Electrical Quirks - Both hoods randomly open

[skydevil06]

2006 Boxster - Anybody walk out to the driveway and find their front or back trunk open... knowing that you locked the car earlier?

I just started noticing this happen a couple times in the last month or so. I even had the alarm go off by itself last week with no one around it. I live not to far from a parking lot, so I wondered if it was frequency cross-over.

The car only has 4K miles, I picked it up in Zuffenhausen in August '05, drove for a year in Germany, then shipped to the US last month. With the exception of an occasional rattle when the engine is cold, all has been pretty good. It has been quite difficult doing the speed limit though

Ideas out there before I go to the dealer up the road??

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by skydevil06

2006 Boxster - Anybody walk out to the driveway and find their front or back trunk open... knowing that you locked the car earlier?

I just started noticing this happen a couple times in the last month or so. I even had the alarm go off by itself last week with no one around it. I live not to far from a parking lot, so I wondered if it was frequency cross-over.

The car only has 4K miles, I picked it up in Zuffenhausen in August '05, drove for a year in Germany, then shipped to the US last month. With the exception of an occasional rattle when the engine is cold, all has been pretty good. It has been quite difficult doing the speed limit though

Ideas out there before I go to the dealer up the road??

Hi,

I suspect that you may have a european alarm frequency, and that your Hood/Trunk are not being opened randomly, rather they are accidentally being triggered by other remote devices, two-way radios, etc.

What is the version code for your car? M484 is the version for the US Market, while M553 is for either the US or Canadian Markets, there is no M code for a German version, this would be all-encompassed as M071 - version for EU Country. There is also an Alarm M code. M534 is for ROW Alarms, except US. M535 is the Alarm M code for the USA.

The US Alarms operate on 315MHz while ROW uses 433MHz. I suspect that you are getting interference from Garage door openers, portable radios and the like crossing over to 433Mhz. Even with the US 315MHz version, it's possible for the remote to be triggered by another device. This is why Porsches automatically re-lock if a door hasn't been opened within 1 min., so the alarm is reset if accidentally triggered by another device.

You'd need to have someone look at your remotes to determine that they are in fact M535 version, or 315MHz. If not, I think you can have them changed over (replaced most probably), but a trip to the dealership would be required to reprogram the Alarm in the car, as well as some $$ outlay. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[derb]

Along the lines of Jim's post... If the remote is FCC certified then you can go to the FCC website (fcc.gov) and search their database to find the frequency that the remote transmits at. My remote's FCC ID is LTQTXF315P and operates between 314.5 and 315.5 mhz (a '99). Your remote might end in ...P3 and operate at 315.0 as Jim's post states. If there is no FCC number then it might be just as Jim suggested- it operates at a frequency that garage door openers operate at. Guess that's why we have the FCC to keep things straight.
The FCC number is below the Porsche crest on my remote- I needed some magnification help to read the numbers.

Regards,
derb

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by derb

Along the lines of Jim's post... If the remote is FCC certified then you can go to the FCC website (fcc.gov) and search their database to find the frequency that the remote transmits at. My remote's FCC ID is LTQTXF315P and operates between 314.5 and 315.5 mhz (a '99). Your remote might end in ...P3 and operate at 315.0 as Jim's post states. If there is no FCC number then it might be just as Jim suggested- it operates at a frequency that garage door openers operate at. Guess that's why we have the FCC to keep things straight.
The FCC number is below the Porsche crest on my remote- I needed some magnification help to read the numbers.

Regards,
derb

Hi,

Interesting information. I didn't know about the FCC ID#.

I have both original remotes for my '99 and neither one has an ID# on it at all, and I used a magnifying glass to be certain. I even opened them both up and there's no ID# there either. So I guess the absence of one doesn't really mean anything and doesn't automatically label it an M534 (433MHz) remote.

But, if the car was hooked up to a PST2 or PIWIS Tester at a dealership, it would show the frequency the Alarm and remote is set to operate at. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[akpud]

Any chance the interior of your car has gotten wet recently? A wet alarm module under the driver's seat caused this behavior in my car ...........(had to be replaced).

Originally Posted by skydevil06

The car only has 4K miles, I picked it up in Zuffenhausen in August '05, drove for a year in Germany, then shipped to the US last month. With the exception of an occasional rattle when the engine is cold, all has been pretty good. It has been quite difficult doing the speed limit though

Ideas out there before I go to the dealer up the road??

This rattle could be the TSB (W574) issued for the washers on the exhaust bracket clamps.