mogulmentor

Definitely keep us posted. Regards, Maurice. Apparently when I had the ignition switch problem years ago and took it into the dealer they replaced the whole ignition assembly so I ended up ordering the original ignition switch which was the wrong switch for my car. After realizing this I ordered the other switch and was finally able to put it in two days ago. It seems that this did solve my electrical issues. Replacing the switch was pretty easy minus the little screws. So for those out there with crazy electrical symptoms, it could be your ignition switch. My symptoms: alarm going off for no reason, random clicking in the relay panel in rear luggage compartment, throttle body opening/closing when the car was off, dash electronics staying on, sporadic dings inside the car (like when the key is in the ignition but the car is not turned on). All this was fixed for $35 (switch and shipping) plus $6 for a small screwdriver (bought at drugstore). I started the car and it is running, but it shakes and coughs like crazy. Did not do this prior to initial electric problems. I have had the battery unplugged for the last month or so. I cleaned the throttle body about a month ago and it seemed to fix this issue for the day but now my idle problems are back. I also am not getting much if any response when I step on the gas. I've seen postings about the mass air flow sensor (could this be my problem?), or is it something else? I'm afraid to let the car run to long or to take it out for a spin.

One good possibility is the (electrical portion of the) iginition switch. It's easy (and very cheap) to replace to eliminate as a possible cause. This is an unusual set of symptoms, compared to the usual manifestations of a failed ignition switch (hard to pull key out, A/C blower stays on, etc...). However, the fact that your symptoms disappear when you turn the key to turn on the electronics in the car points to the ignition switch as being a possibility. Regards, Maurice. I think you may be right. I did not even think about the ignition switch, I had it replaced about three years ago when my key would not come out of the ignition. I played with it a little more today and it only acts up when the key has not been turned to the run position. I did notice that along with all of the other symptoms I listed before, the lights on the dash and in the cab stay on, and the fuel gauge bounces up and down. I will replace the ignition switch in a few days and update on what I find. Thanks for your help!

I just cleaned the throttle body for the first time on my '01 2.7 this past weekend (yesterday - Sunday). Despite all the discussion on this in the past, I had trouble searching for the procedure for getting to the throttle body and removing it. Here's what I did: Loosened the hose clamps on both ends of the plastic tube [1 in your first picture] running from just past the MAF / air filter box [3] to the throttle body [2]. As you noted, the end [3] that butts up to the MAF comes off pretty easily. The other end that joins the throttle body i[2] s a real pain to get off. I pulled, twisted and wiggled for about 30 minutes, and somehow just got the right combination of moves and it finally came off. My hands aren't that large, but my knuckles are pretty beat up. I found it's easiest to access from the driver's rear fender side. Don't worry about the trouble getting it off, because it's even harder to get back on! I don't think it's possible to get the throttle body off without disconnecting the plastic tube at [2], but if there is, it would probably save half an hour or so. Same comment applies to reassembly. I haven't read about anyone using a blow dryer to heat up the plastic tube at [2] to expand it to get it on and off easier. I was going to try that if all else failed after a few hours. Somehow, the plastic tube just came off after struggling for a while. Once the black plastic tube is off, pull it out and set it aside. It was clean on the inside, but I wiped the outside down with several rounds of Simple Green, followed with water to get the Simple Green residue off. The throttle body comes off by unscrewing the 4 long bolts with a metric hex driver. The 2 long bolts on the driver's side have washers, and the 2 on the passenger side do not. Once you have the 4 bolts off, the throttle body is still connected with an electrical connector (e-Gas models), which simply unplugs. Pay attention to the orientation of everything. You'll notice on the throttle body there's an arrow that lines up with an arrow on the plastic air tube (visible in your second photo). Cleaning the throttle body is the easy part. Just keep spraying throttle body cleaner and wiping the crud off. You can push the flap open to get all the way through - it's spring loaded so watch your fingers. I also tried wiping down the tubing on the back side of the throttle body, but it was pretty clean inside (at 51K miles). The only hard part (as you would expect) is getting the plastic pipe [1] back onto the throttle body [2] after the throttle body is reattached. Expect another 30+ minutes of pushing, twisting, wiggling, swearing, etc. I lightly sprayed some silicon spray on a paper towel, then wiped it on the outside of the throttle body and inside of the plastic pipe. Hard to tell if it helped or not, but it didn't hurt. After everything is put back together, start you car and make sure everything runs and the throttle works before closing everything up. When I was all done, I gently re-tightened all the hose clamps since several felt semi-loose I don't think it matters how dirty the throttle body is on the outside for how your car runs! It's the inside that counts. But there's no reason not to clean up the outside when you have the throttle body out Three weeks ago my alarm went off for no reason, '00 Boxster 2.7L 67,000 miles. I walked outside unlocked the car and the alarm stopped. I heard an erratic clicking coming from the rear luggage compartment and opened the lid. It sounded as if the no. 7 relay (Start Lock) was clicking and felt that way as well when I ran my hand over it. I disconnected the battery to stop the clicks and then ordered a replacement relay, thinking that it had just gone bad. Several days later I received the new switch, put it in to replace the old, and started the car. As I was pulling out of the driveway I noticed that I was not getting any acceleration and the car was idling funny. The CEL started blinking so I turned the car around and parked it. I began reading through the forums to diagnose my problem. I decided to try cleaning the throttle body, per geoff's instructions, to see if that would help the idle issue. Today I took off the throttle body cleaned it and replaced it, and what do you know, my idle is now rock steady. I did not put the engine cover back on as I was finishing up, hooked up the battery and began having the strange clicking again in the rear trunk. However, this time I noticed that along with the relays clicking I could hear the throttle body flap opening and closing. The car was off, and the keys were not in the ignition. What would cause this? Special thanks to geoff for helping me fix my idle problems, but I'm at a loss for what to do with this electric problem (gremlin). Here's the symptoms: Inside the passenger compartment the car dings (same ding as when you put the keys in but it's erratic, no pattern to it, and the keys are not in the ignition), the flap on the throttle body can be heard opening and closing sporadically, and the relay unit in the rear trunk clicks like crazy. In addition, the alarm will go off after a while amid all this craziness. What I have noticed is that if I put the key in the ignition and turn it so that the electronics come on in the car, all of the symptoms stop. I went for a drive this afternoon and everything else seemed fine. It's just after turning off the car and walking away for a few minutes all of this other stuff starts. I've been pulling off the negative lead to the battery so as not to annoy the neighbors with the alarm, and hopefully not fry any electronics. Any body got any ideas?