New Owner with a few questions

[guenzak]

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

[Tool Pants]

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.

[PeterJoyce]

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?

[QporscheQ]

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.

[guenzak]

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.

[Tool Pants]

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.

[QporscheQ]

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.

[tqtran]

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

[PeterJoyce]

Do you even have the case the stuff goes in?