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986volante

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Everything posted by 986volante

  1. Here are the last two photos - had to attach them on a separate post due to size
  2. I'll be doing the pushrod end caps tomorrow and don't anticipate any problems with that......... I've tried adjusting the eccentric screw on the clamshell slider rail and it does appear to move correctly - I can definitely see it moving the clamshell backwards and forwards slightly. Unfortunately that's not the issue or the answer though - as I need a sideways adjustment. I've attached two photos of the clamshell in the closed position against the small "fillit" panels and you can see quite clearly that one side is way out (not the one that's correctly aligned which is a different blue - I'm getting that repainted soon at the same time that I will be painting and fitting a rear aero spoiler that I just bought) - and I need to figure out how to alignment it somehow. I've also attached a couple of photos of the nuts and adjustment slots as you asked - it's hard to see even from the photos, but there definitely is a small amount of lateral movement to provide minor adjustment - not quite sure what sort of affect it will have though.
  3. Maurice: As you say, 95% there, but I'm already enjoying this later model hood just for the better and updated look alone! And I'm putting the roof down manually until I fix the pushrods. It makes my '96 model appear like a much later model, and for the first time I can actually see peoples faces in the rear view mirror after I've overtaken them :drive: . The pushrod end caps arrived today and so I'll be installing them this weekend - I'll have to fiddle slightly with the adjustment to make sure it's "right" as I don't think that they were ever aligned properly since I've owned the car, so I won't be able to mark the old caps as a guide. I expect this will be a bit "trial and error" though, unless you have any useful tips about this? I understand that this adjustment affects the final closing of the lever by the windscreen and needs to be not too much of a gap and not too little - a bit like Goldilocks needing it just right! I also haven't been able to ascertain from your Clamshell Adjustment article quite how I can make the final adjustment that I require on the clamshell. It operates just fine but the left (US driver's side) doesn't line up - which you can see in the attached photo (and please ignore the bare metal above the fillit panel which I will be repainting). I am reasonably certain that the clamshell is not distorted and so the only two things that might help with the adjustment is the screw and locknut on the clamshell pushrod arm that slides along the runner/ channel. This turns 360 degrees and as far as I can tell only provides the "eccentric" movement that's mentioned in your article, but am not sure exactly what effect this has on the clamshell. The only other adjustment that I can determine which may affect this misalignment are the bolts which attach the clamshell arm to the rear of the clamshell - there does seem to be a slot that the bolts fit into that offers the potential to adjust it - but I haven't found any mention of this anywhere so I'm a bit loathe to mess around with this unless you think that this may be the possible solution? Having come this far, I'm really looking forward to getting this last 5% resolved once and for all :unsure: Tony
  4. Hi Maurice, Just to let you know that I finally sourced a 2003 hood with the rear glass screen :cheers: - just in time for summer (our spring never happened!). You were so right about the electrics and the special spade needed, very important to get the locking tab kind! Thanks for the heads up on that as they're not that easy to source I found! I'm very close to finishing the job now, but am currently operating the hood manually at the moment because one of the push-rod endcaps was stretched and not able to press home in the ball socket, so it was no longer effective. I've managed to order just the plastic endcap (available as a pair - so I will have a spare which I hope will never need now!) - from a US eBay store which was still miles cheaper even after postage than buying anywhere here in the UK because you can only buy the whole pushrod!! So here's the link if anybody else needs it :- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-Boxster-1997-2012-Convertible-Top-Pushrod-Repair-OEM-Ball-Joint-Pair-NEW-/200922214295?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec7e5af97 Am just having a look at yours / Mike Fockes section dealing with other general hood issues as I need to make a clamshell adjustment, but hopefully that will resolve it - I've included the link below in case anybody else wants help/ information on that or any other hood issues that they incur! https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/thetop-itsmaintaince%26replacement Thanks very much again :thumbup: Tony
