Hello buddies, Miami was immersed on very heavy rains last week. As a consequence of this, my 1998 Boxster Immobilizer, the one under the driver's seat, was fried. It was my fault to not to prevent this could happens so it did. Every Porsche dealer I contacted they told me the same "Bring the car over to evaluate the extension of the damage". By experience I know when a dealer tells you this you have to talk to your savings and prepare then to say goodbye to you. For those who don't know the symptoms of a fried immobilizer here they go:
Engine won't crank, will do nothing, not even the tiniest noise, like no battery installed.
Dome, hood and trunk lights will not light up.
Windows will not work
Alarm horn will get damage and you will need to replace it.
Doors locks and gas door actuator electronics could get damage. In my case the passenger door lock fried out. The rest not. Need to replace it. Good use offers on Ebay.
Searching the web for an alternative, yet reliable, solution I found a company located in Fort Lauderdale FL named SPECIALIZED ECU REPAIR -
Specialized ECU Repair, Replacement, & Testing - Restore or Exchange your Electronic Control Unit (ECU) - They told me they will need the immobilizer, the car ECU unit (the one located at the trunk behind the driver's side firewall carpet) and the car keys so they could reprogram the fobs.
They normally receive all the stuff by mail but as I was not far from them I brought them personally. Got a pleasant first impression of the place and the people. The specialist who took care of me was Mr. Jorge A. Morales (George), a guy who knows what he is talking about. He gave me a brief but clear and sufficient explanation on how they make the repairs and gained all of my confidence (Not easy when my Boxsty is involved).
Left everything one day in the morning and next day in the afternoon they called me to inform that the repair was done successfully. $775.00 bucks later I was driving back home with a lot of hopes on my soul.
First thing to install is the car ECU at the trunk. Very easy. Then plug in the two cable plugs to the immobilizer, this you do inside the car. Reconnect the battery and Voila!, the engine started at the very first crank. Also both my keys communicate with the Immobilizer perfectly.
A little frustration was that dome lights and windows did not work. Called Jorge and he told me to check a list of fuses in the main fuse box. The 15A Fuse C3 on holder C, - CU Alarm-CL Power window, inside light - was blown out. That was the only one. Replaced it by a new one and everything started to work. Big Smile
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Could not lock the car because I need to replace the right door lock. Once done, everything will become to normal again.
ECU Doctors developed an special waterproof case to protect the immobilizer and I bought one from them ($150.00) It is a very well done box which, when you follow the instructions provided, will create a 100% waterproof environment to your immobilizer. I would had bought it before If I knew the existence of it. Would had saved me hard earned bucks and a lot of stress.
I can now recommend ECU Doctors to every one who face the same problem I had because I tested it and it works. The advantages are:
No need to tow the car to the dealer
Way cheaper than dealers
Great communication with highly professional technicians team.
Hope this will help to reduce the stress that cause to suddenly find your lovely Boxster is good for nothing. At least it gives a pretty good alternative to solve the situation with not harassment at all. It cost some money, it's true, but as one locksmith told me once when he was trying to charge me a lot of money to program my spare key "Sir, you own a Porsche for Christ sake!"
Good luck buddies
boxster S
Hybrid Mode
