Shaking steering wheel at high speed

[amrenane2010]

I just bought a 2004 Boxster. It drives extremely well and overall I'm very happy with it. Two things I've noticed:
1) Driving with the top down and exceeding speed of approx 70 miles, the steering wheels starts to shake considerably. Is this just a basic alignment/balancing thing or is it mechanically caused?
2) When I signal either left or right, the blinker stops after 1-2 times and doesn't signal anymore. Furthermore, when trying to turn on the headlights, I need to turn it on/off a couple of times to actually turn on the light.

Any advice / help out there?

Thanks

[CoBeerToad]

1) Sounds like the same issue I was having. I'm not a suspension expert, so I'm replacing the inner and outer tie rods and hoping that gets rid of the shake. If it doesn't, then I'm looking at the control arms / ball joints. Sounds like you are having the same issue. I'm sure someone else on here can point you in the right direction as to whether it is the tie rods or the ball joints.

2)I'm clueless. I have my own electrical gremlins, but they aren't that bad yet. I'll be replacing the ignition switch once they start to get out of hand as I've heard that is the cause of several different electrical problems.

[j.fro]

1) try getting the front tires balanced. If at all possible, find a shop with a RoadForce balancer. I've had this happen a few times, particularly w/ my autocross tires, and re-balancing always cures it.

2) Your headlight switch is going bad. When you turn the lights on, pull the switch out (turns on fogs) and then tap it in forcefully with the heel of your hand.

[gomarlins3]

I agree with starting with a rebalance of the wheels. Cheapest first effort of a fix.

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by amrenane2010

Furthermore, when trying to turn on the headlights, I need to turn it on/off a couple of times to actually turn on the light.

Any advice / help out there?

Thanks

Agreed, headlamp switch, the exact same thing happened to me. Easy fix, see the guide here:

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Headlamp Switch Replacement - 986 / 987

24 MM socket to remove the big nut, and torx bits to remove the rest.

For immediate relief while waiting for a new switch you can remove the switch, and spray electrical contact cleaner inside it while you rotate it through the positions. It will make it better and can be a short term fix.

Steve

[Nine8Six]

Read somewhere someone cleaned the headlight switch with contact cleaner or similar. Worked fine for him. Accumulated junk on the contacts... dunno

More importantly, I'm not a 986 surgeon but still advise you to get the car inspected by a professional. Whatever you mean by "shaking considerably". There is a lot of moving parts & joints that needs to be in proper op condition - get this signed off along with your wheel alignment.

If mine goes shaking, it's towed from where it started to shake mate. Stay safe and congrats on your new car purchase

[jb92563]

The car should drive smooth as silk well past 100mph.

It could be the tire needs re-balancing, in case it lost its weights.

The tire rubber itself if too old or damaged may be developing a problem.

The suspension may be worn and getting loose allowing the shakes to develop at certain speeds.

A rim could be slightly out of round due to hitting a curb but would shake worse proportional to the speed I would think.

Start with the cheapest (rebalance) and work your way through the possibilities.

[amrenane2010]

thanks for all the great advices and I start working on some of these recommendations and will definitely share the outcome, so it can benefit others..............

[jotoole]

Cheapest start point: check tire pressure.

[Kenny Boxster]

Do the tires have a lot of inner wear/mismatched wrong size? When the steering wheel is shaking, tires are always a big culprit.

[jacabean]

Originally Posted by jotoole

Cheapest start point: check tire pressure.

i agree , start with tire pressure . these cars are very sensitive with the tire pressure . then balance wheels .