The Nine8Six (the car) is dead, can't start

[Disaster]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

'97 for your reference/record below Charles. And can you please source/fabricate us a sealed enclosure that the Immob fits into? (please). You'll save so many great Boxsters and 911... these things are nearly shot man, or soon will be if not taken care right away. Take my word... not exactly cheap

Like this?

Porsche Boxster & 996 Immobilizer Waterproof Case Enclosure

[Paul]

Interesting. A reset EEPROM?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCnpQvEWL_U

[Nine8Six]

The Great-Looser-whine86 is going to cook Porsche car Immobilizer for August 28th 2017. Right there, on my front garden China polished rocks! Hope they are of volcanic origin....

Wife told me to go for an afternoon nap and all my problem will disappear lolll Cute thing. Instead, I'm ramming this back in the car and will give it a swing once the pcb cooled down (must have endured 90+dC for an hour + hair dryer for 20min).

Wife also told me this is a punishment from the Boxster God for having showing off like a dumbass on the internet. Not so cute thing after all

Thanks for the PM man, appreciated. And yes that Porsche Eng was telling me about something DME also but seriously, I've already lost it when he was.

Man... my Super Duper Baby CGT eBay-Resined Boxster :/ why me why me.....

[Nine8Six]

I haven't tried the now dried Immob in the car yet. I'm actually petrified it explode. INstead I took my wife's advice and crashed for an hour. Pretty hard to get the adrenaline drained out after something like that man... especially a $3,500 part/labour. Makes it even worst when you actually find out that the part itself (immob) has roughly $27 worth of Tokyo, Manila and Taiwan components and a $10 PCB, but sold back at 1000% profit :/ F'(ed) up stuff.....

Anyway, took some the out for souvenirs before the explosion lollll I'll report 2mrw when the carpet is 'dried' from that topless night (placed chopsticks under the carpet holding parts of it straight up), I'm done for the day though. Thanks for all the support and help so far folks. Great people - great forum.



PS: The Boxster is NOT a pos, was really mad and out of myself when I wrote that. My sincere apologies guys.... shouldn't happen again.

[Nine8Six]

stupid car though.... plug the batt NEG and the trunks pops up. Bloody funny but not funny at the same time :/

[Need_for_speed]

Fred,
You might look into a waterproof immobilizer case from ECU doctor. I haven't installed one myself, but I think anyone who parks their 986 outdoors should probably go this route...

Porsche Boxster & 996 Immobilizer Waterproof Case Enclosure

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by Need_for_speed

Fred,
You might look into a waterproof immobilizer case from ECU doctor. I haven't installed one myself, but I think anyone who parks their 986 outdoors should probably go this route...

Nice find. Couldn't find the submerged in a fish tank test/video anywhere though. Does it work? Although I probably won't need it. The Boxster is 'urgently' going back inside... at my wife's company indoor & environmentally controlled parking lot ladies and gent (just heating during winter months). Cost me $200/year... and that's a special price. Covers the security guards and others (nothin free in life man)

[itsnotanova]

Not sure what a new carpet set goes for but I can't imagine it being cheap. If it's not too late, I recommend just taking out the wet one and letting it hang dry. It takes about a week in a nice dry climate. Don't put it in direct sun light as that will fade the carpet and turn the foam brown. I've never noticed any mildew smell either after letting it dry. It sounds like you have the time.

[Nine8Six]

They are US$1,600 at my end. Heard from a bird you get them cheaper in the USA which almost got me to import. Too much on the schedule to bother so I've just passed the list of parts to our local service center to deal with. I ordered two "genuine Porsche parts" courtesy carpets also. Those aftermarket carpets I had left a huge stain on the passenger side and light one on the driver side. Cheap dyee... I even see the stain from the red stiches they had. That was from the moisture the wet under-carpet had built-in.

Car outdoor, covered, humid carpet, 40+dC with above 85 ambient humidity all summer here. Took 2 month it "entirely" destroyed the interior of my boxster (beauty of it anyway) + the immobilizer internals.

