Rainy Saturday Project - Key remote rehab

On my 02S, the remote on one of the keys is pretty useless. Only the front trunk opening works reliably. Rear trunk opening is sporadic and door lock/unlock does not work at all. Since the front trunk works fine, it is not a battery problem, despite the 9-10 years of use. On opening it up, i found that the circuit board is in good shape. The problem is with the switches, which seem to have worn out.

Has anyone tried replacing just the switches (I am pretty handy with a soldering iron)? If so, can you recommend a source? How about just replacing the circuit board with the switches attached? Or am I best served by just getting a new key head? If this is the route to go, should I give fleabay a shot or stick with a dealer?

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!

... are miniature switches which are very difficult to replace with a standard soldering iron.
If you decide to replace the printed circuit board, you'll need to purchase it from a dealer who will also provide de programming codes.
You'll then need to have the car recoded to accept the new remote's RF signal.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Thanks guys. I'll check out RennTech and Excellence.

Pedro, on re-recording the car, is that something that has to be done by the dealer, or can I do it with my Durametric?

... know if the Durametric can rewrite code.
The PST-II (up to MY 2004) and the PIWIS (all years) are the two I am sure about.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

I just can't remember which website that was on. Maybe Mike Focke's?

I remember an article in Excellence Magazine (June 2010) titled "Cheap 968/996 Remote Key Fix". I can't be certain what all kinds of repairs were covered but I remember the article covered soldering on the circuit board. I also remember, possibly on RennTech, someone had found a web site where the small switches could be ordered.

Bill

Consider yourself lucky if you got 9-10 years off the remote. I seem to have to change the remote head around every 2 years.

Hi John,

A good source for stuff like miniature switches is digikey.com. They have pictures of most items, and they have no minimum and process and ship really fast. But Pedro is right, you will need a reaally fine tip iron, and watch out for static electricity.

Al

I am will determine what direction I will take this week.

Yesterday I had some time to dig into my key head that had two non-functioning switches (main lock/unlock and rear trunk).

I had done some research on RennTech and found the related posting. It included ordering the switches from Digi-Key and gave the part numbers. I ordered two CKN9193CT-ND tactile switches from digikey.com. The switches cost $.65 each and they charged me $.08 tax. Then there was shipping for $7.50. Oh well, it was still cheaper than buying a new key head and having to deal with reprogramming. The replacement switches are identical to the ones on the key head.

I used a fine tip soldering iron to heat up the contacts and held the switches with needle nose pliers and the switches came off the circuit board very easily. Installing was the reverse process and there was enough solder still in the mounting hole for the switch that I did not have to add any solder. Heat up the contact point, place the switch holding it with the needle nose pliers and let the point cool. Heat up the other side mounting point with the same process and its done.

The whole process probably took half an hour from the time I plugged in the soldering iron. Pretty easy and I highly recommend this approach to anyone with key head switch problems.

Also, try putting a drop of brake cleaner or electrical contact cleaner on the switch, actuate it a few times, repeat.