pauljsgreen

ah, now, in addition to the type of paint and gloss or matt, you've got me thinking about colour...... you just leave them matt grey? thx paul

Hi, Even though I have a driving issue that I can’t bottom out - see: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=26660 I do have other stuff to get on with….. Next in line are new front rotors that are sitting in a box in my garage. The calipers need painted, but an easy job I can do before getting the car up on stands is to paint the rotor hats. Do I need heat resistant paint or can I just go with something regular like Hammerite smooth? Do you guys go for a gloss finish or something more matt / satin? Thanks Paul

Hello again. 2000 Boxster S approx 70k miles. No fault codes stored. Unknown history other than me for the last year or so. MAF cleaned, throttle body cleaned - no change. UK summer approaching and the boxster’s getting its startup maintenance planned – not been used all winter. One problem I had all of last year was that, after maybe a 20 mile drive @ 70mph (motorway / freeway), than enter a city and drive in stop start traffic for another 2 miles or so, the engine revs get very uneven and drop to a point where it almost stalls. Usually it picks up, but if it doesn’t, it stalls and is difficult to start. All of this is usually accompanied by a fairly loud groan from the fuel tank area. Sometimes, removing the fuel cap, pressing the flap and letting a bunch of air in (or out?) helps the starting if it stalled or smooths out the dropping idle speed. I have a new fuel filter that I didn’t fit last year, so I will do that shortly, but I was looking for some advice as to what other areas to tackle. Another thing - i sometimes get a groan / squeal from the fuel filler area when i switch off the engine. No problems with refuelling gas / petrol. I appreciate you taking the time to look. Many thanks Paul

tholyoak - abject apologies!!! :oops: got consumed by finding out the colours of the wires. you're absolutely right - same connector as the photo - brown and red/black! many, many thanks for your help! loren, dr914jr & chris_in_NH - very grateful for your input too! what a fantastic forum. cheers paul

many thanks for the replies.. the engine bay cooling fan seems to be working fine. i have had cause to hear it working over the last few days and no worries on the temp light i think. i'll check the wire colurs as soon as i'm into the engine bay and make sure i find the temp sending unit. the connector looks like a simple optional 12V +/- supply plug with little intelligence but would like to be sure it hasn't been dragged off somewhere it belongs. p

ok - many thanks. i'll get the other colour at the weekend when i change the air filter (and serpentine belt if i have the time) trying to cover all the 60k stuff as soon as i can. cheers paul

thanks loren car is a 2000 boxster s. i'll need to get the engine cover off to confirm, but one of the wires was almost certainly brown thx paul

just cleaned the throttle body, etc and used some spray degreaser to try and make things look a little better under there. please be assured - i gently rinsed the engine - no spray or pressure washer!! however, while putting everything back together, i discovered this spare connector on the RHS under the intake manifold and near the engine bay cooling fan. i can't find anything obvious that it has come off of - maybe it's provision for an option i don't have. anyone got any ideas? many thanks in advance thanks paul

hi, changed the oil, filter and plugs at the weekend. did both suggestions - fired up the car with one plug disconnected and idled it and drove it with no gas cap on.... no CEL!!! the light does come on before starting the engine. how easy is it to disconnect an injector? :angry: any ideas where to go now? many thanks again paul

that's very interesting...... i had no idea the starter motor was a possibility. would that be the case even though the engine spins over very fast? any way of accurately diagnosing wothout swapping the starter motor? i ordered and just received a service kit including new spark plugs - i hoped that was maybe my answer, but maybe not!! plugs will be done at the weekend regardless...... what a "joy" these cars are to work on for a DIYer :) ta paul

i bought a U480 (i think) OBDII reader on eBay and want to "test" it to make sure it works and is compatible with my cars. eBay Link my boxster shows "no codes" as does my 1999 BMW 528i, which i simply don't believe. The boxster is difficult to start when warm too (got new Bosch plugs to install at the weekend). i recently cleaned the throttle body and MAF, etc. i removed the connector from the MAF while the engine was running expecting to get some codes - nothing! does anyone have any advice on how to safely generate a code that i can then read and erase with my reader? thanks paul

