Doug427

So here's where I'm at with the car - I am very pleasantly surprised, to the point that I have no idea why this car was written off as a flood car. From everything I can see now that I have had time to really dig deeply into the car, it was not "flooded" at all. Certainly not in the traditional "flood" sense. It got a very small amount of water in the car, just enough to fry the rear body control module that is mounted in the well in the floor under the drivers seat. That's ALL the damage in the car. That's it.

In addition to the rear body control module that is mounted in the well in the floor under the drives seat, there is a seat memory module that is mounted to the actual underside of the seat. That module, as well as the entire underside of the seat, the electric seat motors, the rails, wiring, everything under there, is in pristine, as new condition. None of that ever got wet, the water never reached as high as the underside of the seat. Looking at the fuse box, the lowest row of fuses nearest the floor and their contacts are also in as new, pristine condition. The water never reached them either. The absolute, ONLY electric component in this car that could have possibly gotten wet with that low level of water is that one module mounted in the well in the floor, the Rear Body Control Module. That's it. It's a $288 part - for that they totaled the car? That's insane. This car is in perfect condition other than that. There's not a single scratch on it, the Guards red paint is perfect and shiny even without the professional detail and ceramic finish that I plan on having done. The 19" Porsche optional wheels are prefect, shod with nearly new looking Michelin Sport Pilot tires. The brakes look just fine, the genuine Porsche battery took a charge just fine and checks out as prefect. The black optional leather interior is perfect. The option list on he car is: 342 - Heated Front Seats, 403 - 19" Carrera S wheel, 446 - Wheel Caps with colored crest, 460 - Sport Steering Wheel Leather, 551 - Porsche Windstop Deflector, 680 - Bose surround sound system, 692 - Remote CD 6 disc changer, AN - Black standard leather, G1 - Guards Red, M6Z - Floor Mats interior color, P12 - Self dim mirrors and rain sensor, P15 - Power seat package, P74 - Bi-Xenon headlamp package, PPB - Preferred package plus, V9 - black top. All in all it's a fairly well optioned car.

I have driven it. The engine purrs smoothly and quietly. The transmission shifts perfectly. I changed the engine oil and filter; the oil in the engine was fine, no water at all, nothing at all strange about the oil. I inspected the oil filter very, very carefully - with bright light, magnifying glass and magnet - nothing at all in the filter. The oil was not new, it was clean but very obviously used, so I know that no one changed it just to cover something up. Once I get the car on the road and I can really get the trans up to temp, I'll change that oil as well, but for now I expect nothing out of the ordinary in there either.

My only guess is that this car did not actually flood, it got a small amount of rainwater in it. The interior is in perfect condition - zero damage. There is no smell whatsoever and the carpets are totally dry. I really have no idea how the water got in, and I won't be able to check the drains until I get the new module in and can get the convertible top to the service position to check them. Of course whatever the drains need, if anything, I will do. Until then there is no issue, as the car is garaged at all times. Every part I replace in this car will be replaced with brand new. I want zero issues with the car, that's the goal. I plan on holding on to this car for a long time.

As for the module, I ordered it brand new from Sunset Porsche in Oregon. I want this done right. The plugs from the harness into the module had a small bit of discoloration and corrosion on them. I spent lots of time cleaning them, then I used Deoxit cleaner, then coated the terminals with Deoxit Gold. I have right now what are undoubtedly the cleanest, most perfect rear body control module terminals in a 2005 Boxster S in the country! That level of cleaning and contact enhancement, coupled with the brand new module, should make this a prefect and trouble free repair for the life of the car.

I believe that the issues the car has now (convertible top inoperative, window in drivers door rolls down but not up, drivers seat won't move electrically, reverse lights stay on, rear trunk latch won't operate electrically) are all associated with the faulty rear body control module. The drivers seat works when power is applied directly to the motor, so if it's not the module which I believe it is, then it's a switch. Easy to take care of with a brand new switch. The convertible top, reverse lights and rear trunk issue are absolutely the module. The window probably is the module, but if not it's simple troubleshooting and replace a switch or motor, that's easy and inexpensive, again with all brand new parts.

I'm very confident that this car will be completely trouble free and enjoyable for many years to come. 987 maintenance and troubleshooting information, and in depth system information, is very difficult to come by. There is no Bentley manual available for it, there is no Pelican Parts 100 things book for the 987, not much of anything out there. What there is available is all of you guys being very helpful. Without you guys I would not have been able to track all this down. By taking all of information that you guys provided and assembling the pertinent stuff from each I was able to build a petty complete picture of what the rear body control module does and what it controls. From there, I was able to get the seat moving again with information from you guys, the key to which was the wiring diagram download that I was pointed to. I can't thank all of you enough.

Once I get the module in and clear up all the minor bugs I'll post back with a few photos. For now it looks really good moving forward. Thanks to all of you who helped. More to come......