  5. Thank you RFM so much for confirming that. I had already taken the undertray off from under the car to see if they could be accessed that way, but unfortunately I couldn't see a route at all with the view that i had - just looked loads of unmovable stuff in the way. I only had the car up on a trolley jack of course and so couldn't get right underneath, so obviously I need to get the car up on a proper ramp. So if I can use one of those then I'll give that a go, but if not, then it sounds like I'll have to go to my local Porsche specialist - it doesn't sound like such a labour intensive job now. I'll report back here with some photos if I manage to do the job myself. Thanks again, much appreciated. :thumbup:
  6. Okay, my mistake, when I had a look the wheel liners, they don't cover the access that I needed for the drain/ grommet area. That is actiuall part of the chassis and so you simply can't get access that way at all! So goodness knows how, or where, or even IF it's supposed to be possible to do that. Surely somebody out there knows the answer to this? I can't be the only one who's lost the grommets down gthe front drain holes? :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help:
  7. Solved how to remove the accelerator (gas) pedal - dead easy in the end - just one screw at the top undoes it from the floor and bulkhead and then you can manoevre the pedal through the carpet, you don't even need to disconnect the cable. Since there have been no suggestions or comments about removing the inner wheel arch, I guess nobody has had this lost grommet problem before? So once the weather improves I'll find a way to remove the linings and hope I can see a way to reinstate the grommets and drain tube without too much difficulty. I'll come back with my findings in due course.
  8. I am in the process of fixing leaks into my cabin and starting with the front drain holes - when I was trying to clean out the blocked drain holes on both sides, I clumsily pushed both of the grommets into the hole underneath into the bulkhead itself.. I've bought replacement grommets but need to find a way into the never-never land bulkhead areas on each side. Am I right in assuming that these areas are accessed by removing the inner wheel arch lining? Can anyone confirm that or have any other ways of doing this please? Also, I need to dry out the sodden carpets (ECU/ alarm is okay by the way - under left side of passenger seat on my UK car). I've managed to get the left seat and carpet out but am having trouble getting the driver's carpet out because the accelerator (gas) pedal will also need removing. Is there any special/ easy method needed to remove the pedal please? My car is a '96 2.5 manual which being an early car means that it is a cable operated pedal rather than the later fly-by-wire type on later cars. :help:
  9. Just a quick update on fitting the new switch and a advisory word of caution to help you do it. It would have been very easy to do this in a matter of 20-30 minutes if I hadn't experienced (through my own fault) a real problem with the grub screws that hold the switch in. They are quite difficult to access, so a word of warning to anyone doing this - make sure you have or get a suitable screwdriver - you need either a jewellers screwdriver or a right angled ratchet screwdriver/ set, otherwise you will find it a pig to do (as I did, because I didn't have the right kind!) or totally impossible. In my opinion, I think the right angled type would be best - in fact I've just ordered one for future use! Only £3 too!) I would also strongly recommend using the method described on this site and mentioned above. I would never had managed to do it by trying to crawl under the dashboard and straining to reach something which you can't even see from underneath! So accessing it through the air vent method is by far and away the easiest and quickest way to do this job. Why make life difficult? Well, on to my next job of fiixing the leak now, which is of course what I wrongly thought had caused this issue in the first place - but luckily it has now cost less than £20, so a lot better than ten times that for the ECU!!!! Oh happy days! :clapping:
  10. Yippee!!! (I'm not normally prone to such silly outbursts but this made me very happy!!!!) Followed the instructions that I found after searching this site :- http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutorials/article/24-996-ignition-switch-replace-just-the-switch-with-pictures/ - top notch and even I found it easy to do and in a short time. I decided to test out whether the switch was definitely faulty before buying the replacement, so I proceeded as far as unplugging it to make sure I could actually do it, then plugged it back in, jump started the car and took it for a run to recharge the battery. Got back and unplugged the switch, closed the door and used the remote key fob to successfully activate the central locking again, and the dash lights also went out as they should. !!!!! So fault now proven and all I have to now is buy the unmodifed original ignition switch which I've seen for £12 +vat and fit it which I know won't take me more than about 15 minutes. This forum is brilliant so thanks for all the help that I've received and also for offering it so swiftly! Haven't seen my exact symptoms on this or any other website, so I also hope that the advice I've received here proves invaluable to others too! Cheers Guys!!!
