Broken Lock

[Subanez]

So I have a question:

I shut my driver's side door tonight, and when I put the key in the lock, I heard a light tinkling sound, like small glass had just broken. End result is that the driver's side lock doesn't move with the key. I have to lock the car from the passenger side (and yes, when I do THAT, the driver's side door locks.)

Any idea? Did the lock bust? How much to replace?

As a side note, I haven't posted for a month because my computer died, so, here I am back again!

-Kevin

[JonnyBGood]

Kevin,

Alright, I'm not an expert or anything, but I'll take a guess.

First, the reason you can't unlock the driver's door and the reason you can unlock it with the passenger door are two different things. The driver side door is being locked/unlocked via the key. Unlocking the driver side door with the passenger side is done via the locking/unlocking solenoid. So one does not have much to do with another.

Second, what you seem to be describing is a tumbler beaking or falling out of the lock. Once again, my experience is not with the kind of keys that we have for our Porsches, but I have to guess that the concepts are not that different.

On your house key, it has grooves at different heights. You stick it into the lock, and it moves little spring loaded tumbers to the correct height and allows the lock to turn. It sounds like one of the spring loaded tumbers fell out keeping you from making the correct contact with the key. Now, I assume that this isn't affecting your ability to start the car, just to lock it from the driver's side door.

Either way, this doesn't sound good and it sounds like it might cost a bit. Assuming that they can't just replace one driver's side lock, you may have to replace 2 door locks, and the ignition switch. I bet that isn't going to be too cheap.

This is just a guess. But from what you've described, its an "educated" guess

[Lux]

Hey Sub,

Welcome back.

I think JonnyBGood might be right. Check with your dealer to see if you can just replace one lock. If not and your solenoids are still working (and it sounds like they are), go to an audio shop and get an alarm with auto door locking feature. Should be less than $150 depending on how fancy of an alarm you want. That way, you won't have to bother with the keys again.

[Subanez]

YEa, Lux, that was one of the ideas I was thinking about. Its not a problem with the key, because the ignition and passenger side door still work fine, and I am at least relieved that I can lock it one way or another.

I think I'll just use the passenger side for a while, as dumb and "un-porschelike" as that may be, mainly because I just dropped close to $4Gs last month getting everything wrong with the car fixed...so we'll see what happens.

THanks for all the input, though, guys. That tinkling sound made me a little nervous, but at least the car is still driveable.

[donv]

Can you turn the key in the driver side lock? If so, does it just spin and not seem to "connect" with anything? If it spins, the lock "tumbler" mechanism is likely not the problem...

I don't know the details of the lock mechanism on the Boxster, but most other cars I've worked on had some sort of rod that would connect to the lock cylinder via a lever of some sort and then the other end would connect to the parts that would physically lock/open the door. If the Boxster is the same then you may just have had the rod come disconnected and the "tinkling" could have been the clip they usually use to retain it.

Unfortunately, I've not seen the deep interior of the door myself and any photos I've found on-line in a quick search did not show far enough inside. The closest I found was http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/window/ .

If you happen to go poking around in there, two ideas:

1) take and post pictures
2) be aware of this caution posted on the 986faq site, taken from the Porsche tech bulletins:

Potential for Injury [grp5 3/97 5717 9/9/97] 1pg

If repairs to the door locks, door handles, or door window mechanisms are required and the vehicle battery is connected, be sure to remove fuse #1 in row D. The reason for this precaution is because of the comfort feature of the "automatic window lowering" of the Boxster windows. This feature could be activated unintentionally while working on the door locks, door handles, or door window mechanisms, and injury to hand or fingers could occur if caught in the window opening.

[Subanez]

I wouldn't want to electrocute myself! Haha.

No, when I put the key in, there's the same pressure, and same amount of movement as usual. If I were deaf, I wouldn't notice a difference. There's just no "KACHUNK" of the lock engaging/disengaging. I only get movement when I put the key in the passenger side door.

::sigh:: I love this car, but for the amount of money I put into it for repairs...sometimes I wonder...

[JonnyBGood]

Hmmmm, so it turns. Perhaps the boxster door lock system is really not mechanical at all. I suppose if my battery was dead, I could try to unlock my door with the key and it woudln't work because its not really mechanical.

Okay, so here is what I'm thinking... as you turn the key, it makes an electrical connection. Now, I don't have any idea how the door knows its your key and not my key. I know the ignition key requires that the RFID tag be in your key. (thats the little glass looking pod inside of your key). I don't know if the door key works the same way.

That doesn't explain the tinkling sound you heard though.

Sorry that I can't be more help.