New Owner with a few questions
 

I am the proud new owner of a '98 Boxster. It is the first Porshe I have ever owned and after 1 week I am thoroughly in love with it. Unfortunatly it did not have an owners manual and over the course of the week a few questions have come uo that I cant figure out. I was hoping maybe you guys could help out. Sorry there are so many but I am lost without the owners manual.

1) When I test drove the car I tested the top and it worked fine. It is winter here so I haven't had any reason to use it but just for the hell of it I wanted to open it in my garage today and it wouldn't open. I was in park, latch open, windows went down 1/3 of the way. Pushed the button and nothing. Not even the sound of the top's motor. Am I missing something? Is ther a fuse for the top that could be blown?

2) To the right of the climate controls there are 3 switches. The top one is the door locks, bottom one is for the top, but I can't figure out what the middle one is for.

3) Down in the drivers side foot well on the left I noticed a little rocker switch. When I used it a tail rose on the rear of the car. I have never seen a Boxster with one of these up? Is it just a rear spoiler?. Does it only go up manually or does it pop up at a certain speed?

4) When I start the car the indicator light for the rear trunk being open stays on until I start to go forward then it goes out. Is that supposed to happen or is there a problem with the trunk switch?

5) When the car was idleing in the garage as I tried to figure out the issue with the top not working I smelt something that smelt a bit like antifreeze. The temp guage was fine so I didn't think much of it. When I turned the car off I walked aroung back and noticed about a 1/2 cup of yellow fluid had flowed out the back from under the engine. Is Porsche antifreeze yellow? I looked under and did not see a drip. I even started the car again and there was no dripping. Could it just have been a bit too full and overflowed a bit?

6) Can anyone tell me where to get an owners manual?

Thanks a lot for any help you cam give me wit any of these questions.

Mark

Hand brake has to be up for the top to work.

Middle switch is for the heated outside mirrors. Also for the defroster if you had a hardtop.

There is no warning light for the trunks on your year. What you see is the spoiler light - this is normal.

Check with any dealer on the owner's manual. Part number is WKD 986 021 98.

What is up with so many people buying these used cars, and not having a manual. On a 04 does the middle switch (defroster) heat the rear window, and side mirrors?

A while back I asked the same question about manuals, Pete. I think it is really strange. Somewhere out there is a guy who has a house made out of Boxster manuals, I just know it.

Tweek's has the manuals. I would guess they are a little cheaper than the dealer.

http://www.tweeks.com

Do you have the radio manual, guenzak? It is a different book from the owner’s manual. I've seen a few posts around on the net saying you can download one in PDF however; the only one I found wanted $15 bucks for the download. Anybody out there got the pdf? I guess it would help to know which radio you had.

I don't have the radio manual either. The radio I have is the CDR-210. I would love it if I could download the manual.

About the spoiler, does it come up automatically when you reach a certain speed or do you have to use that switch? It is in a very akward place to reach it while driving.

http://www.beckerautosound.com/

Click on what's new for the radio manual.

Spoiler goes up automatically at about 75 mph and then back down at about 50 mph.

I am the strange guy. I have all the 1997-2003 owner's manuals and the radio manuals for the various years. Even 996, turbo, and GT3. People give them to me when they get rid of their car or I find them on ebay.

Tweeks wants $25 for a 1998 owner's manual. This is a few dollars more than Porsche's list price.

There are no indications in the cockpit that it is up or down, and you cant see it while in the driver's seat. I think its one of the cooler parts of the car. I'm not too sure how much it does, but it is different as only a few cars have a speed controlled spoiler (911s, Carrera GT and Crossfire any others?) and people always get a kick out of it.

Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 has an active front and rear spoiler also.

Do you even have the case the stuff goes in?