  11. Thank you so much for opening my eyes to another possibility - it sounds really promising, and logical too. So now I'm hoping that I've prematurely jumped to the wrong conclusion about the ECU. It makes absolute sense because you'd have thought the dash lights would have gone out once the ECU was removed and they didn't! So this may also mean a much easier and less costly fix..... fingers crossed. I'll get the battery recharged and then disconnect the plug at the back of the ignition and if the dash lights go out then problem identified and I just need to replace the switch! I'll report back once I've tried that. Thanks again!
  12. Thanks for that although I only have the drinkable kind :) - but it turned out that i was right and it wasn't wet at all inside - no obvious signs of moisture, rust or shorting - like new in fact! Nonetheless I left it on top of the CH boiler all night where it was nice and warm and not too hot. I was very optimistic that just a small amount of moisture from condensation had caused the problem as it looks in such great condition and thought all would be well once reinstalled. Unfortunately having just returned from a long run to ensure that the battery was fully charged, the problem hasn't gone away and symptoms still remain - still not central locking or activating alarm and the battery will be draining away again now. I forgot to mention previously that the dash lights for the odometer and mileometer were permanently on and is clearly the cause of the battery draining of power. I'm surprised that they would be affected by the ECU though, not that I know diddly squat about electrics :wacko: . Unless anybody has any other possible explanations for this happening, then I must now assume that I need to replace the ECU/alarm module. I have seen one on eBay from a reputable source for £225 but I need to know that I have explored all the alternatives before committing to buying, not to mention that I will somehow need to get it programmed for my car. Will I have to go to a Porsche stealership to get this done, or are there any other ways of doing this please? Meanwhile I'll be getting the grommet/ water seepage problem sorted to make sure it doesn't happen again!
  13. This is a common problem with cars the get water under the seats. Under the seat is the electronic control module for the central locking system, which shorts out when it gets wet. Fortunately, it can be removed, opened up and dried out, sometimes requiring a new fuse that is in the module itself. Once dry and reinstalled, they typically go back to working fine. Do a search on this topic, it has been covered extensively with pictures more than once. Thanks, I've just removed the ECU / Alarm module and it was a little wet on the underside but the fuse was okay, so I've put in on top of my CH boiler to dry out overnight and I'm hoping that tomorrow it will be "working fine" as you suggested might happen. If it is I owe you a pint at least! :) If not :angry: I'll need a new ECU then and some advice about getting it coded. I did a search on this site as you said and did find some answers to the other stuff but not about replacing the ECU
  14. Okay this is more than likely my fault for not getting my bulkhead drain grommets sorted out properly last autumn (they were blocked and causing water seepage into the cabin but when I was trying to clean it out I managed to push the old n/s grommet into never-never land.l bought a replacement and then did the same again! (To be fair it is a ba***rd to access as you'll know if you're familiar with this). I intended to try and access the never-never land area by removing the inner wheelarch liner in the Spring - by the way, as a separate issue, does anybody know if that will allow me to access/ retrieve/ refit the damned grommet? Anyway, onto the current issue.......the passenger carpet got wetter than I realised and although the ECU/ alarm unit seems positioned high enough away from the floor under the seat and is not covered with the carpet, I'm guessing that this has caused the problem that I have now. I.E. The central locking won't work now and only the drivers door can be locked with the key, plus the battery drains completely overnight. I took out both the passenger seat and the carpet to have a look, but although there was some water (not that much as there is a small hole drilled in one corner acting as a drain!), the ECU/ alarm unit appeared to be dry. Having tried to find a solution on various forums/ searches, I haven't seen this fault replcated or explained anywhere else, although my thinking is that it is actually the ECU which is the problem due to moisture ingress? Anyone know if I'm right and if it is the ECU, what's the best solution please, repair (how?) or replace? I've read some stuff about a reprogramming issue with new units? Any help much appreciated. Cheers, Tony
