ARModen

If you have a durametrics cable or know someone that does, you can cycle the different fans on and off to figure out which fan you are hearing without the engine runnning.

Anyone know if there's a way to oil/lubricate these things? I hadn't driven the boxster for about 4 months. The spoiler was working fine when I parked it, but the first time on the highway the other night the spoiler extended but not before the light came on. I stopped to check on it, and I had to manually retract it. The light came on again when I got back on the highway, but the spoiler extended and retracted this time. This morning I didn't see any problems at all with it. I assume it just shook off a little rust or something, but in future is there something I should be greasing?

The Durametric system is really nice. I think it might be a lot to pay for a cable, but the newer Porsches are very computer intensive..

Was the shake related to rpm before? A warped rotor shake would be independent of the engire RPM (more or less). If it comes back, what you could try would be to coast along and put the transmission in neutral. Once the engine is smoothly idling apply the brakes, any shaking at that point would be brake related not engine related. If you don't see the shaking then, and you didn't get a shake when the transmission was shifted to idle, but you still get the shake under normal stopping conditions it is probably the transmission. I think the tech in the earlier post was right on about it being a transmission thing for a lot of the low idle hesitation/shake problems. I noticed my boxster doing a similar thing as it got close to 100K miles. Since the transmission seals were leaking a little bit I had the fluid changed and the seals replaced. It shifts and goes to idle much smoother/faster now.

Does it pull to one side or vibrate when you brake hard? It could be a slightly warped rotor making noise. Other idiot checks would be: Are you 100% positive all your lugs are tight? Are you getting any weird wear pattern on your tires? Have you ridden in the passenger seat to make sure the sound is coming from the right side? Another idea is your shock on that side.

No, I can definitely tell the difference between a loaded and unloaded start motor. I bled the lines through the pressure tester. So it is tank gas. And it might be bad gas of some sort. However I took a sample of the gas and allowed it to sit to check for oil/water separation. I also frozen the sample as water in the mixture should precipitate. I did notice that my oil light is not going off when I'm attempting to start the engine. I hadn't really noticed it before as there are some lights that are on continuously until the engine starts. It should be out once oil pressure is sufficient from the pump. I know I use it when refilling the sump on the 911, but never really had to look at it on the 986. I know there is sufficient oil in the engine. Is it possible the oil pump is bad and that's effectively disabling the valves due to the hydraulic lifters? My uncle shot this down as it should cause a noticable amount of noise fromt he lifters if they were air bound.

I tested the fuel pressure. I was getting 360kpa (55psig) while the fuel pump was running. It was bouncing +/- about 10 psig while I was cranking the car. After I bled the fuel lines a lot I managed to get the engine to catch for a few seconds (2-3) before it would die again. I am really about out of patience with this car.

All of them?

Had to take a week off from working on the car. I've replaced the fuel filter, no luck. I removed the throttle body and idle air valves and cleaned both. They seem to be working properly. I spent an hour or two playing with durametrics softwre and couldn't find anything wrong. It just cranks and doesn't catch.

Not as of yet.

The problem came on very fast so a broken wire, bad switch or broken hose all seem likely. I don't think it's too serious because there was no bang, and no massive discharge of oil or smoke. It's something simple and I'm going to be kicking myself when I find it. Where would an air leak cause all of this?

The car doesn't run with the starter fluid. I found the code in one of my earlier posts it is p0102 (porsche code 115 Hot film MAF sensor ).

I have the Durametrics cable. There are no active faults. There were a few stored faults; a MAF fault and an immobilizer fault. I don't remember the exact code numbers off the top of my head. I was told a MAF fault could be checked by disconnecting the MAF to force the DME to use a different fuel map which would allow the car to "limp home." There was no change when the MAF was disconnected. From what I read, the immobiliser signal to the DME is supposed to disable the fuel pump and injectors to prevent the car from being drivable if it's stolen. I checked the pump for flow and the injector signal with noid lights and both seem to be working properly and I have fuel pressure at the fuel rails. Also when I was fiddling with the ignition switch I'm pretty sure I tested the proper operation of every alarm in that car!

I attempted to start the car with starter fluid (not the BBQ variety) injected into the throttle body. I also checked battery terminals and replaced the ignition switch. Still nothing! The first time I try to start the car it vrooms like it's going to work then immediately goes back to the whir of just the starter.

