New 986 owner in chicagoland

[mattallmandinger]

Hello All

After graduating in the winter, I couldn't wait to save up and get out of my rusty but loveable NA miata with 175k on the clock. It had just taken me round trip from chicago to las vegas with out breaking a sweat. Still drives great on mostly original parts! But that rust... I knew I wanted another roadster and I was considering the following:

TT(quattro for chicago winters)
s2000 (reliable and logical)
NC miata (stay in the family)
MR2 (lightweight)
SLK (Luxury)
Boxster (Pedigree)

A month ago after my first test drive in a 99 Boxster I was sold, and after a couple weeks trolling Craigslist, I have just purchased and driven home a specimen of my own. A 98 arctic silver, 88k, 3 owner, blue interior, strong drivetrain, decent exterior, with a ripped rear window on factory 17" Kumho ASX. I drove from Chicago to Xenia, OH to see this car and purchased it for $6800.

Drove smoothly all the way home and I feel quite satisfied. I plan on DIY installing a new top or possibly just purchasing a hardtop. The ignition switch doesn't really have any spring back from the start position. You have to move it towards RUN and you can barely feel the notches. It is very easy to make the starter work extra.

Is there any fix to this without replacing the ignition switch?

Im looking forward to ownership and plan on as much DIY as possible. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated!

Cheers,
Matt

[Spinnaker]

Is there any fix to this without replacing the ignition switch?

In short, no. But you only have to replace the rear portion. It has all the electrical contacts and the spring return from start, in it. The key part is in the forward section and has the steering wheel lock section in it, and doesn't need to be replaced. Do a search for this in the forum. Lots of questions and answers on this topic. It is a very common problem with the early Boxsters. You can buy the electrical part online for $10-12, and from the local parts house for $25 - 35. It is a relatively easy DIY project. I believe they changed the design in 2005 to a new style to try to eliminate this problem.
Buy two and keep a spare. If you keep the car long enough, you will need it. I keep a spare switch in the tire tool kit, because you never know when it will go out again and strand you somewhere. The last time my switch went out, the key would go around 360° with absolutely no resistance at all.
ignitionswitchreplacement - mikefocke2

[dghii]

Check your local NAPA store (or online) for the ignition switch...$15 buck and works great.

[tnoice]

Congrats on your new Porsche ownership from another Porsche owner south of I80

[rakowski21]

Good luck with your car!