  15. Further update to solve the problem (on a 1996 2.5 remember): Having come to the conclusion that the old Type A gear transmissions on each side are the root cause of the problem and need to be replaced, and having read the archived articles above by Maurice/ Mike Focke, I was able to confirm that you can indeed simply upgrade the the Type A transmission to the Type B - fairly simply - by using the incredibly detailed instructions provided. The multiple advantages of this are firstly that it's not too expensive (just bought two used ones for £60 including postage), above all it provides a much much more reliable system, is fairly easy to do, doesn't take too long and you can use the existing Type A electrical stuff so you only really need to replace the gear transmission. Important to note that you also need the later mounting studs for the gear transmission as they are a completely different shape. I am however also going to take the opportunity of upgrading the rest of the electrical bits which requires the newer type double relay and some slight alteration to the wiring - I'm fairly hopeless with electrical stuff usually but even I found confidence to do it after reading the article on how to do this. The reasons for doing this additional work are twofold. Firstly it makes it even more reliable by eliminating two of the microswitches (B pillar and rear lever on the hood motor) from the setup which are known to be fault-prone, and secondly, it means that I can very simply upgrade my complete hood and frame to the newer glass type from a 2003-4 model whenever I want. Only reason I'm not doing it now is cost and availability of the later type hood. Hopefully this is my last post on the subject although I'll report back if any further significant issues arise, but I sincerely hope that anybody who has sunk to the levels of desperation that I have after encountering similar hood issues will find the information sources here as beneficial as I have. Special thanks to Maurice for all his input!
  16. Maurice: I used the other method to open the clamshell that you wrote about on - https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/top-half-closed - as I personally found this much easier to do than removing the 19mm nut on the two V levers which were too awkward to access with my big hands, and I found just too tight to loosen (that Loctite Blue is just a little too good!). It also had the added advantage of narrowing the fault down to the last couple of possibilities. After raising the clamshell with a cordless drill on each of the two gear drive cables, I checked the operation of the electric motor while the cables weren't connected and the motor ran nice and smoothly, thus eliminating that as the cause, and surely proving that it was one or other (or both) jammed gear drives. Before connecting the pushrods and guide cables again I thought that I'd check to see if the gear mechanism was working okay, so I reconnected the gear cables and put the U-clips back on then pressed the dash button to activate the clamshell and it worked!...............for a while anyway. First I lowered it into the closed flat position (The hood was obviously not involved in this operation and was still in the "up" position with the rear folded forward clear of the clamshell) and I then tried to raise it again, but unfortunately I ended up back at square one with that same clicking noise - maybe I kept hold of the dash button for too long and the gear drive/s jammed again? I repeated the cordless drill method to open the clam again and was then again able to use the dash button to raise and lower it as long as I didn't try to close it too much. However, it does seem strange that the gear drives work using either the drill on to open or close the gear cables, and also using the dash button when the gear cables are reconnected to the electric motor. If it is one, or both drives causing the problem (which would be quite a coincidence and unlikely surely), then is replacing or repairing the answer? Also is it possible instead to upgrade these gear drives to the later Type 'B' 360 degree gear drive and the electric motor rather than just replace with the same half moon gear drives? Although after scanning your other articles a few days ago about hood upgrades, I seem to recall the hood itself would need to be upgraded to the new glass type as well, along with some rewiring and a relay change? At the moment I've not reconnected the pushrods (these nearly got crushed while they were hanging loose in the drain area incidentally - so something for anyone else using this fix to be careful of ) just the guide cables for the hood, because I'm still looking to resolve this dilemma once and for all and I don't want to risk breaking any more pushrods until I know everything is aligned properly. At least for the moment, if I'm careful, I can now actually lower the hood manually by using the dash button to raise and lower the clamshell. Must admit that I thought I was close to finally resolving this today and that freeing the jammed gears was going to be a nice easy fix, but still not quite there yet. At least the information you've already provided and my particularly unusual problem will undoubtedly prove helpful to others at some point though. Tony
