Help....Possible electrical problem

[Marty S]

I went to dive the car last evening and could not get it to start. No power what so ever. Appears to be a battery. I took the old battery to Advance Auto and sure enough, the battery was dead. Hence, I bought a replacement and ran home to install. As soon as I connected the positive, I could hear a bell and expected to see the car coming back to life. When I got in the car, the airbag light was on and I could hear something that sounded like a fan running,but the car would not start.

When I turn the ignition, nothing, not even an attempt to start. No radio, no lights, no climate control, locks, windows. Dead as a door nail. I called my local independent mechanic and he suggested it could be anything from a bad ignition switch to a blown fuse.

When I put the new battery in, I connected the negative first and then the positive. I dd notice a little bit of an electrical spark when the battery was connected. Otherwise, nothing else. Since then, I removed the battery, it is sitting in the frunk and the car is on its way to the shop via a flatbed.

Anyone car to guess what might be the issue? I am hoping for the fure or something simple, but that is usually not my luck. By the way, the old battery was 4.6 years old..

THANKS

[Steve Tinker]

Marty....
Assuming that you did not connect the battery the wrong way round (it has happend), are you sure the new battery is fully charged??
If you have a multi meter, check the voltage at the terminals - you should see 12.6v for a fully charged battery.

[thom4782]

This is a pure guess. Is it possible that your car switched to 'transport' mode, which seems to disable a number of electrical functions.

[Marty S]

Yes...after it would not start, I took the new battery back and had them check it. It was OK.

Your suggestion was good, but my battery clamps are color coded presuming they are installed correctly.

[Marty S]

Never thought of that. How do you get it out of that mode and better yet what are the signs that it is in transport mode?

[Marty S]

Could it be the switch that is activated by the clutch that prevents to car from starting without the clutch depressed?

[madmods]

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[haz]

One of the most common electrical items to fail on some of the older Porsches is the ignition switch. This failure can show up in any number of ways. The car can refuse to start some of the time, the key may not turn too easily in the ignition, or strange electrical problems may appear. Either way, the correct solution is to replace all or part of the ignition switch.

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Ignition Switch Replacement - 986 / 987

[Marty S]

In the end,it was the alternator that was not operating. I got the car back from the shop on Wednesday and it is running perfect.

[madmods]

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