Boxster Hood
 

Hi all
I have a 1999 2.5 Boxster. For the last 12 months or so the hood has occasionally not gone back up or not gone down in the first place. A flick of the micro switch at the top of the screen where the retaining clip goes has always cured this. The hood is now down and refuses to go up. It has been to two auto electricians who say everythings checks out ok. It has been put on a Porsche fault reading computer at a specialist and nothing comes up. It isn't making any noise like its even trying to go up .
Can anyone help me ?? Are there any roof specialists ( that's car roof not flat roof :-) ) within reach from York ?
Please help
Regards
Steve

Most of the time the culprit is the park brake indicator switch. Is park brake light on the dash lit up when the lever is raised? If not then you have your problem and it is a cheap and simple fix. (BTW, you know the park brake has to be engaged for the top to operate, right?)

will check that as soon as it gets back from the auto electrician. I told both that I thought it was probably one of the switches but I think maybe neither knew about the handbrake one. Thanks very much for suggestion , will report back as soon as I can check it.

I've had that happen twice in 7 years. Both times it was a stuck relay. I pulled the top motor relay, tapped it briskly on a hard surface and reinserted. Shazamm! The top worked again. Crappy German electronics. :) Kudos to forum member Schoir for suggesting this quick fix.

hood
 

got the car back and the parking brake light comes on ok so I take it that means the switch is ok. Will now try to find the relays you have told me about , are they with the fuses ?

Hi to a fellow Yorkshireman!

If you continue to have problems you should go down to Specialist Cars of Malton (not far from you)

Ask for Mike the head Mechanic he's a top bloke and has given me lot's of advice over the years.

Welcome | Specialist Cars

Google works. It's with the fuses in the footwell:
Image Detail for - AutoTop Porsche Boxster and 996 Convertible Top ...

thanks
 

I must thank all for the efforts you are going to to help me , it seems Boxster owners are a nice bunch :-) I will let you all know when I have some success

hood
 

I have looked in both footwells and can see no sign of the relay tray ?
Might it be somewhere else on a 99 RHD vehicle ? The owners manual is useless so I am trawling the net as well. Lets hope it is the relay as funds are low to say the least !!!

Here is an old thread that describes the problem with pics. Your fuse panel and relays should be in the outer wall of the kick panel near the dead pedal. Maybe right or left side, not sure on a RHD car. They are behind a removable cover:
http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/28387-why-wont-my-conv-top-not-go-back-up.html

progress
 

Morning all
I am getting into this DIY repair now !!
Have found the relays ( big deal I hear ! ) , and have pulled out and tapped the relay hard a few times ( part no 98661811102 ) , no change , totally dead , not a whirr from anywhere. Should I now buy a new relay ( I see the buggers are the dearest at around £80 a piece !!! ) and fit it or might I be throwing money away ? Any other tests I can do , I am in the zone now :-)

and
 

again thanks to all , especially Topless for the pic link, I couldnt drop the board down but knew by feel which relay to pull , worked a treat , finding it I mean , not mending it just yet but ................

I'm looking back to your first post where you said tapping the switch at the top of the windshield used to fix it but not anymore. I think that before I started hurling money at the problem (always tempting but rarely ends well) I would try jumping that switch to see what happens. If that isn't it then I'd pull out the multimeter and the wiring diagram and start tracing through the circuit to see if I could find the break point.

hood
 

Hi Mark
It has been to two auto electricians who did not find the fault ( not Porsche specialists though ) so I am trusting they checked basic circuits. The top micro switch clicks when I flick it so I presume that means its working. Does that one actually stop the hood working or is it just to do with dropping the windows ?

Do you understand how to test a relay? If you are not comfortable doing this, take it to someone who is for testing. Also pull the fuses and check the one for the top. It should be 0 ohms/closed.

1. Energize the coil with 12v and test across the load terminals for continuity. Should be 0 ohms.

2. De-energize the coil and test load side. Should be open circuit.

This is a duplex relay so I am guessing one side is for raising the top and the other side is for lowering.

It stops the top so you can't strain the motor by hitting the switch when the top is latched.