  17. Further Update: Went back to my Indy and they say that it may not be the electric motor because of the rear clicking noise that can be heard when the hood button is pressed may be the motor trying to open the clamshell, but the separately located gear mechanism may be jammed. Trouble is the gear mechanism can only be accessed when the clamshell is open (catch 22) - naturally they are happy for me to book it in with them for some exploratory work to be done but I'd rather avoid that expense unless/ until I absolutely have to. The thing is if they can find a way to open up the clamshell then so should anybody else. The guy I spoke to said he didn't know how it was done himself. Guess I can't expect too much free advice, they need to make money of course. Anyway, I guess the logical thing to do now is to replace the electric motor (which is easily accessed from the boot just behind the carpeting and immediately under the centre brake light). So unless anybody (Maurice?) has any alternative suggestions before next weekend, then that's my next step. If that doesn't work then I'll have no alternative than to let the Indy have a go. Any body got a hard top for sale? Getting fed up with this :(
  18. Quick update: I decided to go into my local Indy before actually ordering a new relay to make sure that it actually needed replacing (since it costs about £100). The helpful guy that I spoke to (possibly because it is the first time that I'd visited them) first of all noticed that my parking brake light wasn't on and, despite the fact that it had never been lit up since I bought the car and the hood still worked, he said that that definitely needed to be done to eliminate that first as the source of the problem. So he ordered a new parking brake microswitch (less than £5 but labour at £95/hour if they fitted it) and I replaced it yesterday using an invaluable guide from a weblink that I found - http://www.bombaydig...g_brake_switch/ - highly recommended you refer to this if you ever need to fit one. I also took the opportunity to adjust the handbrake travel at the same time as the MOT is due soon and it needed about 6 or 7 clicks which I think would have been a fail. The parking brake light now works.........but I still have the same problem with the clamshell/hood not raising/ lowering - I still just hear a clicking sound from the rear each time I press the hood microswitch on the dash. And of course I also still have the red "hood open" warning light on the dash! I'm going back to the Indy during the week to get them to check the relay as I originally planned and will report back on whether I need a new one or not to resolve the issue. Otherwise Maurice I think it may be the "dead spot on the electric motor" as you previously suggested and I'll need to replace that instead.
  19. Maurice: Thanks again for such splendid detail, wouldn't have even been able to attempt your solution without this information as I was previously scratching my head on how to do it. As I mentioned, I had closed the roof knowing that the pushrod connections (part 3 in diagram) had already popped off enabling the hood to go down manually, so I just effectively needed to prise the hydraulic pushrods (part 12) free so that the clamshell could freely open. However the latter was a total mare (UK version of bear) to say the least, very hard to get access and a secure leverage angle as you said. Unfortunately I just couldn't get them off no matter what tool I tried - the one that nearly succeeded was an old tack hammer, but no matter how hard I levered the ball would simply not prise off the joint! I'm not one to give in easily either, so well done anyone who can manage this. So since I couldn't prise those free, I couldn't open the clamshell and thus lower the hood despite the other pushrods being off. I've now resigned myself to wait for the new relay to arrive. I'll also have a closer look at the full PDF info that you sent to check the correct adjustments for the pushrods and guide cables - those are obviously key to ensuring that the hood operates properly everytime. N.B. For the benefit of anybody else wanting to use the fantastic info Maurice has supplied, just to advise that I couldn't initially open the document fully on my PC using my usual Safari browser, and it wouldn't work in IE either, but it finally worked when I opened it in Firefox....and I then saved the PDFs to my Boxster folder. Will make a (hopefully) final post once the new relay ( in my case, Type A - see Maurice's article) is fitted next weekend. Thanks again Maurice, Regards, Tony