Viper pilot

Excellent! Hope the finishing touches and final testing go as well as your hoping. Should have a great car going forward!! BTW, I hope the title doesn't reflect a total write off vehicle?

Voyager6

Insurance companies, especially with the volume of cars in the Texas 2017 hurricane, had a policy that if the water got above the carpet, they totaled it. The trick is to find one, like yours and mine, that were marginally flooded and economically repariable.

Note that Copart had a special cleaning service that the seller could opt for and they could make the car look clean, even if flooded. As I emailed you, get a dehumidifier and run it a few weeks to get all the hidden water out. My car appeared dry and I still pulled three gallons of water out over three weeks. Hidden water will cause corrosion in wiring that will introduce problems down the road. I also advised using a lubricating contact cleaner on all wiring that may have been exposed to water as contacts on my 981 were silver and tarnished black.

On 981s, the memory function may be split between the door control and power seat controls. I don't know if that is the same on a 987.

V6

andy7777

Doug, I've got a guards red '07 Boxster that sounds just like your car, optioned up pretty much the same, except the original owner went double crazy with the red and had red console, dials and roll bars. It's just been a blast.

Once you sort out the module, enjoy. I've kept mine stock except for changing out the shocks for the Cayman R units, I think they are just perfect. They drop the car about 20mm and stiffen it up ever so much. With 19 inch wheels it's a great combo.

Suicide Jockey

Doug, thanks for the detailed follow-up report and huge congrats on getting this sorted. I admire your dogged persistence and Sherlock Holmes-approach to troubleshooting the electrical problems you encountered. I sensed frustration in some of your early posts due to the lack of available information both here on the forum and through third-party sources. Hopefully it's smooth sailing for you and the car from this point forward. Good luck!

HETPE3B

Doug, I do have nearly identical story about my car, that was sold with a flood title, but the only issue I found was the toast rear module (same as yours). The water even didn't get to the seat harness. My carpets were absolutely dry on a feel, but I did get a chance to raise it a bit, and the foam padding underneath the carpet is all wet. If I squeeze the padding - it's like a waterfall. But a carpet on the top is completely dry. So if you didn't do so previously - perfect time for you to check the padding.
I did remove the seats, center console, hand brake, shifter and raised the carpet and my dehumidifier is running non stop.

993Mpls

Might be worthwhile to rent an industrial-strength dehumidifier for a weekend and then you'd be done with it. Those things are amazing. Cut that three-week timeframe down to 3 days.

Doug427

Thanks guys - I ran my hand all the way up and around the carpets and pads, it's all bone dry. Once I can get the window rolled up I'll put a dehumidifier in there for a while as suggested. Can't hurt.

Doug427

By lubricating contact cleaner, I thought you were referring to a product like Deoxit Gold - I am using Deoxit to clean, and then Deoxit Gold as a follow up to that for cleaning, protecting and promoting contact. Do you know of a better product that I should be using?

Doug427

So, I have gotten a few PM's expressing concern, and in one case horror, condemning my "stupidity" for buying a "flood" car. I wrote the following on another forum in response to a guy who had written that no matter what, you walk away from a flood car. I'm thinking it sums the subject up pretty good. If nothing else some might find it an interesting read. Thanks again to all of you for the ongoing help.

With all due respect and deference to your extensive experience, I disagree with that statement, and I do so with first hand experience. There are "flood" cars and there are flooded cars. Here in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, we have both. What's the difference, you might ask.

What we call "flooded" cars are just that - a car that was partially or totally submerged. When dealing with one of these cars, I couldn't agree more with what JFP has to say. That car is toast, maybe good from a few parts, and that's about it. The dash and virtually all the electronics went swimming, and it'll never work properly again.
(edit - It's wrong of me to make a definitive statement like this. I read of a guy in OK who resurrected a deeply submerged 986 Anniversary Edition Boxster S. It was a tremendous amount of work but he got it done. I have no idea how it turned out long term, but I'm hoping for him it's a winner.)

Then there are cars like the 987 Boxster S I just bought. It's a "flood" car. The difference is, this car had hardly ANY water in it at all, yet it was totaled by the insurance company. For those of you not in the Houston area, you have to understand that Harvey flooded tens of thousands of cars in a 2 day period. The scale and magnitude of the destruction is impossible to comprehend unless you were here to live through it. The insurance companies were completely, totally overwhelmed. They couldn't possibly inspect every car claim while still offering the timely claim service that people so badly needed.

As a result of that, they ended up totaling every single automotive claim that came in that mentioned water, no matter how insignificant it was. They really had no other alternative. Now fast forward to my car, and understand my car was not the only one like this, there were LOTS of similar cars out there. My 987 Boxster S (2005) got about 1", maybe 2" of water in it. That's it. The underside of the seats, all the seat motors, etc never even got wet. There is exactly ONE and only ONE electrical component in the entire car that got wet. The fuse box did NOT get wet. The dash area did NOT get wet. The single, ONLY component that got wet was the rear body control module that sits in the well under the drivers seat. It controls electrical body functions like the convertible top, the rear trunk lid release, the reverse and some other lights, etc. It does not control any engine or security features. For you 986 guys, it's basically half the immobilizer functions, and it sits in the same place in the floor as your immobilizer.

