Immobilizer water damage

[llonman]

My car was left open to the elements during a severe storm and the immobilizer was damaged. I removed it and cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol and while it does behave differently, the windows will not go up or down using the switches, frunk and trunk not unlocking, nor will the car start.****

I was planning on reaching out to ECU doctors in Florida to see if they can repair or buy a used one and use one of the cloning services on ebay.

Last option is to purchase a matching immobilizer, ECU, and Key FOB from ebay. From what I have been reading I do not need the tumbler as I can add the old key blade to the replacement FOB. Is there any other part that I need? Do I need the matching signal transducer (996.618.159.01)? I noticed some sellers including the ignition tumbler, Door tumbler, and the signal transducer. Others just the immobilizer, ECU, and key Fob.

Does anyone know what else I should check for damage? There was water pooled in space below the seats. I have removed all carpet and dried it all out with fans, including the foam under the carpet which took days.

[Hudy]

What year is your car?

[78F350]

It's been discussed a lot in the past - because it happens to someone's car regularly here. I have bought many various salvage Boxsters and have done the swap of a similar year and model Key fob, DME (ECU) and Immobilizer Box (Central Locking Unit). The signal transducer (996.618.159.01) is not needed. The drawback of doing it this way is that that car's specific info such as the VIN, detailed equipment, and engine history (over-revs) will not be in the parts that you swapped in. It will lead to problems if you have it serviced at a Porsche Dealership in the future.

I'd recommend ECU Doctors for a reliable repair if you value the car enough for the expense. Otherwise having the clone done is a better option that swapping parts from another car.

In my case, I recently bought a 2002 that hadn't run for over a year and the immobilizer board was beyond repair. To get it running and start evaluating the car, I swapped in the fob/Immo/ECU from a 2001. I'll decide if I want to get the original immobilizer cloned. The car needs a lot of maintenance - suspension, paint and minor body work and I have yet to decide if I want to put money into making everything right or just have it functional.

Note: There are many versions of immobilizer box. If you buy one, make sure that it is the same part number as the original.

[997_986]

This is great info, thanks!

[llonman]

Disregard, the car is sorted. I thought I could just keep the old key close by but needed to swap the RFID pill between remotes. Car fired up and now just need to put it back together and sort some replacement seat covers for my 997 seats.