  20. Hi Maurice, Although I don't have a multimeter, I went through all the other procedures that you mentioned and changed the fuses in B6 and D3 for good measure, but am still only getting the clicking sound from the rear when I press the lower hood button, so I must therefore assume that the relay has packed up and needs replacing. Perhaps I should also have mentioned that the relay was replaced only last December when I first bought the car (I knew that the hood wasn't working when I bought it and that was reflected in the price I paid) - I took it to my nearest hood specialist at the time because I didn't know squat about how to fix such stuff then - not that I know too much more, but I have learned a little (" although a little knowledge is dangerous they say!"). It turned out that it had the wrong relay fitted (a 987 one I was told, so presumably why the previous owner couldn't get it to work) and the other thing that needed replacing was one of the push rods which was broken and twisted (probably tried to open the roof without releasing the centre latch I expect). Since then, the other pushrod on the nearside broke a couple of months ago, but by then I had more confidence in tackling the work and managed to do that without too much problem...at least I thought...but after a while it kept on popping off despite my adjusting the screw on the pushrod. I finally thought that I had it licked when I found that the nearside brass ball-joint which the lower guide wire clips onto was detached from the aluminium block and adjustment screw, so after reattaching it and putting the hood up and down numerous times to test it, all finally seemed hunky dory. Then completely unexpectedly after using it on several occasions during our recent Indian summer, both pushrods popped off again! Because it was early evening and I was going out, I had to hurriedly raise the roof manually with the pushrods still detached, although the clam shell still worked fine at that point. It was the next morning that the clam shell wouldn't raise and I just got the clicking noise from behind. I should probably have started a new post explaining all this from the beginning, but as you know I spotted and responded to this post as the symptoms were identical to mine....this is a long way of me apologising for not giving you the full story. Anyway, I'm going to order a new relay and try one more time to adjust the pushrods and guiderods - if they pop out again I'm going to give in and take it to a local Porsche Indie (because the so-called hood specialist ripped me off to the tune of £346 and the poor service and attitude were simply unacceptable)......so probably time I made friends with them as I expect I'll be needing them for other stuff soon too! Meanwhile, if you or anyone else can advise how to manually release the clam-shell so that I can also put the hood down manually while the sun's still shining, I'd be grateful. Sorry again for the length of this post. Regards, Tony
  21. Thanks Maurice, couldn't have asked for more information or detail and should undoubtedly help me to diagnose where the problem lies. I won't get a chance to have a go at it now till the weekend, but I'll post my finding here and hope it may also prove useful to the next person who this happens to. My car's a '96 2.5 manual BTW. Best regards, Tony
  22. I have just experienced exactly the same problem today and think it may be the relay which is located just above the fuse box in the driver's well. Trouble is it's about £80 to replace at Design911 (who are quite competitive on pricing) so expensive if it's not that! Notice that you posted your message in June, so hopefully you've found the answer by now? Would be really useful if you could advise the solution. Thanks, Tony
  23. Hi Newbie here, Just bought a '96 Boxster and delighted with the car in every way. I just have one slightly frustrating issue that I'd really like to resolve if at all possible. I paired my iPhone with the above unit, no problem, and heard who I was calling but couldn't speak to them. I subsequently found out that the microphone was originally a standard fitment with the radio unit so I checked behind the cover on the dash where the microphone should be, but it wasn't there. I then slid out the radio but there was no microphone wire/ connection plugged into the radio or anywhere to be seen. I do remember being told when I bought the car that the radio had been removed at some stage by a previous owner, and then later put back - but clearly the microphone wasn't refitted. So now I obviously need to buy and fit a replacement. I've tried a couple of car radio shops but have been told that there is no support for Becker units now in the UK for some unknown reason (guess they may also just want to try and sell me something new off their shelves I suppose!). Also looked on eBay and searched the net to no avail. Anybody know of a supplier for this or can help in any way please? Cheers, Tony P.S. hope this is the right section for this.........
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