New issue with the Boxster.. |  |  |
|
Buying through this link, gets PB a donation. |
Expect the best, and accept no substitute. |
 | |
| New issue with the Boxster.. MarcW - 6 years ago |
Don't remember posting anything on this before but the Boxster has developed a new issue.
The first symptom was the door lock LED on the dash coming on on its own. Concurrent with the LED coming on I never heard the door locks engaging.
I would press the unlock button and the horn would sound and the LED would come right back on.
The other day the door lock LED came on again and this time I pressed the lock button and heard the door locks work then pressed the unlock button and the door locks worked again and the LED went off with no horn sound.
Last night after work around 8pm I'm just about home -- sitting at the stop light at the freeway off ramp and the lid ajar light comes on. I decide to fill up the gas tank so I make a right and down a block then a u-turn into the station. Got out of the car and wallked around the back of the car as is my habit and sure enough the rear trunk lid was open. Just opened on its own. I closed it and proceeded to fill up the gas tank. 10+ gallons worth. (At $3.459/gallon! What the heck has happened to gas prices recently?)
Oh, no spare key in my pocket to accidently push the rear lid open button.
Anyhow, first the door lock LED acting up and now the rear lid opening on its own. What in the world is going on? Oh no water anywhere. Been dry now for several weeks though I washed the car Saturday. Still no signs of moisture anywhere. The new door membranes cured the damp door bottoms.
Guess I have two things to speak to the tech about.
The first symptom was the door lock LED on the dash coming on on its own. Concurrent with the LED coming on I never heard the door locks engaging.
I would press the unlock button and the horn would sound and the LED would come right back on.
The other day the door lock LED came on again and this time I pressed the lock button and heard the door locks work then pressed the unlock button and the door locks worked again and the LED went off with no horn sound.
Last night after work around 8pm I'm just about home -- sitting at the stop light at the freeway off ramp and the lid ajar light comes on. I decide to fill up the gas tank so I make a right and down a block then a u-turn into the station. Got out of the car and wallked around the back of the car as is my habit and sure enough the rear trunk lid was open. Just opened on its own. I closed it and proceeded to fill up the gas tank. 10+ gallons worth. (At $3.459/gallon! What the heck has happened to gas prices recently?)
Oh, no spare key in my pocket to accidently push the rear lid open button.
Anyhow, first the door lock LED acting up and now the rear lid opening on its own. What in the world is going on? Oh no water anywhere. Been dry now for several weeks though I washed the car Saturday. Still no signs of moisture anywhere. The new door membranes cured the damp door bottoms.
Guess I have two things to speak to the tech about.
| Ignition switch going bad? jg wnc - 6 years ago |
| Don't think so. Doesn't "feel" like a bad switch. Switch is not that old having.... MarcW - 6 years ago |
been replaced some years ago (mid 2009) in an attempt to deal with an intermittent no start (no crank) issue after the clutch interlock switch was replaced and the behavior continued though it occurred much less often and finally went away. (I can't recall if the clutch interlock switch was replaced again or if the tech bent the switch holder so the clutch pedal arm made better contact with the switch plunger.)
Tech replaced the ignition switch at my request but he told me afterwards when he handed me the old ignition switch the switch didn't look bad at all. And it didn't feel bad. Before he replaced at my request he gave the old switch quite a work out and was not able to reproduce the no start/no crank symptoms.
Anyhow, these new symptoms kind of suggest the water in the doors might have resulted in some surface corrosion on some electrical contacts. Even though the water level never got deep enough to submerge any electrical components the inside of the door can get quite humid as the sun heats up the door's skin and the water.
If I'm right then a "fix" might involve taking the doors apart and disconnecting/reconnecting the electrical connectors and looking for any wiring/connector issues just in case.
That is if the tech doesn't have a better idea. Didn't have time to stop in at the dealer on the way to work this AM to talk to him but I believe the tech would probably suggest first connecting the diagnostic computer to the car and reading any security system error codes. If any exist then these might suggest the root cause of the behavior.
Tech replaced the ignition switch at my request but he told me afterwards when he handed me the old ignition switch the switch didn't look bad at all. And it didn't feel bad. Before he replaced at my request he gave the old switch quite a work out and was not able to reproduce the no start/no crank symptoms.
Anyhow, these new symptoms kind of suggest the water in the doors might have resulted in some surface corrosion on some electrical contacts. Even though the water level never got deep enough to submerge any electrical components the inside of the door can get quite humid as the sun heats up the door's skin and the water.
If I'm right then a "fix" might involve taking the doors apart and disconnecting/reconnecting the electrical connectors and looking for any wiring/connector issues just in case.
That is if the tech doesn't have a better idea. Didn't have time to stop in at the dealer on the way to work this AM to talk to him but I believe the tech would probably suggest first connecting the diagnostic computer to the car and reading any security system error codes. If any exist then these might suggest the root cause of the behavior.
| Re: Don't think so. Doesn't "feel" like a bad switch. Switch is not that old having.... Guenter in Ontario - 6 years ago |
I agree that the elctrical part of the ignition switch could be the problem. It seems to cause an asortment of seeming unrelated electrical problems.
In a friend's case, parking lights wouldn't turn off. Key would lock the car and driver's door would unlock a few seconds later. Couldn't keep the car locked.
In a friend's case, parking lights wouldn't turn off. Key would lock the car and driver's door would unlock a few seconds later. Couldn't keep the car locked.
| Switch or moisture? grant - 6 years ago |
I can't figure out who the switch would cause inconsistent logic errors, but I'll admit I've seen it cause inexplicable stuff on an older Audi (same switch and basic layout, probably lifted).
Somehow this sounds more like logic errors in the control unit. An intermittent ground causing 1s to be read as zeros; moisture causing intermittent shorts, etc. Continued high humidity can cause these issues - and even conductive mold - even when nothing is "wet".
Best of luck, its hard to diagnose something that is not working as intended - and worse if the symptoms change or are inconsistent. Have you tried a hard reset (disconnect battery)?
Grant
Grant
gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com
Somehow this sounds more like logic errors in the control unit. An intermittent ground causing 1s to be read as zeros; moisture causing intermittent shorts, etc. Continued high humidity can cause these issues - and even conductive mold - even when nothing is "wet".
Best of luck, its hard to diagnose something that is not working as intended - and worse if the symptoms change or are inconsistent. Have you tried a hard reset (disconnect battery)?
Grant
Grant
gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.