Car won't start

[HB.]

Today was raining pretty moderate when I left out. I drove about 3-4 miles to my bank to make a deposit. On my way to the bank I noticed that the car was acting a little funny, from time to time the hazard lights would flash once then go away. The door lock light would light up every couple of minutes. I really didn't think too much of it at the time, and kinda laughed in my head "my car is possessed". It took me less then 5 minutes to go inside the bank and make the deposit. When I came back to the car I noticed that it wouldn't start. The dash lights came on, the radio worked just fine, my headlights worked just fine, but the engine didn't turn over. At this point, I'm thinking damn it could be the starter, which at this point I noticed that the door lock button was dimly lit, so I tried to press it, nothing happened. I then tried the unlock button from the key, nothing happened. Now for some strange reason when I open one of the doors the rear trunk lid opens, and you can hear this slight buzzing sound coming from the rear of the car.

Has anyone dealt with this before, what could be wrong, and how much does this problem cost to fix?

[pk2]

Originally Posted by HB.

Today was raining pretty moderate when I left out. I... open one of the doors the rear trunk lid opens, and you can hear this slight buzzing sound coming from the rear of the car.

Has anyone dealt with this before, what could be wrong, and how much does this problem cost to fix?

Sounds like a problem I had; water leak, it all winds up under the drivers’ seat where the security computer (black box) thing is located (brilliant). You can find out really quick if you reach down & back under the seat, feel around and see if it’s wet.

If it is, take the seat out ASAP and yank out the box (easy). Open it up, if there’s moisture in it, dry it out well, scrub off any signs of corrosion (white mold like) with a soft wire brush, then dust it with WD or contact cleaner.

Put it back together and in. Make sure the cable contacts are clean of any corrosion and well seated. If you caught it soon enough & your lucky it will work. It happened to 3 times while I looked for the leak (still can’t find it). I finally wised up and drilled a couple holes in the floor.

Regards, PK

P.S. If this is the problem, leaks can originate from plugged drain holes to the rt. & lft. of the motor

[HB.]

Well, I was able to check the car today, and that's exactly what has happened. The area right below the driver's seat is soaked with water. Seeing that's it's been sitting for over a day, I most likely am too late to attempt to dry the unit. Damn, this sucks

Thanks for your help pk2

[pk2]

Originally Posted by HB.

Well, I was able to check the car today, and that's exactly what has happened. ...I most likely am too late to attempt to dry the unit. Damn, this sucks
Thanks for your help pk2

Not necessarily, my symptoms were that the car would crank but wouldn’t start after a several days of rain & inactivity.

Mine (the box) was completely submerged. I dumped the water out of it after a few days. Aired it out but good, cleaned it up, and it and came back to life. It was only the 3rd time when it sat in a pool for a month that the circuit board had become corroded beyond salvation. Point being, they seem to take a lot of abuse.

The seat is really easy to take out: slide it all the way back and take out the 2 front torx head bolts (they may have plastic cover hiding them), slide it forward and do the same for the 2 back bolts. Then just foist it onto the passenger side, no need to unplug.

Just one, quarter turn thumb screw on the box and the wiring harnesses (witch are a little tricky to figure and release) to get the box out. The box itself is just closed up with snap fits, the top pops right off. Then he board inside will practically fall out in your hands. Do your thing.

For $350 or so to replace, I’d give it a whirl. The only difference in my problem is that the car wasn’t running while it was soaking but I was cranking, plentty of opportunity to short somthing if it could

Good luck

PK

[HB.]

Thanks, you've given me some kind of hope. I was finally able to get the box out today, I've been working straight since Dec. 17. The car has been on a flat bed tow truck for the past few days, with the bed at a angle to help with the flooding. I was also able to remove all the water under the seat, man it looked like a mini pond. I'll try cleaning the connectors and inside the box today before I head to work. If this doesn't work, I'll just have to dish out the dough for a new box. Thanks again for your help.

[Tool Pants]

If you have no already done so open the control unit and dry it out. If you are lucky you might be able to salvage it. Good thing is it is fresh water.

This happened to a guy on a UK message board and I warned him he needed to do this quickly. But his car sat for days because he did not have the socket to remove the seat bolts, and it was raining and he did not have a garage.

He finally did get it out and there was crud inside the control unit. He dried it out and everything worked except the switches on the door sill for the trunks (he had a 2001).

Also check the fuse on the unit.

[Sain0rs]

not to hijack the thread, but my 03S has decided it doesn't want to start either. I checked under the seats for water and found none. All the electronics and headlights seem to work fine, car cranks but doesn't turn over. The battery is relatively new < 2 years but I haven't tried jumping it yet.

I also planned on doing the 60k spark plug change anyway so I have those on hand to try. Anything else I should look for?

[David N.]

I recommend you start a new thread. Your symptoms are different enough that this is not a related problem, and for people referring to engine start problems in the future, it's definitely more helpful if different problems have their own threads.

Good luck!

[HB.]

Today, I was able to start the car, and took it for a little test drive. Everything appears to be working fine except my interior light, but I'm not sure if that is related. I tried checking the fuse layout, but didn't see the related fuse on the layout.

I would like to thank everyone who helped me with this problem. I had several price quotes from various sources. Three Porsche dealerships here in VA wanted to charge $375.00 for the part not to mention $100 for one hour labor to program it to my car. www.****************************************************.com only charges $242.37. If I ever need OEM Porsche parts I will check them first before the local dealers. At this point of time, I am still worried about where the water leaked in from, so until I identify where the leak came from, I have wrapped the box in about 5 layers of embossed plastic drop cloth to help keep the water from entering the box.

Thanks again everyone