That sounds like the best strategy.

Our recent stretch of several days with precipitation ended and I was able to drive the car with the top down today.

I locked the car with the top down and the horn didn't sound. When I put the top up and locked the car the horn sounded twice. This suggests that I should focus on the top microswitch and associated wiring as the first area of exploration.

Awesome - there are videos about re-flowing the solder joints but in my case one of the plastic arms was bent. If I recall, it wasn't an expensive part, so I would simply replace the board in the latch mechanism and be done with it.

It is super easy to resolder the joints. Remove the light and the 2 torx screws behind the motion sensors. After that you have easy access to the solder points (2 of them on each side of the metallic bars, see pic below from gators video). Precision is not important here - just heat the joints up until the old solder flows. You can use a solder sucker or wick to remove the old solder but this really isn't necessary if you add new solder with rosin flux core - this will burn off any residual oxidation material. Once cooled, reassemble in reverse order. The whole process will take 30 minutes and you can literally buy a soldering station for less than a new switch assembly. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c4de54082c.jpg

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Just in case you or someone else following the thread have the common problem with the bolts that hold the top latch in place, here's a link about replacing the rivet nuts that it bolts into:

https://986forum.com/forums/attachments/performance-technical-chat/13799d1298241033-visor-attachment-issue-nutsert-install-upload.pdf

Thanks for this, it`s good to see that I came up with almost the same solution a few weeks ago without seeing this DYI. I bought the same insert at an ACE hardware but glued it in with epoxy instead of drilling an extra hole. It worked.

I removed the latch to check the microswitch. There are three electrical connectors that attach to:

1. The light
2. The microswitch
3. The motion detector

Connector #3 had worked loose. I reattached it and that resolved the problem. The car no longer beeps twice when I lock the doors. I'm wondering how it worked loose.

I must have had two problems that started around the same time - the passenger door microswitch and the loose connector.

I may have replaced the ignition switch unnecessarily. I will keep the one I removed as a spare.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I have my door open …..sorry the insides of my driver side mechanism exposed from what I can see here the regulator linkages and function all look good except for the green fitting pictured here I can pull it out as compared to the other one. Am I right in surmising that this automatic spring-loaded tensioning device to the left is already as far as it can go and there’s nothing that I can get out of it adjustment wise?

I watched a video where a guy put a zip tie around the cable in front of the green thing to take up the slack.

Yes saw that too and I want to avoid that if possible there’s so much slack that, that may last for a little bit and just cease to function after a while. I can really put pull the green thing out a centimetre or so

I am finally going back to the window drop...

In conclusion - what is the VW part number for 2003 Boxster?

Mine reads 99653754500 or 996.537.545.00 on the drivers side door.



I am not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but... when I pull the drivers handle the window will drop and stays dropped.
Yet, if I pull the handle kind of all the way, say too quickly and too abruptly (no, not yank it, just pull it all the way up, like a normal person would) then the window drops yet the moment I release the handle - it will go back up.
The door is open and the window is up.
Then, I wiggle with the lock latch - move it gently up/down and the switch will catch on causing the window to drop.

Does it mean the latch needs to be cleaned and I will be good?

This sounds like the issue I went through a month ago. And yes, it was the latch. R/r the latch is definitely tricky business since you are reassembling the latching mechanism inside the door blindly. Instead you are reconnecting the latch itself to the window control mechanism by feel. Oddly enough, doable, even for me. The window works fine now.

At first I was annoyed the YouTube videos didn’t bother to show the hardest part. Then dawned on me, they couldn’t. If you can’t see the process, how could you make a video of it?

Update.
finally solved it and decided to go easier although more expensive route.

Turns out all the microswitches worked OK. Again, every single one was just fine.

The problem was simply mechanical.
In both doors the latch worn to such extent that it would not trigger the switch.

The latch has a plastic cover/film. It is not a bare metal.
When it slides on the microswitch plate, at some point the plastic simply wears out. Or like in my case - on one side it completely cracked open and only some times would allow for contact, while the other side would not make the contact at all.

Manual trigger of the switch would make everything OK, though.

I looked for a way to maybe get the latch only or some other fixes... and then I though, heck, enough.
I just swapped the whole units with VW/Audi one, modified the plastic tab and it all works great.


One comment on the plastic tab.
Looking at the shape of it, the OEM tab is there to be able to open the door without the key or remote... you know what I mean :D
By modifying the tab on VW/Audi - this option is gone.
No more stealing my car :D

From my research into trying to find the correct part number, this is what I found so far:

1997 Porsche Boxster uses a different latch (8pin) than ALL Later Models (9pin).

9-Pin latch from VW MK5 for 1998+ Boxster
- Passenger Right Door: 3D1837016AC
- Driver Left Door: 3D1837015AB

8-Pin latch for 1997 Boxster
- Passenger Right Door - 3B1837016A
- Driver Left Door - 3b1837015A

REPAIR UPDATE
My passenger lock was broken, and it was mechanically sticking for the locking portion of the mechanism. It would sometimes not unlock. If I bang on the door, or pull the internal latch and let go, it would sometimes unstick mechanically and allows the door to unlock.

I purchased replacement passenger lock 3D1837016AC for $40 on Amazon. I had to cut off the red tab that would stick as noted in the youtube video. When I plugged it into my car, it would not electronically unlock nor lock. I decided to use the mechanical portion of the lock with the electronics from the Porsche lock. I had already reflowed the solder on the electronics to fix my window drop issue. I had to desolder the one mechanical sensor on the new lock and resolder it to the Porsche electronics portion.

After making this frankenstein, my locks now works perfectly. I am happy and confident in this repair.

I think this is the most detailed post about this issue - https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/tech-tips/porsche-986-996-door-latch-replacement-with-vw-part/151397/page1/