preamble...... took the boxster (2000 3.2s 67k miles) out on an errand tonight - about 5 mile round trip - because the DD bmw was dripping its oil into a canister awaiting my completing its oil change. left the boxster in the driveway so i was certain not to knock it with any flailing tools working on the bmw. finished the bmw oil change, cleared up and, feeling pretty pleased with myself, went to start the boxster and reverse it in next to the bmw. problem...... as soon as the boxster fired up there was an almighty bang followed by very rough running accompanied by lots of "popping" / backfiring!! to cut a long story short, after worrying all over the muffler / exhaust under the car and getting nowhere i opened the top into service mode to try and get a view from the top. i saw that the rubber pipe connecting the two inlet manifolds together had more or less become disconnected from the LHS manifold. additionally, the pipe connecting the throttle body to the manifold was well on its way to being off too. now, i'm sure reconnecting these will be a pretty straightforward task, but does anyone have any idea what caused this and if there's any likelihood of it happening again (on the assumption that reconnecting them returns everything to normal!!). i've attached photos at the bottom of this post.... also, i have a very simple OBDII reader (U480) and it is not showing any codes. i would really appreciate it if someone could tell me how to safely generate a code that i can read and reset to confirm i my reader is actually working correctly (or that i am operating it correctly) many many thanks in advance!!! paul

thanks everyone. all fine now on the PCM for the moment. it's a bit clunky but seems to do what's asked. at least it's standard and operational - don't need to think about aftermarket for the moment anyway. anyone got a pdf manual? now it's up and running i think it'll be self explanatory, but a manual would be nice. even got the phone working with a PAYG SIM card :) AM radio reception terrible - i like talk sport - saw something about earth grounding and/or antenna amp, so that's the next challenge. had a kind offer of some older nav CDs - really hope that works out then i can see if it's worth pursuing the up to date opel ones mentioned elsewhere. lovely as these cars are, they can consume time like there's no tomorrow, eh? good roadtrip though! thanks again paul

many thanks to both replies..... i live in kilmarnock, scotland. i took it to the dealer. much nicer experience than i expected! the guy said "give me your keys, relax, have a coffee and i'll let you know how we get on". that disappointed me cause is wanted to accompany him and have a nosey at what he was doing and see the workshops. 10 minutes later he returns and says "you don't need to sing to yourself any more mr green - all sorted - the code was stored in the DME". no charge! fantastic!!! :) i gave the guy £20 for a beer, i was so impressed, and i was probably prepared to pay up to £100 befor binning the factory unit and going aftermarket! his parting shot was "i notice your tiptronic shift is a bit stiff. it's a union at the gearbox. common problem on the older tips - need a new linkage. i'll email out an estimate. oh, and don't worry about the labour rates, we've got a sliding scale that make it cheaper to get work done on the older models!" all very nice indeed! so, tomorrow's road trip over to dunoon on the ferry and cruising round the argyle peninsula before returning via the isle of bute will be with some tunes! now, all i need are the CDs for the navigation many thanks again paul

richard, many thanks. that makes the problem very clear now. i've passed this to the dealer, but worryingly, he's now talking about me getting it recoded somewhere!?!?! i've to take the car in and he's going to read the DME on the offchance that the original dealer entered the code in there when it was sold. getting close to having to consider something aftermarket :angry: people on ebay are offering to decode the PCM for £150. ebay pcm1 decoding thanks paul

RB many thanks. the dealer did only supply one code (over the phone, which was convenient at the time). my attempts to enter the code lead me to share your opinion, that there are two codes - looks like the PCM code is needed first in my case (maybe because there are no CDs?)! i've mailed the dealer to see if there's anything more they can do remotely. thanks again paul

hi, 2000 boxster s with no history at all. i have recently acquired and repaired the vehicle to roadworthy condition. great in many many respects, but no tunes! i know the PCM1 can't be sorted with a code supplied on this thread, but i have contacted my (UK) dealer who was very helpful after the usual identity checks and i've been given a "navigation code". i have no documentation at all so i'm slightly unsure about coding the pcm1. when i go to enter the code the only options availabe are "emergency call" and "pcm". "navigation" is greyed out. if i try to enter the code i have been given multiple times (clearly not going to work) it eventually locks out for an hour. also, i should have said - i have no navigation CDs - still deciding what to do about that. i have emailed the dealer again so am awaiting a response, but can the valuable members of this forum supply any guidance in the interim? thanks paul

The only place you can get a PCM code is from a dealer/OPC. many thanks. is there any way to get only the cd / radio working without reference to the dealer? i do intend to go to the dealer to get a number of things dealt with, but would like to save up as much as possible for one trip as it's a bit of a trip. also, since they seem to work the hours of a bank, i'll need to take a day off work! thanks again paul

hi, i have just bought a 2000 boxster s tiptronic UK RHD with no history at the moment. it has the pcm installed and is looking for a code. also, there is no cd for the navigation. what is the best way to proceed? thanks paul