Jinster

What is meant by "comfort open"? Is it when the window drops by 0.5cm when opening the door or is it when the window drops by 5cm when unlatching the top?

Ok, this might be a very silly question. But I lost my owner's manual a long time ago. When I unlatch the top (to open it), the windows would drop about 10cm, that's normal. The question is, after closing the top and latching the top, should the windows automatically go back up?

More fixes for those who might search the forum with DLM problems: The cable tie solution was temporary. After a couple of weeks, they became loose and the window not courtesy dropping problem were intermittent again. So I decided to fix this by re soldering those 8 pins in the DLM. That was my intention. But I decided to try a "blind re-soldering" solution: basically, the pins are visible from outside through the socket on the DLM. The actual solder joints are inside the DLM. So instead of opening the entire DLM assembly to see the 8 solder joints and re-solder them directly under vision, I decided to try to melt the solder by applying heat to the pins with the soldering iron, taking care not to touch any of the plastic parts. After about 15 seconds of heat, I removed the soldering iron, allowing the pin/solder joint to cool. This way, you don't have to open the DLM, which saves a lot of time. Those with some soldering experience would know that heat would get transferred down the metal pins to the solder joint anyway so you don't have to apply heat to the solder joint directly. And the solder would re-solidify within seconds of removing the soldering iron. The tricky bit here is to make sure that within those seconds before the solder re-solidified, the solder doesn't separate from the circuit board. This usually doesn't happen unless the pin/circuit board moves. The challenge is of course you can't actually see the solder joints melt and re-solidify with this method. Some soldering experience and faith is required to get a "feel" for the situation. Anyway, it worked. No more intermittent window problems! Just to be clear though, this trick should only be attempted if you fully intend on opening the DLM if it doesn't work. Because the solder joint may separate completely if you weren't lucky with the "blind" re-soldering technique. And if it separates completely, you probably can't fix it with the cable tie technique.

Have the speedo and the fuel gauge re calibrated. I was quoted $400 and two weeks by a local shop. Instrument cluster has to be removed and sent to a facility that does that kind of work. Or you can simply go with a taller wall profile tyres next time you change tyres. The speedo is calibrated to the diameter of the tyres. Since my Boxster came with 17" Pirelli P Rossos, which are a low profile tire, my speedo should be calibrated for those so which replacement tire are you saying would recalibrate the speedo so it is accurate? Speedo signal comes from axle rotations. Each rotation of the axle is assumed to equal to a certain distance travelled. This distance is the circumference of your tyres. The speedo signal can only measure the rotation of the axle and not the actual circumference of the tyres. So if your tyres have a bigger circumference, your car would cover a larger distance even though the speedo still gets the same amount of axle rotation signal. So if your speedo is off by 5%, then you can just increase your tyre circumference by 5% to offset it. This assumes the increased tyre size fits inside the wheel well - which I would have thought is quite reasonable but isn't something I have experience with personally. I don't know which brand and model of tyre would give you the exact increase in diameter you need. But your tyre shop should have no trouble telling you which ones.

Have the speedo and the fuel gauge re calibrated. I was quoted $400 and two weeks by a local shop. Instrument cluster has to be removed and sent to a facility that does that kind of work. Or you can simply go with a taller wall profile tyres next time you change tyres. The speedo is calibrated to the diameter of the tyres.

Anyone know the size of the Cayenne keys? Whether that's comparable to a Boxster's? I am thinking about getting hold of a Cayenne remote flip key and adapt it to work with my Boxster (transplanting the pill, of course). I understand the remote won't work. But that's not a concern. I will just hollow it out and fit my aftermarket remote into the housing somehow.

Anyone know whether this can be done? I am at the planning stage of painting the instrument cluster inside and out. Being able to remove the transparent plastic lenses would be a huge help. Or are they glued in place?

