HELP! Car won't start... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jvmoney · 09-26-2007, 06:43 PM

As I was getting in my car (02 Boxster S) today, I noticed that the Mileage was reset (w/o me actually initiating it on the computer). Thought nothing about it, ,started her up and drove on home. When I got back in the car later that evening and attempted to restart the vehicle, all the lights would flicker, windows would move, but the car wouldn't turn. Battery seems fine, so could this be related to the Alternator? Does this sound like something serious? I just had the 60K mile maintenance done on it about 2 months ago and nothing out of the ordinary was identified except for the typical Axle Boots, Loose sway bar, etc.

I have posted a link to a video of what it was doing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcQJowQWm_E

Has anyone encountered a similar dilemna?

spine911 · 09-26-2007, 07:22 PM

Get a new battery. Im pretty sure this is your problem.
I can safely assume that your 02 still has the original battery.
If it is a bad alternator, im sure you wont be able to drive your box home that night since it will drain your battery and will eventually stall.

P.S.
Just to check on the "health" of your alternator after you change your battery. I would advise you to bring your car to Autozone AFTER you change your battery and have them check your alternator. (it is actually a battery and alternator test). I usually do this with all my cars- freebie battery/alternator check

jvmoney · 09-26-2007, 08:46 PM

Are you sure its really a battery issue? If you see the video, the battery looks fully functional, and in fact powers everything, Amp, Radio, Windows, all the pre-start diagnostics, etc. The only issue is when I actually turn the key, everything inside goes haywire, and the car never turns. If it was a bad battery, would these things still work? Please confirm before I head over to purchase a new battery.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

KevinH1990 · 09-26-2007, 08:53 PM

Turning over the starter requires considerably more power than powering the lights and diagnostics. So, it is possible that the problem is a bad battery. You might try jump starting the car. That would confirm the bad battery diagnosis if that is the problem.

Good luck.

OldBlevins · 09-27-2007, 12:34 PM

There have also been quite a few posts in the forum noting that a faulty ignition switch can cause a bunch of electrical malfunctions in the Boxsters. It's easy enough to test the battery and alternator. If they look okay, you might start looking at the ignition.

jvmoney · 10-05-2007, 02:45 PM

Thanks to everyone that helped. My battery definitely needed to be replaced.

But now I have a new issue. After Autozone replaced the battery, I drove home and when I almost got there, the Battery Light Came on the dash. Would replacing the battery have caused any issues? Looked pretty straight forward and took about 10 min for them to do...Should I be concerned? BC when I reviewed the manual, it did state to stop driving immediately when this light comes on while driving.

Thanks!