yourself under the dash so you can actually SEE what you're installing, the position of the switch, proper mating of the switch and the tumbler? the old one will seem different because the part has probably been upgraded/updated/superceded a number of times over the years. what you need to find out is the exact part number for the ignition switch for your model year. i would call Suncoast Porsche, talk with Ric Knab, he will know exactly what you need. www.suncoastporsche.com

what year car do you have? does your car have an amp? what stereo model do you have? again, IMHO i wouldn't even bother. if you're looking for sound quality, get yourself a rear speaker kit, upgrade your dash speakers and get a real sub. :)

i'm sure the alarm/locking computer is in the lowest, bowl-shaped part of the car for a good reason (which mere mortals could never comprehend). German engineering... :notworthy: now if they just put drains in THAT area!

it could also be that the alarm/locking computer under the driver's seat got fried from water getting under there from clogged clamshell drains. don't ask me how i know. ;)

are you sure they heard the 'speaker' part of the question? sounds like they're pricing entire DOORS!! just for kicks, i'd shoot an email to Sunset Imports just to see what they charge for L+R tuned port enclosures. i'll bet it's 5% of the cost that your dealer quoted. $2,200GBP??!! what are they smoking?

IMHO, the door speakers are a waste of time. they're supposed to be 'subs' but they are really crappy subs if anything. a much easier and more worthwhile pursuit would be to add a custom sub in the passenger footwell, or one of those flat subs that you can put behind the passenger seat. take a look around the web for 'boxster sub' or something similar. you'll be much happier than if you added door speakers. here's a pic of the behind-the-seat sub...

sheldon, even I must take my car to the dealer sometimes. i don't *like* to do it, but sometimes 'ya gotta do what ya gotta do'. pay the $100, get their *recommendations* and post them here. you don't have to have the work done that very moment. the warranty on cats is 8 years. so you may even get a new one for free! we'll make sure they don't take you for a ride. :)

sounds like the battery to me. i don't think that a 3/4 charge is enough. if it's the original battery, it's 6 years old anyway. pop in a new battery and see if that fixes the problem. if not, i'd start looking at the starter/alternator. also, with the ignition switch - are you sure you got the right one for your car, and are you sure that the button on the back of the switch is correctly mated to the back of the ignition tumbler? there are a number of posts lately regarding this issue.

sounds like you need a new O2 sensor for Bank 2 (driver's side). but i would do some more research and maybe get the car checked out by a Porsche mechanic before you go spending a lot of money. the O2 sensor should only set you back about $100, so that's not too bad. but if you still get codes after replacing the O2 sensor, i would take it to a shop. this may have been the reason for your 1128/1130 codes to begin with.

i think it's all in your head. :lol: i have the same reaction every time i change my oil. and every time i fill up my gas tank, for that matter! i really think that oil is oil is oil. but if it works for you, by all means continue using it. btw, i think Porsche now recommends 0w-40.

hehe... you never know. when the DME notices the fault a few times it will light the CEL again. it's possible that your cleaning of the MAF solved the problem. but i doubt it. ;)

i was thinking the same thing, but couldn't think of a way to troubleshoot it without actually climbing under the dash and looking. ;) fastening screws aside, it could also be that the 'button' is not correctly 'mated' to the ignition tumbler. i've seen this happen many times.

the CEL is off because you disconnected the battery. this effectively 'resets' the CEL. when the DME finds another fault, the CEL will light again. thanks for answering the clutch question. now we (I) know that's not the cause. ;) so the car just started up normally, or did you have to fool with it? what happened with the door handle? how were you able to fix it? i had a problem with my inside door handle too. there is a cable attached to the door handle and this cable is held in position inside the door (mine was actually zip-tied). when this cable is allowed to move, the door handle seems like it moves (pulls out) twice as much as it should normally. i just put the cable back where it was supposed to go, and eveything was fine. is that what happened to you?