This car's interior looked and fell brand new, I need this fixed asap. Couldn't care less about performance mods... Just Got To Look Good LOL

BEWARE Folks. They all say "The worst thing you can do to sport car is to let it stand there doing nothing". I can prove that statement.

and guess what... its back in its destructive shh*thole for a few more days, rain forecast ahead (its out of here next weekend, going back indoor. seriously.

[Qmulus]

Just saw this thread. I think the immobilizer under the seat is the "IMS bearing" of the 986/996 electrical system. A lot of Boxsters have been needlessly totalled as a result of this VERY stupid design to put a critical electronic device on the floor in a roadster. The first thing to do if you get water on the floor is to disconnect the immo or battery. The damage results from power being applied while the module is wet, as you get a kind of "electrolysis" which turns the metals on the board to metal salts, which will not stop until either the power is removed or the circuits open up.

As for the repairing it, it is good that you got it out and dried out ASAP. The problem is, if it gets to the point where functions start to fail, you have corrosion under the relays. The ONLY way to fix that is to desolder the relays, clean it up thoroughly (soap and water with a brush is good), dry it and repair the damage. That may include replacing relays. I would also replace the electrolytic cap any time the immobilizer gets wet.

I have a few immobilizers where the corrosion under the relay was not repaired and the traces under the relays got thin enough that they burned. That is a death sentence for the PCB as the board turns to carbon and conducts. While it is possible to repair the holes (BTDT all the time in a former life - cut out all burned areas, re-fiberglass, then put in new traces and vias.), I wouldn't bother, as you can almost always find used ones. FWIW, one of my first jobs out of school was working at an electronics company that did disaster recovery on main frame computers. I still remember getting a "mission critical" computer (DEC MicroVAX) that was in flood that was shipped in a big plastic crate full of water. It was better to leave it wet, and then disassemble it down to individual components. Even the disk drives were soaked, but we got all the data and rebuilt them another machine using most of the parts from their original. That job paid six figures as I recall, but the customer gladly paid. But I digress...

Yes, you can usually swap the EEPROM or EEPROM data from one module to another, as long as they are the the same part number. I do have a good memory map of where the various codes for the vehicle are (remote transponder codes, "learning" code, immobilizer code, etc.) I did find one immo where there was a firmware difference making the EEPROM data incompatible between two immos of the same part number. In that situation I had to rewrite the data in the proper format, so knowing where the necessary information to transfer was necessary. I find this situation is more likely when you go to a new immo.

So, for Fred I would recommend disassembling the immo, clean it with a brush and soap and water (it already got wet, right?), getting off ALL the visible corrosion (metal salts) as that stuff is conductive. You really need to get under the relays, as just spraying electrical cleaner, etc. will not get that corrosion out, and the only way to do that is to remove the relays.

As for my user name Qmulus, I have been using that on internet sites for 20 years and it is also the name of my company. I do this kind of work as a part of my business, but I honestly don't make much from it as this stuff take WAY more time to do than I can ever charge for. I see it more of as a "community service", but I can't do it for free.

Steve
Qmulus Technology

[Robert986]

First of all, I feel your pain... Sure I´m not the only one, this really sucks...

However, is this not the perfect time for the thread we have all been praying for (secretly)..?

"Custom Waterproof Immobilizer for Porsche 986 [from CAD, prototyping to finish]" Go Fred Gooo!

[kjc2050]

Ugh. Good luck, Fred. Hope you get it sorted quickly!

[algiorda]

Sorry for laughing at this thread Fred, but you are one funny Sum-n-a-********************!

p.s. your wife sounds like a cracker as well.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by algiorda

Sorry for laughing at this thread Fred.

Wait until I've drafted the "What I've Learn from the Immobilizer - in a swampster" thread. That's going to go online very soon

That whole heavy rain thing, parking outdoor, covers, humidity, dehumidifier technique (BS btw), permanent markings/discoloration of aftermarket "porsche" carpets onto savanah beige flooring, immobilizingzer, and all the trouble.... will have cost me what my car worth in your neighborhood man.