Sorry, very late reply. Again, didn't keep an eye on this thread. 2004 model I believe. I believe something like this would work: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Passat-Jetta-Polo-Bora-Golf-DVD-GPS-Digital-screen-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c14b3b3bdQQitemZ120606405565QQptZCarQ5fAudioQ5fVideo#ht_16237wt_1009 Most sellers on eBay would give you the dimensions of the unit. As long as your measurements fit, it probably doesn't matter which year. But obviously from my experience, the aftermarket units made for 2004 Jetta models seem to fit well. The bezel was included with the sale from the seller. Most sellers of these units are very friendly and you can ask them for bezel measurements if you are not sure or it's unclear.

Yep. Weld point 21 is supposed to be a bunch of wires held together by a "weld point" - or more like a metal crimp, I have been led to believe. Also it should be black with blue stripe. I didn't find such a wire, much less a bunch of them. I did find a blue wire with black strip, which sure looks like what you are showing in your photo. But mine is a single wire that goes to the central locking unit. I read one of your earlier posts and you guys found the whole "bunch". Mine was a just singular. Anyway, I didn't want to splice into something I didn't know. So I ended up running a small wire all the way from the tail light to the dash under the carpet. Now my dimming mirror works "prudently" and my reverse camera screen has an automatic trigger.

Is there an emoticon for waving my fist in the air? An hour of my life wasted. Dam you Porsche!!!! Thanks Loren. :)

I spent the afternoon installing the auto dimming rear view mirror. I need some help with finding the elusive weld point 21. I looked under the left hand seat, unplugged the wires from the central locking unit, and unwrapped all the tape. But I just can't find a wire that's black with blue stripe on it, much less a bunch of them. Some on the forum have said it's about an inch from the connector. It's just not there as far as I can see: There is a blue wire with black stripe, that's not it, is it? It's not in a bunch with any crimp metal bits and it goes to the central locking unit:

Rich, you were right. It was the passenger door. Didn't even get to crack open the DLM and I already found the problem: Two wire joiners and a few cable ties later, we were in business! The problem was the wire holder holding the wires to the door frame came loose at some point, the wires got in the way of the window, and a dropping window sliced them in half. :)

There have been a few people having trouble with the door locking mechanism. I have just fixed problems with both of my door lock mechanisms in the last few days. Here is my summary for anyone who have similar problems in the future. My symptoms: driver door would lock and then automatically unlock; passenger door can only be locked by triple turning the key; driver side window would not stay dropped with the door open; the car (in terms of the dome light etc) doesn't think the driver's door is open even though it is My problems: driver side door lock mechanism: bad solder joints inside the door lock assembly - twisting the wire connector would erratically fix the problem of the window not dropping passenger side door lock mechanism: two broken wires going to the lock mechanism Primary Solutions: driver side door: secure the wire harness with multiple cable ties to force the broken solder joints into contact; or you can resolder the contact points passenger side: broken wires joined with joiners Root cause: On both sides, a plastic wire holder that holds the wiring loom to the door came lose over time due to plastic deterioration. On the driver's side, this resulted in excessive weight of the wires burdening the connector, which in turn burdens the solder joints inside the DLM. On the passenger side, the lose wires were caught by the window going down, the window sliced the wires in half. Root fix: secure the wires going to the door lock mechanisms with cable ties Some suggestions: A lot of people (workshops especially) suggests fixing the problems with DLM by replacing the DLM, which costs hundreds. Based on my (limited) experience, I think the problem is frequently the wiring loom's weight pulling off the solder points on the connector of the DLM, which should be an easy fix for all who has basic soldering skills. The weight of the wiring loom is supposed to be alleviated by the plastic tabs - but they fail and come lose over time.

Did it work Hugo? Anyone know where exactly this is located? I am having the same issue with my Boxster.

Thanks for both replies. That's good deduction, Richard. I didn't realise turning the key physically turns the lock to lock. I thought turning key sends a signal to activate the lock motor, which then locks the car. If the action of turning the key replaces the lock motor actuating, then it sounds like my passenger side lock motor is the problem. My other symptom was after emergency locking the car from the passenger side, only unlocking the passenger side would unlock both doors; unlocking from the driver side only unlocks the driver door - against suggesting a passenger side motor problem. This all fits now! I will crack it open and have a look at it this weekend.