I can understand the techs having difficulty tracing an intermittent problem but this top is totally dead. Hard to believe that an auto electrician can't identify the break. Are they using the wiring diagrams or just poking around hoping to get lucky?

Do you have the wiring diagrams? If not then I have scanned the page you want from my manual and you can get it here: top wiring

hood
 

thanks again guys , have printed the diagram out , now to find someone to test my relay , then if its not that , a good electrician !!

hood
 

one other question . Did I gather there is a relay replacement that bypasses the two micro switches ? If so , this would eliminate three possible problems in one go and may be worth the cost. It would have to be suitable for the 99 model though.

That would be the SmartTOP roof control unit, but I think the only switch that it bypasses is the handbrake switch, allowing the top to be raised and lowered while the car is moving, albeit at slow speeds. It also allows one-touch operation of the roof, eliminating the need to hold down the button for the full cycle of the top. Readily available from Pelican or ebay.

Never understood why either of those features would be worth $300 to someone, but I don't get fugly wings and 20" rims either so maybe it's just me. ;)

hood
 

tend to agree Mark , mine is standard still ( apart from the non raising roof that is ) plus I see if you insulate pin 18 and 15 you can just bypass the handbrake switch anyway. Amazing what I am learning :-)
Just need to find a good auto electric guy in my area , not easy.

I have heard good reviews about these guys:
AUTOFARM | Porsche Specialists For Over 35 Years - Oxfordshire Buckinghamshire Cotswolds

It looks like they are pretty far south but perhaps they could give you a recommendation of a qualified Porsche shop near you. It's worth a phone call.

hood
 

Hi all
Have cracked it thanks to you guys.
It was EXACTLY what I told the two auto electricians , the switch in the hood latch housing !
I still need to get into it to either clean or replace it. Have tried levering the plate that houses the interior lights and the opening for the switch but it dont wanna move. Cant try too hard or I will snap it , is there a trick to taking it off ???
Thats the first time I have ( almost ) mended a car in 45 years , feels good :-)
Regards
Steve

Well done, Steve - feels good, doesn't it?

I just went and had a look at mine. If you pop out the lenses for the motion sensors you will find big torx screws underneath. I didn't try this myself, but I'm betting that removal of those screws will be the key to removing the housing and getting at the switch.

I didn't see anything about it on my manual but I will have a better look later when I get back home. If you don't have a Bentley manual then you really should look into getting one. I think they are about $70 but you see deals on them occasionally here on the forum.

hood
 

It does feel good buddy !!! I am off to buy some torq screwdrivers or a socket set , have no tools at all ( well I do have a hammer and a drill but bit heavy handed for this job !! )

Sears has this nice starter tool set that should keep you going for the first couple of months. It's also compact enough to carry in your car for emergencies.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/oshikuru/toolkit.jpg

Seriously though, when I first got the car I had a fair number of tools, but not a lot of metric and not of the quality that I considered Porsche-worthy. So, over the last couple of years it has become my companion hobby to scour ebay looking for deals on good used Snap-On and Craftsman tools and I have accumulated a surprisingly complete Boxster toolbox for much less than I would have paid off the truck. I could post or send pics if anyone is interested.

I also quickly saw the wisdom of buying some of the specialty tools that would not only make life much easier, but allow me to work without an assistant. Some of these that I would not be without are the remote cable operated hose clamp tool, the Motive power brake/clutch bleeder, and the Uview vacuum fill kit for the cooling system.

In four years the only thing my car has gone into the shop for was to have the headlights properly aimed. Everything else I have manged myself (with a big portion of the credit going to Pedro, JFP in PA, Maurice, and all the other people on this board who have been so helpful.)

About the Torx... buy screwdrivers if you want, but I prefer sockets. This isn't a tool to cheap out on, nor are hex bits. Crappy ones round out too easily and then you'll be using that drill to get the screw out. Also, get the security style Torx with the hole in the end - you will need them.

done
 

A final thanks for all your help guys , it is now done and works a treat. Only a 15 minute job , easy to do and lots of money saved !!
I will be back next time something goes wrong :-)