We are ordering a brand new carpet from Porsche, hope those comes dry? All at the formal request of my wife... she is royally pissed right now, its her boxster too also :/

THANKS TO ALL who've provided some of the best advice RE this problem. You guys rocks. 100% certain a lot of us is learning right now so please let the Tips & Trick loose fellas. Great info for everyone here

[MWS]

Quick question... Did you do the "donor battery - fuse box" method to originally open the frunk? I ask beause I did (a year or so ago) on a totally dead Box and ended up with a world of electrical gremlins. Took a while to investigate and fix, but eventually all resolved (had to buy a new climate module though)...all good now except climate unit still blinks on startup.

I mention this because when I asked on forum, I got the same answers... "ignition switch", "immoblilizer" etc; I ruled out immoblilizer (or moved it down on list) because I didn't want it to be that. Ignition switch... I thought not as bad, but but I'll keep looking. I found a couple bad fuses and a relay, which I replaced. Car ended up starting, but I kept blowing one fuse, wich lead me to disassemble the climate unit and inside I found a shorted board.

Anyway, and I am sure you know this, but start at the easiest thing, don't assume the worst, be a good detective and I'm sure you will find the answer.

Or maybe it's just the immoblilizer... Or the ignition switch.

As always, best wishes.

[thstone]

I keep a spare set of ECU/immobilizer/key fob on hand at all times. If you can buy the same year, then no PWIS programming is required - its an easy 10 min DIY swap of all three components together as a matched set.

A set will typically sell for $500-$700.

[p3230]

I had the same problem last year and tried to fix it myself but didn't know about the eeprom that could be reprogrammed as I have a reader programmer and a soldering station. I decided to go to the dealer this year step on my pride and was happy I did so as now everything works like when I first bought it. Also the immobilizer and key that I bought and had installed at the dealer both stopped working after a month and I returned the car to the dealer and they replaced them again under warranty 2 years. The cost was 2000.00 for the immobilizer the new key and an oil change and spring checkup right here in Ottawa. I should have listened to Particlewave the first time and go to the dealer.

[Nine8Six]

Frank, that's pretty inspirational. Although I can get fresh South Suchuan Rice supplies for the next 25 years for that kind of money

How did your immo saw its last day? if you don't mind me asking.... looking for internet grieving groups lolllll If it blew up by itself(twice?) then please avoid letting me know, need to sleep later on

[p3230]

Mine saw it's last days when I had a flood under the my seat. I had it repaired but it didn't work out. I know what you mean but I was expecting more than the 2 thousand as it stayed at the dealer for a few weeks. I could have bought a nice set of golf clubs for that price.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by p3230

I could have bought a nice set of golf clubs for that price.

Balls + membership renewal for another year possibly. Ah well, all for good reasons I'm sure. For the immo side I'll try to limit the cost the best I can... just so I can afford a new carpet + insulation. Hopefully one that is dry and without the nasty bronze/rust color from the seat rails and the black & red dye my dearest aftermarket carpets left us :/

Originally Posted by Qmulus

As for the repairing it, it is good that you got it out and dried out ASAP. The problem is, if it gets to the point where functions start to fail, you have corrosion under the relays. The ONLY way to fix that is to desolder the relays, clean it up thoroughly (soap and water with a brush is good), dry it and repair the damage. That may include replacing relays. I would also replace the electrolytic cap any time the immobilizer gets wet.

Steve
Qmulus Technology

Steve - was removing those relays supposed to be fun?

Geez those NEC were almost impossible to kick off that PCB. I've never really had to remove many components during my past years as a janitor... mostly prefer trowing the whole thing (and pcb) in the garbage and starting from scratch lolll In the case of a Porsche immo... guess we can't escape this mess :/

Really worth changing the cap you think? Test meter set at 20k and its not rolling up much, dies at 15ohm then goes back to zero... fried?! Obviously going for NEW parts so I've already ordered both the Siemens and NEC sets of relays. And a cap, apparently. Anything else while at it?

Why all this??? Cuz Porsche kindly refused to reprog a second-hand immo my indy found for me. Said it will never work. Now looking for the same P/N eeproom kit around here. If we can't find that I don't think I'll bother you, or add to your already busy schedule I'm sure, I'll just get the real deal at P and call it a day instead (a $1,740 day!).

Let's try your tips first! Please save my car, and my wallet, Steve





^ Still good for a few extra thousand miles, right?