manud

Interesting thread. Since it's going all over the place I suppose I'll add my two cents too and hopefully it will help someone. ;) Recently my car started blowing warm air through the vents even on Lo, and as the car warmed up the air became warmer, but never hot (outside air temp 68F). With the A/C on the air would cool down somewhat and the air con system appeared to be engaging fine, but was not the artic chill I am normally accustomed to. Out of the possiiblities discovered during the search, I suspected either a flap, compartment temp sensor, or A/C charge issue to look at first (car is 1999 MY). I started with the compartment temp sensor. After removing the psngr side vent, I found that the compartment sensor and micro fan was completely caked in dust. I cleaned it with compressed air and electric parts cleaner, then shot a tiny amount of silicone spray into the fan, then reassembled. Much quieter now! Next I moved to the hot/cold flap under the middle of the dash. I checked the actuation of the flap from Lo to Hi and saw that it was moving just fine. I did notice the piece that attaches to the flap was moving up and down as the arm moved, instead of just swiveling. I removed the actuating arm from the swivel piece and noticed that the flap fully open and fully close positions were different from the max positions of the motor. I pushed the swivel piece into the flap more securely (It seemed to have dropped down somewhat) and also rotated it left and right several more times to feel the open/close position. I'm not sure what happened at this point, perhaps some of the flap's foam broke off, but for some reason the max and min positions for the flap suddenly went to a state that agreed with the actuating motor (about a 1/2" difference before after). I reattached the arm to the motor and tested. The problem was fixed! No more warm air on Lo, the heater was working fine, as was the A/C. One thing to note the hot/cold flap motor seemed to move about 3 or 4 very very small "ticks" more after fully hot or fully cold was selected. It would also move a tick or two towards hot on "Lo" and A/C on. Not sure if that is normal, but the system seems to be working fine... for now! BTW I have all of the diagnostic tools to read the flap position and compartment temp sensor, but ended up not needing them. Also concerning some interesting conversation earlier in this thread... for the record a busted head gasket is NOT something one would consider here as a culprit. The head gaskets on the M96 engine are made of multi layer steel and are pretty much one of the strongest things on the car, and HG failures are not only very uncommon but almost unheard of for these cars...

Very interesting thread (yeah 4 years old but still very useful)!

Same prob than you, logray. I started by checking the sensor just like you. Cleaned it and tried its operation with a hair dryer (!) I blew hot air on it and saw the aircon control module adapting its blowing power accordingly (temp was set to match 23C (73.4F) in the cabin). However, this did not solve the issue.

The symptoms: when at low fan speed, the system blows cold air all the time irrespective of the temp set on the control unit. When increasing the blowing power, the system reaches a point where I clearly ear a noise of a valve closing (or opening, you cannot see it) all the way. Pretty much like a small door being slammed, only muffled. At that point, the system blows hot air all the time irrespective of the temp set on the control unit, assuming engine is at operating temp.

This is when a stumbled across your post. I checked under the dash, passenger side (right side for me) and saw control swivel pieces in purple and yellow colors underneath a strong foam cover right below the passenger airbag compartment. My attention was drawn by the plastic rod connecting the swivel piece. The rod is connected to a cylinder-shaped piece, which has a slit on the top part. Obviously, it means that the slit is normally connected to a male piece somewhere. In fact just above the cylinder-shaped piece, I saw a female cylinder in which I could feel the male piece (still following?). That male piece is connected to the valve inside the air ducts. Apparently this valve is responsible for the cold-warm air mixture. After a couple of attempts, I managed to re-insert the cylinder in to the other one and assembled the slit with the male piece. Then I could see the control swivel piece moving the plastic rod and in turn rotating the cylinder connected to the valve. And voilà! Heating system fixed!!! 

Thanks you so much for this, logray. It saved my day!

Videos of this fix will soon be available on my youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC56Y8BE3XlFeLjALtJJ9PBQ)

If your car is a 987/997 let check on fault codes, big chance that one fan is out.

Maybe... my air conditioner is not even cold. btw I have a 2008 Boxster S

I have read in a Porsche mag that leaves can get easily stuck in the radiators compartments between the air conditioner heat dissipators and the actual coolant radiators. That dramatically reduces the radiators' heat dissipation capability and therefore, the air conditioning's effectiveness. In addition to that, the coolant gets warm quicker even when driving and can reach the temp at which the fans kick off faster.