no problem... accessing the engine is easy. you want to press the conv top button to raise the 'clamshell' (the part that covers the conv top when it's down) to its highest position in its arc of motion and let go of the conv top button. get out of the car and go to the clamshell you just raised. you need to unclip the rear of the conv top from here. if you look down into the area that the clamshell covers, you will see that the very back of the conv top fabric has a piece of fabric with a long bar that runs the length of the wall that separates this area from the rear trunk. the bar clips under 2 clips (1 on each side) that hold it in place. just unclip it from these two clips. next, on each side of the car, there are black cables that hold the back of the conv top tight to the car. they have silver ends on them that attach to ball sockets. you can just pop them off with your hand or a screwdriver. now you are going to swing the back edge of the conv top 'up' towards the front of the car. if you're on the driver's side of the car, imagine that the back of the conv top is at 3 o'clock. you're going to move it so that the back edge is at 12 o'clock. (you'll want to do this on a warm day or you'll risk cracking the plastic rear window like i did.) this whole procedure is also covered in your owner's manual. after that, you'll need to remove the rear shelf (the storage compartment behind the seats) out from the back (mine has fasteners that you just need to turn 90 degrees to remove). then remove the carpet piece on top of the engine. now you're at the engine cover. turn the fasteners 180 degrees (or until they unfasten! :D ) and pull the metal cover off (be careful you don't scratch your car!) ta da, you're at the engine. you can change the air filter if you want, but i'd wait for your oil change (or not - it's up to you.) other than that, there's nothing else to do here. oil and plugs and everything else are done from under the car. sorry... as for your ignition switch, it sounds kinda strange that they didn't have the part, and then they had the part. did all this happen over 15 minutes, or did they have enough time to actually GET an ignition switch from a dealer, etc? unfortunately, there's really no way to tell if the ignition switch is new - unless you know the part number of the original switch and the part was updated with a new part number which is printed on the switch itself. it would be a lot of work to check this. i'd take their word for it. ;) you haven't answered my question about the clutch pedal. you're sure it's all the way down and you hear a click when you press it, yes? sometimes i don't press mine all the way down and i'm like WTF, but then i press a little harder and vroom-vroom. that's why i'm asking. with you being new to the car, i can see how this could happen. here are some pics of the Air/Oil Separator (A/OS or AOS). the picture labeled DSC4797.jpg is a very good pic taken from the passenger's side. on the left side of the photo, the (top of the) AOS is that round piece of plastic before the plastic piece with 3 'fingers' that says 'porsche' on it. notice also that there is a 'J-tube' that comes out of the AOS and connects to the throttle body. if you replace your AOS, you'll need this tube also. http://renee.devetter.home.comcast.net/boxster/oilsep/ here are some other great boxster links that can help you with just about anything: http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/mikespor...boxsterwebpages http://www.986faq.com/ http://boxster.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page also, check out http://www.ppbb.com if you haven't already. lots of helpful people there too. and don't forget, the 'search forum' button is your friend. there's TONS of info here. B)

whoa... slow down! :rolleyes: i would clean your MAF first and reset your Check Engine Light (either with a code-reader, or by disconnecting the neg battery cable for a minute or two (this will also reset your ECU/DME which is good)). you will need your radio code to activate the radio if your radio needs a code, so have it handy. even if you clean your MAF, you may still get codes if it's not the MAF or if the MAF is bad (beyond cleaning). i don't know why you would need a new ignition switch if you just had it replaced. i seem to remember a thread saying that the part number should end in a 'D'. take a look at your invoice to see if they used the correct part. i'm not 100% on this, but it's worth looking into. when you try to start the car, do you hear the clutch switch 'click' when you press the clutch to the floor? when you turn the key, does the motor try to turn, or do you just get 'nothing', no sound, no nothing? some people have noticed that their floor mats get under the clutch pedal enough to prevent the clutch from going down all the way. just a thought... the part numbers for the A/OS (bellows is included with A/OS) and O2 sensors can be found by searching previous posts. i don't have them. you don't really 'need' the part numbers to order them though. best places to get cheap parts are www.sunsetimports.com www.suncoastporsche.com www.autohausaz.com - on this site you can search and see pics of the parts any of these places will know exactly what you need to order when you talk to them. just tell them Air-Oil Separator and O2 sensor and your model year. prices from all of these places are within a few dollars of each other and are MUCH cheaper than the dealer will charge you. as for removing the top (LOL), there are instructions in the Conv Top Forum at the top of the 986 Forum Page. take a look at the first post by herc_captain. i posted the instructions i had in that thread. for top-related questions, that's where you should post. btw, why are you removing the conv top fabric? do you already have a replacement top, etc?

personally, i wouldn't waste your time with a 'Porsche' (Becker) radio. they are crap for the most part. if you DO want to go with a Becker radio, i would get a CDR-220. this radio has AUX IN capability which will allow you to run your iPod through it. the other Becker radios do not have this feature (except the CDR-22, i think.) best bet is a Nakamichi CD400, which looks very close to stock, is of much better quality, and has AUX IN for an iPod. check it out.