What year/model is your boxster? I was in the prints for mine (986) at the time. This was here in the 986, group 9, "circuit diagrams to 99" section because that's the one I was looking at to fix mine. It's on page 109 section P-77/78. There should be a connector with 5 wires. 1-spoiler extend motor power 2-spoiler extended switch 3-ground 4-spoiler retracted switch 5-spoiler retract power 1 and 5 should be 12v and swap polarity if the motor is going in or out. 3 should be 0v, and 2 and 4 should either be 5v or 0v depending on where the spoiler is. 2 and 4 could be 0-5 or 0-12V, I'm not positive. If there are 5 wires going into the motor then the switches are probably integral to the motor. Since there are only 2, if it's the same set up, then the limit switches are somewhere else, probably attached the actual spoiler somewhere.

This would be my thought too. I had a 944 that seemed to be possessed. The radio would turn on and off randomly somedays, the keyless entry was iffy, sometimes the gauges would die while driving, and worst of all sometimes the moonroof would unlatch itself. (That's seriously bad news in a 944) I just got a jeep too that would misfire on 1 cylinder whenever it rained. It was corrosion on the battery terminals both times. Get a wire brush and clean the inside of the terminals and the battery posts till they are shiny silver and then try it. It's good thing to do regardless and is a very cheap fix sometimes.

I have had to have my keys reprogrammed by the dealer. They replaced the battery and set the code for free. A new transmitter will set you back ~$250. They might have meant that the remote was broke and that you'd need a new one. However you can get used keys cheap on ebay and have them reprogrammed to match your alarm.

http://www.cannell.co.uk/Boxster_Manuals/

The spoiler is supposed to extend at 65mph and be fully extended before reaching 70mph. It then retracts at 45-40 mph I think. My recollection of the lower retract band is fuzzy. The light you are seeing is on till you pass 5mph because the instrument cluster computer is checking to make sure that it can detect a 5mph change in speed. If it can see the 0-5mph change it is confident it can detect the 65-70mph change and extend the spoiler at the correct speed, and then the light goes out. The light should only come on again if the computer does not detect the spoiler reaching the fully extended position before you pass 70mph. PK2, there is microswitch attached to the spoiler that detects when it is fully extended. If that went bad then the car would never sense the spoiler fully extended by 70, so the light would stay on, and the motor would keep trying to extend the spoiler. This could lead to reduced life of the spoiler motor. According to the wiring diagrams there are 2 relays in the rear relay support that control the motor direction. There are open and shut microswitchs in the spoiler assembly but it doesn't say where exactly. So either your spoiler is extending and the switch isn't working or the spoiler's not fully extending.

I didn't see it listed anywhere in the rest of the thread, but I'd consider having the atf and atf cooler checked. You seem to be having an issue with your transmission and your cooling system, not the engine. I'm pretty sure there is an oil cooler on the tiptronic to cool the ATF. It's PN 996.017.307.1. I had an issue where my atf got low which resulted in some very poor shifts and some odd behavior when idling. It's possible the whirring/whining/grinding sound was the transmission and the shop really didn't fix anything. Which is why they know they didn't break it!

Try 5881 or 5879 If you have not already read this FAQ - please do so... Lost Radio Code - FAQ, PLEASE READ THIS FIRST Thanks! I'll try it out soon as I get the rest of this :angry: car working

Checked injectors with noid light, they are getting a signal. Still nothing wrong!

I filled my car up in the rain the other day. Before this it had been running flawlessly. I made it maybe 50 feet and started to lose power. I pulled over and it idled roughly for a few minutes before it died. It seemed very similar to problems I had with a bad fuel pump ground on my ancient 911. Thinking I had just gotten a little water in the gas I turned it over again and it ran for a few more minutes then died. Now it cranks but doesn't catch. I had it towed home. So far I've checked the gas and there's no indication of water. I checked that the fuel pump relay turns on the pump when the engine is cranked so that seems to be in order. I have checked the pump connection and the test connection on the fuel rails and there is pressure at both, so I believe the filter, regulator, and pump are all working for the most part. I have a durametrics cable and currently have no active faults on any modules. I have left the battery disconnected for several hours, and grounded the positive lead to discharge any capacitors in the car. I've looked at the top of the engine, the alarm module, DME, and tiptronic modules and other than the dust of 10 years there is nothing obviously wrong with any of them. Everything else in the car works; lights, windows, top, alarm, remote locks, etc. It had it's 90K service done by me and the dealer, and a new water pump, about 8 months ago. I'm running out of things to check. This weekend I'm going to pull the throttle body and make sure I didn't suck up a bird or something, and replace the ignition switch just in case. Anyone else have any suggestions? There aren't any Porsche dealers in town anymore, and I haven't found a real porsche savvy independent guy yet.

CR-220 SN: WS009123 Type 4462