I remember the "old days" :rolleyes: when cars didn't have a primary and a secondary coolant circuit (i.e. no thermostat). In winter, my father used to put a piece of cardboard on the radiator in order to reduce the surface of the coolant radiator that was exposed to fresh air. This was to ensure that the engine would reach its operating temp. Nowadays, we do not need to do that precisely because of the thermostat. If your radiators are less exposed to fresh air because of leaves, for instance, it's like having a piece of cardboard on them!

Hi guys, what a great forum for information on my 01 Boxster S.

I placed an order with Bentley publishing for the appropriate work shop manual for my Boxster.

I have received a reply advising me they will not be available till November. Does anyone know of anywhere that hold stock of these manuals?

Happy to purchase a used one from an owner that no longer requires theirs.

My vehicle is the 2001 S model Boxster.

Thanks again.

Dave in Australia.

Chech out at http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopca...s_pg1.htm#item1

I have my soft top on for a number of days, and I never have any issue on open and close the top on my car.

Today when I try to open the top, it just don't works

When I drop the lever on top of the windshield with hand brake on and door closed, both windows drop couple of inches and I verrify the hand brake light in ON

When I press the open top button, I can hear a short motor noise and that is it, nothing happen

I checked the B6 fuse, it is good

currently the soft top is closed normally do I have to open it up manually to investigate the problem?

any idea?

thanks

I had a similar issue. However, the hand brake light was not on although I pulled the lever. The system was therefore not detecting that my handbrakes were applied. I just had to clean the switch triggered by the handbrake lever and everything went back to normal.

Your case indicates that the handbrake switch is normal. i can only assume that there is a mechanical resistance. However, in such cases the motor would require more amps and your fuse would blow. The fact that the fuse didn't blow tells me that there is a security system that would prevent the motor to force should it encounter a mechanical resistance. However I have never read about that nor do I know it for sure.

Perhaps the thread at http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14953 would help?

Please let us know about the outcome.

Hi guys,

I own a 98 Boxster since now almost 5 years. No major problem so far. I replaced the air flow sensor and the coolant fluid reservoir. Nothing really serious until (I hope not) now...

I recently opened my engine compartment and I found out that my engine was making some weird "grindy" noise and was vibrating at 2500 RPMs and at 3500 RPMs. These vibrations are so strong that they can be felt while engine braking.

I had the Porsche mechanic checking that out and he mentioned that the problem could come from either a bearing from the crankshaft or a faulty chain tensioner. However, he wanted to investigate further. As he was performing the usual maintenance on the car, he found out that the used oil had some small aluminium and bakelite part in it. He diagnosed it as an issue with the variocam unit. He fears that the chain is rubbing the cylinder head (hence aluminium pieces in oil) and that the bakelite comes from the variocam unit.

The car runs really well! Good accelerations, no stall or loss of power. No CEL and No P-codes reported.

Any ideas? Thoughts?

Thanks

ManuD

my rear most passenger side cat has a rattle, it is definately the shield though I don't know which part exactly

replacing the cat is obviously cost prohibitive unless it's somehow covered under my CPO, though I doubt it would be

having replaced the muffler myself I'm not afraid of getting under the car and working on it

Had same issue on my 986. The heat shield is replaceable without changing the catalytic converter and is very cheap (around 15€ including labour)

Got the plugs changed last week-end!

That was really easy. At least easier than I thought...

Thanks for your advise.

Manu

What model year is your car.  And how many miles on it.

We remove the rear tires to replace the plugs since most of us do not have a lift.

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It's a mid 1998 model, about 45000 Km (around 28000 Miles).

I have no problem going under the car as I have a friend who has got a lift.

However, I like the idea of removing the rear tires...

Thanks for your reply

Just got a Boxster recently and according to the maintenance manual, I need the spark plugs replaced.

I have been told to change them from the engine hood (soft-top in maintenance mode, removal of the hood,...) However, after having removed the engine hood, I can't imagine that any tool would reach the plugs! I am not mechanic and may be I am a bit clueless but I am wondering if it wouldn't be easier to change the plugs from under the car rather than from the engine hood.

Any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks for your help