have you searched this site for 1128/1130? go to the bottom of the forum page and type '1128 1130' and click the 'search forum' button. there is PLENTY of info. these are quite common codes, which could have a number of reasons for being present. the most common being: -bad Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) -bad Air/Oil Separator or torn A/OS bellows resulting in vacuum leak -bad O2 sensor(s) as far as the ignition, you mentioned that the dealer replaced the ignition switch, so we'll assume it's not the ignition switch. this might be a stupid question, but are you sure that you have the clutch pedal all the way on the floor when you try to start the car? i doubt it's the starter. also, when starting the car, if the first key turn doesn't start the engine, you must turn the key all the way back to its starting point before you can try to start it again, unlike American cars where you can just turn the key back that 1/4 inch then try to start again. also, you didn't mention manual or auto (tiptronic) transmission, etc.

hi Mike, i responded to this question over at ppbb, but thought i would post it here too for the Renntech guys. i don't like the look of the glass window tops. the glass window is small, it is rectangular in shape which detracts from the curvy lines of the boxster, it has hideous defroster wires running through it, and the color (blue) didn't match my car (Ocean Blue) as well as the fabric available from other aftermarket soft top vendors. i just got this new top yesterday which is a 'Mercedes blue' color and matches my car much better than Porsche's Metropol blue. it has a CLEAR rear window, not the OEM fishtank green color.

sounds like option P63, like i have. SPORT PACKAGE M396 17" Wheels/Tires M551 Wind Stop M490 Sound System M454 Cruise Control M535 Alarm system M688 CD Player (in-dash) - $3395 http://www.986faq.com/4-0/default.asp#P63

nice! congrats! the old owner must have been kicking himself for that mistake! why the Subi license plate frame? :huh:

i just bought one from the other eBay seller, Rich and Famous Auto Tops. it was a little more than Car Top Guy at $429 or something like that. i should be receiving it next week, so i can post back and report on the quality. what i can tell you is that the owner of Rich and Famous, John, was a pleasure to work with. he sent me samples on multiple occassions, was in contact frequently with updates, and offered many non-Porsche colors. i ended up getting a 'Mercedes' blue top, as it matched my Ocean Blue boxster better than Porsche's 'Metropol Blue' which has a sort of gray/blue color. the Mercedes blue is a deeper, richer color and i think it will look incredible on the car. i also had the option of the OEM 'fish-tank green' rear plastic window, a clear (like glass) plastic window, or a tinted window. i got samples for all of these as well. i decided on the the clear plastic window. when you compare the clear to the OEM green tinted window, you'll wonder how you never noticed the green tint. i believe the price difference between Porsche OEM and aftermarket is brand-name only. they both use the same German A5 canvas material, but obviously Porsche-branded products will cost more. and if you think about it, it's not like Porsche manufactures the conv top canvasses anyway. they shop it out just like all the other parts they don't make, which is just about everything except engines and body panels. as far as installation, i've heard that upholstery shops charge between $500 and $1000 to install a new top. i have read previous posts saying that the 'shop time' for this install is something ridiculous like 11 hours. from the first-hand install reports that i've read, it sounds like you could DIY in 3-6 hours. i am planning to give it a shot when my top arrives, and if i screw it up too bad, i'll just take it to a shop. there is a lot of info on installing the top in the 986 Convertible Top Forum at the top of this page. i haven't heard anything good or bad about Car Top Guy's quality. you may want to check out Rich and Famous too. i have no affiliation with them, they were just very nice to work with and attentive. good luck with it!

good god! never seen one that bad, chris! what do i win? :lol: it was making scratching noises when i put the window down and up for about a week. there was no problem with the dropping of the window when i opened the door. the part of the cable that rusted must have been farther down the track. but one day, the window just stopped half-way up and that was that. you'll want to get to fixing it before it gets to that point. it was very hard to get to the window clamps from the position that the window was stuck in. i had to get creative and use an adjustable wrench to hold the torx driver perpendicular to the wrench, as i had NO room to maneuver because the door sheet metal was in the way. it was a real PITA. i'd take your door panel off, cycle the window up/down to see where you have the best access to both clamps, and remove it from there before you don't have a choice in the matter.