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iccubed

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Everything posted by iccubed

  1. Thanks for your support Chris. The biggest hurdle is getting to the technician. At the dealer they have the Service Manager that takes appointments and talks to customers. He then relays this to the mechanics. I am completely reminded of Office Space and the Sales Manager who talks with clients b/c clients can't talk directly to the engineers b/c they don't have people skills. I finally got the other Service Manager who is a god send and he finally got me to the back and I talked to the technician. This is where I got the most information. However, I agree, still a little BS that they couldn't help me with drain right there. It took them longer to explain than just do it. I guess that is what you get with a dealer as suppose to a personal mechanic. From what I was told, the Alarm Control Unit gets wet and then shorts random things connected to it. Currently I have new alarm unit, new passenger side door and new gas door. With the new key, I can lock and alarm car, but then driver side door unlocks a few seconds after. Result, I have to get the new door locking actuatoer. But you are right on Chris that they should be able to identify everything from a 15 minute discussion and demo time with me....Just let me talk to the mechanic!! THANK YOU for the suggestion on the Check Engine Light!! Westcoaster - the Porsche technicians cuss at Stuggart constantly for this poor design. They tried to move on their own, but too many wires lead to the bottom of the seat. Jinster - Thanks for the sympathy. I know that these problems are b/c it's a Porsche, but then again, I have this car because IT IS a Porsche! Love the engine, just hate the electrical BS. Your locking problem sounds like what I am having with my remaining original door actuator. If you do replace the actuators, do driver first and see if it fixes. I hear the driver side controls passenger side. But actuators are more expensive than the Alarm control unit. However, in my case all were related. Part of this was my fault. Go to the dealer for electrical issues. My problem is I bounced around b/c other folks said they could help. The dealer has the better network and most recent computers and software. BUT TALK TO THE MECHANIC FIRST!
  2. Hello All, Solution to my problem realized. “If it gets wet, you’ll regret!” After hours of diagnostic and repair time, this what we (Porsche mechanics included) think happened. When I bought the car, they shipped from CA to OR. There was a hole in the convertible top window. A lot of water got in during shipping. When the car arrived I did not check the keyless entry and door locking features……always do this!! We think the water ran down the convertible top and entered the cockpit. The alarm control unit sits at the lowest point under the driver’s seat. Once it gets wet it fries things. The door locking actuator for passenger and driver doors as well as fuel door shorted. I guess the trunks can have the same effect, but didn’t for mine. It also fried the keyless entry so need a new key. Always keep the code with the key b/c then you don’t have to buy a new one and they can reprogram. I only got one key with no codes from my purchase. The alarm control unit controls all locking functions. 5 hours at Porsche dealer to make the alarm unit talk to the car. The “TIME BLOCK RUNNING” error is one they had never seen before. They talked with the special Porsche dealer tech line and the response is that it sometimes takes between 1 and 16, yes SIXTEEN hours, to finish “running”. Mine took 3 hours. Further more, when the non-dealer mechanic replaced the fuel door locking mechanism, there is a possibility that they created a vacuum leak from pinching a button snap into or against the plastic hose. So now my Check Engine light is stuck on. It could also be the Air Flow Sensor. So that will be the next problem. Finally, we have to make sure that water still is not getting into the car. I have to check the drain hole right above the air intake vent to see if it’s plugged. Then look at the water catching foam pan and see if there is a hole in that. If so, water will run down behind driver’s seat and eventually to my new alarm control unit. Additionally I have to take out the seat with a torx wrench and lift up the carpet and try to soak up the water that is embedded in the carpet. Apparently there is a sponge like material under that carpet that will hold water for years. During this will be hard b/c there will only be a couple inches of wiggle room under the carpet or else I will have to take out the entire carpet throughout the car. CONCLUSION on what I needed to fix: Alarm Control Unit = $230, I got at dealer cost plus 15% at one of their sales + $275 labor, it was going to be $530, but they took pitty on me. Passenger Door Actuator = $380 + $112 labor Driver Door Actuator = $380 + $112 labor Fuel Door Motor = $49 + $220 labor New Key = $150 Water Drain Pan = $75 + $190 labor TOTAL = $2173 Wow, what a pain. So make sure your cockpit floor stays dry!!
