Newbie with lots of questions
 

Hi guys, names orlando, I have recently sold my 2003 E46 M3 and decided to buy a Boxster S! its a 2004 with 43,000 miles, its a manual! Anyway as i don't know much about the Boxster so i need your help :p so here goes,

1) I installed HID's in my low beam and fog lights and the odd time the oil + battery warning lights will pop up? It did it once when i was driving and once in the driveway when i started the car should i be worried ?

2) After using the car for lets say 20 or 30 odd minutes well anyway after the car is warmed up and i park it and turn off the engine, if let to sit for 3 or 4 hours and i go to start it up there's a banging/tapping sound coming from the engine and i have no clue what it could be? and the banging is continuous untill i stop the engine and start it back up, what could it be? it only does it if let to sit for 3 or 4 hours?

3) When the engine is fully cold there seems to be a hell off a lot of smoke coming from the engine, now i know its a boxster engine and its suppose to smoke a little bit but i think mine might be smoking too much!

4) the key that i got with the car doesnt open/close the doors or the trunks? and the led light wont go on at all on the remote so i ordered a new key from porsche and went down to have the new key programmed but porsche told me that they cant program it because the car wont accept the codes? has anyone come across this?

well anyway thats it for now guys thanks in advance for your help!!

1) General consensus on the HID is it is more problematic than an upgrade.

2) Knocking noise needs to be identified before any more driving, codes from the USB port are going to help in tracking

3) in all likelihood it's normal unless it's related to the knocking noise

4) The least of your worries but sounds like a pia to fix, maybe the cpu was changed? Just a guess but on the "back burner" compared to the knocking.

Ghostrider, when you say HIDs, do you mean like "silverstars"....etc? I mean just replacing a bulb, not a system.

Orlandoo....welcome to the forum! My girlfriends family is from Kilkenny. We went there awhile back and I didn't see a single Boxster the whole time. Yours must be rare!

and by USB port he means ODBC port :)
1, 2, and 3 could all be related to oil starvation or AOS issues. The smoking you're seeing is usually the best indicator of a failed/failing AOS.

Yeah got the port names mixed, as for the bulbs I thought I read the ebay units were in some cases melting the lenses and other times causing other electrical problems. The banging noise is something that could be nothing, still you want to address it ahead of failure to save money in the long run, enjoy the ride and welcome.

ahh really nice! well to be honest i haven't seen any boxsters around :eek:

ok so i need to hook it up to a tester to see what codes are given right?
ok what is AOS failure??

Air-oil separator, good sir. :)

Get the codes, then it will be easier to track down the issue, OBD is below ignition and light switch. AOS is the air oil separator, if it were me I would diagnose the first problem, not only is it more pressing it might be related to your perception that the oil spatter is excessive.

PS My niece, and godchild attends University in Ireland, lucky kid...

how does the Boxster compare to the E46 M3? Ive actually been tossing around the idea of getting rid of my Box for one of them

1) Some HID kits can cause electrical issues. Solving the problem can be time consuming. The cause is usually low voltage to the HID ballast but the fix can be hit or miss. This problem is more of a PITA than anything else.

2) ??? Do you have any more info that you can share? what kind of banging? Any certain area of the engine?

3) Momentary blue/white smoke on cold start is normal. Should dissipate in a few seconds. Big clouds of white/grey smoke (like a smoke screen) is a failed AOS.

ok when i go back to porsche to program the key i'll tell them to stick it on the diagnostic!! really do they like it?

well i'll be honest here the M3 Smg that i had was an absolute dream to have to be honest I cant really compare it to the Boxster because in my opinion the M3 wins hands down, its just a different type of beast its raw its a brute!!

but theres lots of downsides, headgasket tend to go, as well as the vanos unit, smg pumps (which cost upwards of 2k to buy) and of course the famous rear subframe that tends to crack and twist!! fun fun fun lol , the reason i gave away my M3 was because of a cracked subframe. If i was to go for another M car it would be the E60 M5! Although there are good examples of M3's out there you just have to search hard and preferably get one which has had the subframe replaced by BMW!

Didn't BMW issue a recall on the cracked subframe and will fix it under warranty?

I've been told by M3 owner that it is quite tail happy at the track... Boxster is much more confident when exiting a corner.

I don't care what car, SMG (a.k.a. single clutch) transmissions are something to avoid. They're horrible in city traffic and it's maintenance nightmare.

The AOS could be failing and causing your smoking. Mine did the same thing, cost me about $100 for the part and 2 hours of my time. I would check and see if you have a bad motor mount that my be causing your bagging noise.:cheers:

Funny how the grass isn't always that much greener (as compared to the IMSB, RMS, AOS, and MAF of the Boxster).

haha yeah, I have done more work on my BMW X3 than I have on the P-car........but have done way less on the Saab over 60k miles than both (that bad boy has 120k on it now and has been tuned pushing 22+psi of boost for 30k miles now!!!)