cgporter

Does anyone have an owners manual for a 98 Boxster they would upload to the site ? Many thanks in advance !!! - CGP

I am having the same problem with my 1998 Boxster 2.5. The floor of the car got wet earlier this year and the door locks, alarm, gas door lock, and horn have all stopped working. I was told by the dealer and a local mechanic that I needed a new ECM, however when I took it to a different German car specialist they said the ECM was fine. I spent a bunch with them on MAF, 02 and other sensors so they did not diagnose the alarm/horn problem at the time but told me to bring it back after I drive it a couple of hundred miles (which has not been a problem) and they will re-check the codes. I will be having them check out the problem soon and will report back here if I learn anything helpful. It sounds like the alarm module (or whatever the unit under the seat does) will need to be replaced but I am hopeful it is a connector problem instead. Do all the experts agree that these symptoms are related to the alarm control unit under the seat? Is there any other fix besides replacing (and reprogramming) the unit? About how much is the module if it needs to be replaced? I would appreciate hearing how you resolve the programming problem if you ever get it fixed. If I learn anything new when fixing mine, I will let you know. Good luck.

I have a 98 Boxster I bought in December 05, manual trans, US. A few weeks ago on SuperBowl Sunday it was a relatively warm day and I decided to give the new (old) car a good wash. I scrubbed and scrubbed and washed and rinsed. It looked incredible when I finished late in the afternoon. Just before the game started, I made a dash to the grocery store for the usual assortment of game food. I noticed the lock light for the doors was on and wouldn't go off. At the store, the alarm wouldn't engage. I didn't worry about it too much and was just going to run in the store for a couple of minutes. When I came out and jumped in the car to get back to the game, I turned the switch and nothing happened. Dead, nadda, zilch. I checked the usual, clutch completely depressed, reinserted key, etc. still nothing. After about 10 minutes of trying still no go, car did even attempt to turnover. Finally tried to jump start from rolling start. Still nothing. Finally walked 3 miles home. Missed first half of game. After the game I asked my 19 year old son to stop by and see if it would start on his way home. A few minutes later, he was back in the driveway with the Boxster and a smile on his face. I asked him what he had done to start it and he said he just turned the key and it started. Remember my problem was BEFORE the game so alcohol was not a factor. My son parked the car behind someone else in my driveway and when they were ready to leave later, I got in to move the Porsche and again it wouldn't start, no electrical response at all (by then my son had left so I couldn't get him to help). I coasted the car out of the drive and left it on the street overnight. Next morning it started fine, just like normal. This pattern remained for the next couple of weeks, it would start fine after it sat for awhile but when it reached its destination and was turned off, it would not start again, it would be completely dead - no electrical response at all. I was noticing other various strange things electrically, one time the windows wouldn't work, the next time they would, sometimes the door lock light and switch worked sometimes not, usually the alarm wouldn't work. Finally gave and took the car to my local shop. They have had the car a couple of weeks now. So far they have replaced both parts of the switch and a fuse. That fixed the radio, and made a couple of the weird electrical problems go away, however the starting problem remained. They thought at first it was a bad sensor on the crankcase but determined the sensor is fine. They did notice the floorboard of the driver side was very wet so they took out the seat and let the car air dry for several days. Still had problems and thought it might be that the computer needed to have codes reprogrammed so they took it to the dealer for the codes. That's not the problem either. They now suspect that the drivers side has gotten wet repeatedly over the years, probably because one of the drain holes behind the seats might be partially clogged allowing water to back up into the car. They said Porsche does not consider this to be a problem. The latest thinking is that the computer and seat belt receptacles might need replacing. They are concerned that the moisture under the drivers seat and humidity inside the car has corroded the components inside the computer and the electronics in the seatbelts. They are considering taking apart the computer to see if they can clean it because it is a $1500 part and they aren't recommending buying a used one. Apparently I will need to buy new keys if I replace it at $250 a pop as well. I don't have the car back yet but wanted to warn others of my experience as the weather starts to improve. Before you wash your car, check those drain plugs first and be careful not to get water in the driver side floor because the computer sits under the seat just above the carpet. Any thoughts from some of the gurus would be appreciated or leads on where to get used electronics that are reliable. Thanks Greg