  3. I talked with them and bought it while I was there. It looks like a big ink cartridge. The 346.10 is the list price for part number 996-618-260-07 and that is what is on my invoice. Your part number ends in 00, I don't know if that is the difference. Different year/model might affect too. Mine is a 1999 non-S Boxster. 986-618-260-00 = 211.01 (NH - no sales tax) 996-618-260-07 = 346.10 (OR - no sales tax)
  4. The Alarm Control Unit costs $346.10 from Sunset Imports (dealer in Portland, OR). I have not heard anything further about why my car is being so difficult, but will give you the final outcome whenever that occurs.
  5. Hey, I have a 99 Boxster. My Idler Pulley snapped, yes snapped. The inner cylinder came right apart from the wider outer cylinder. Pretty impressive since it is a single cast peice. The dealer said that they had not seen that before. I'm like: "Awesome, I have some rare wart on my body that all the doctors are intrigued by, but it costs me an arm and a leg to get rid of the dang thing." Anyway, when the pulley broke, the v-belt snapped. I heard it go, but the car was still running so decided to head to the mechanic since he was close. The belt controls the fan and thus started overheating the car so never made it to the shop. But in doing so, the belt melted onto the rest of the engine and took 3 hours of labor to clean. Total cost to me was 486.10. New pulley was 63.28 and belt 34.94. Lesson to learn: If you hear it snap, hope your engine is cool and turn off car immediately. Or for 100 bucks plus some labor, you can get it replaced if you are worried about it. I don't know how many others need this part replaced, but here is my story. Good luck. And if you know anything about Alarm Control Units, search those words and help me out with my current problem. Ahhh, the joys....
  6. Thank you both! Popolou - Mechanic mentioned that it usually needs 15 minutes to run. They left for almost an hour and got nothing. I don't know if going longer would help. Chris - Oh god!! If you can only set once, I'll be furious. Finally, I got another suggestion similar to Popolou saying that if they disconnect the battery, it should stop any "running". If anybody knows that disconnecting the battery will for sure help, I would love to get that confirmation!
  7. Hello – please help! This week I took my 1999 Boxster (2.5 L) to one of the better Porsche mechanics in Portland. My Alarm Control Unit (located under driver’s seat) had gotten wet and no longer worked properly ($315 diagnostic time at the dealer so didn’t want to go back to them). The problem is the doors don’t lock and alarm doesn’t set. Even under Emergency Mode (3 turns to right with key) one door does not lock. Plus interior lights stay on longer than they should (20+ minutes). Anyway, I had the new Alarm Unit (996-618-260-07) and gave to mechanic with Learn Code numbers. They could not get car to accept the unit. They then found that the gas door locking servo had failed as well. They suggested that sometimes this malfunction fries one of the drivers in the Alarm Unit and could have created the problem. So they replaced the gas door locking servo (997-624-113-00) and tried again with no luck. Here is what the report says after they charged me $455 with not even fixing the problem!! They originally said it would be no problem and should cost 140-160. Afterwards they said they have never experienced such trouble with a car. I guess it is haunted. “Check/clean electrical connections at ECU. Locked new control unit with immobilizer number supplied by customer. Coded version 4=USA. Attempted to teach new control unit, transponder key and remote controls. “TIME BLOCK RUNNING’ shows on PST2 and will not respond to teach functions. Replace servo unit for fuel door. Retried to teach new ECU, remotes and transponder keys. Still shows “TIME BLOCK RUNNING” and will not respond. Reinstall old control unit to make vehicle useable.” So, how can I get the car to accept the unit and work properly? I am planning on going back to the mechanic with your suggestion so thank you, thank you, thank you to anyone that can help!
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