I was idling my car today for about 30 minutes when working on something. Suddenly the car started dumping coolant from around right rear wheel area. It sounded like a hose leak. Initially I actually thought it was the neighbour using the garden hose. The leak then stopped after about losing 1L of coolant. No oil in the mix. I then topped up the coolant, it required about 4L, so it was low on coolant already. Although I haven't noticed any obvious leak before. I then ran the car down the street, sat it idling for a while, the problem hasn't occurred again. This is strange because the speed of the leak when it happened, and the fact it just stopped leaking straight away. One would think if the leak comes from a broken hose it would constantly leak once the flood gate is open. Does the Boxster have some sort of "over pressure" coolant dump mechanism? I theorise that if I was low on coolant already, the idling made the remaining coolant boil (it's mostly water, not much of the green stuff in there), and then some sort of pressure valve opened to dump the coolant? I didn't think this existed on the Boxster. I replaced the water pump 3 years ago, so hopefully it's not that. What could it be?

I know I have a problem with one of my door lock mechanisms. But I can't figure out which one. I have a MY97. No remote. No alarm. When I try to lock from the driver side with 1 turn of the key: the driver side locks and unlocks the passenger side does nothing (stays unlocked) When I try to lock from the driver side with 3 turns: the driver side locks the passenger side does nothing (stays unlocked) When I try to lock from the passenger side with 1 turn: the passenger side locks the driver side locks and then unlocks When I try to lock from the passenger side with 3 turns the passenger side locks the driver side locks So which side is the fault? (when locking from driver's side, nothing happening to passenger side seems to suggest passenger side problem; but able to lock up the passenger side from the passenger side with the driver's side locking and unlocking seem to suggest driver side problem) P.S: Both windows courtesy drop when doors are open, so the door-open sensing part is at least ok.

Thanks for the replies. When I bought the centre piece, it definitely made a big difference. I had my doubts about the mesh pieces. They are meshes for starters, and also they fit just behind the seat which doesn't make much sense. I will probably save my money on this one then.

I already have the center clear piece windblocker. Some wind still gets through at high speeds. I realise obviously it's not possible to block all wind when driving with the top down. But I am just wondering if those two additional mesh pieces for behind the seat provide any significant wind blocking at all, esp if I already have the larger center piece. Anyone experienced a before/after?

What did you end up doing Maurice? Did you convert to the stud and nut setup (if I understood it correctly)? And did the header make much of a difference? I have had a set of eBay headers with me for almost 3 years now. Haven't got around to installing them.

I recently visited the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart on my backpack tour. It was completely unplanned so I didn't get to book for the factory tour. Only did the museum. Here are some interesting findings: One-off models, mostly produced for CEO's birthdays: The Boxster concept Cut-away Panamera General ambience

Sorry about the late replies. I haven't checked the forum for a while. I mounted the GPS sensor right next to the alarm sensor cover. I don't know where it's mounted OEM. On start up, the GPS unit can display a selection of car brand logos. But there is none for Porsche and I don't seem to be able to add a custom logo. There is a generic logo that just shows a globe, so I use that one.

Superb. Thanks for your efforts in documenting this for other's benefit.

Are there any difference in the headlights between the US LHD Boxsters and the Aust (UK) RHD Boxsters? Are the parts numbers actually different? Thanks.

Systech, I think the maps used by IGO are Navteq branded. It came with with the kit. It works fine. I just don't have another program/map to compare it with. Geoff, I don't really know. Are you refering to the slim cupholders that swing out like a triangle? I posted a question about this earlier on the board, but I don't think anyone know/replied. I think that cupholder is integrated into the horseshoe frame? I am may well be wrong. Maybe someone else could chime in?