The module itself was in bad shape from getting wet, and the plugs from the harness to the module were somewhat dirty with some corrosion on them. The module was replaced with a brand new module direct from Porsche, for the whopping total of $288. I fastidiously cleaned the harness plugs that go into the module with professional electronics cleaning products, then used Deoxit Gold, which cleans and protects the terminals, and promotes good effective connection going forward. I have no doubt that the connector plugs in my car are now far superior to what they were before the water hit them, and that they will remain that way.

The car carries a salvage title, but that's fine with me. It's as good, and in fact even better than it was the day before it "flooded". I paid about 25% of what I would have paid for it the day before it "flooded". I invested a total of about $325 into it and about 4 hours of my time to get it to where it is now. It is now an absolutely flawless 2005 Boxster S with 64,000 miles on it, for a 75% discount.

Would I do it again? Absolutely, where do I sign up? When I sell it somewhere down the road, it'll be a gorgeous, strong running Boxster S with a salvage title. Will it take a value hit because of the salvage title? Of course it will. Will it be a challenge to sell because of a large number of potential buyers who won't consider a salvage car? Of course. Will I have enjoyed years of driving an awesome car for all that time at the price of a 15 year old Honda Civic? You bet I will have! And I will STILL make a considerable amount of money on it too!

The bottom line is, each case is different. If the water was a foot deep in this car, I would agree 100% with JFP. Absolutely. For one inch of water? That's not a problem at all. Now keep in mind we're talking about fresh water here. Salt water is a WHOLE 'nother story! Think about the 100's of 986/996's running around out there with replacement immobilizers in them because the front and/or rear drains clogged and wet the thing. They're basically "flood" cars too, but carry clean titles because they were repaired without an insurance claim. That's the ONLY difference. Yet they run flawlessly, year after year, mile after mile, and will continue to do so. My car, and many other "flood" cars, are no different.

Your mileage may very......

HETPE3B

That's funny, how the people make statements doesn't really know what they are talking about Flood specialists ))) Making the statements about something they didn't see personally (e.g. particular vehicle they are talking about) or have extensive experience in repair. They just heard something some-when somewhere .
P.S. Besides minor and major flood damage as described above there is also fresh and salt water flood. While the fresh water flood is not so much of a deal and can be taken care of, the salt water flood is another story and something like that should be considered as a donor for some parts only.

Voyager6

DeOxit Gold is good enough.

V6

Voyager6

I agree 100%. I read that if water got above the carpet, it was totaled. Many of the cars on Copart had drawn on the body a yellow wax line in the photos where the insurance company estimated the water level. You had to be careful on what you bid on to get one with minimal water damage. Some people bid crazy money for cars with water over the dashboard. Also earlier (Sept/Oct) auctions had less mold/mildew issues on the seats, dash, and door panels. I wanted a 981 Cayman, but the last cheap Cayman was 100% under water and went for only $8K. Every Cayman after that went for $20K or more, so I settled for a 2014 Boxster. Note that if the 981 instrument cluster was under water, it is a $3.3K replacement (part cost) alone. There were a lot of instrument clusters on ebay, but you can only reprogram a cluster to a new VIN if it is under 2200 miles. None of the eBay sellers told potential buyers this fact. Same with PCM radios.

As you mentioned, Houston was unique as most of the cars suffered from fresh water that causes less damage over time. Very rare for a hurricane flooded car, considering the affluence of the Houston area and the number of salvage Porsches available for auction. It may be years before another opportunity presents itself.

My car was marked just above the lower door line, so water did get to the bottom of the seats, but water did not get into the exhaust and hence, engine. The big issue on mine was that the transmission did not lock the wheels in park and was likely sold because parking pawl repair parts are not available for a PDK transmission. Fortunately for me, the plastic ball joint on the bottom of the shifter (inside the center console), that forces the parking cable to the transmission had popped off and it was a simple job to reinstall.

I purchased the car as 10.7K miles, not actual, but using a PIWIS, every module agreed (DME, TCU, FBCM, Gatway, instrument cluster) and my local dealer said it was very highly likely the correct mileage and I got a low mileage car. The major modules in a 981 record the mileage since the module was installed and if any disagree, then modules were replaced in the past. Since my RBCM was dead and replaced, it is the only module that now dowsn't agree in mileage, 3000 miles and counting.

V6

assyrianme

Did you have to get the module programmed at the dealership? Where did you buy it? I see them for $400ish

Doug427

The local indy Porsche guy programmed it to the car. It took about 5 minutes. He didn't charge me anything to do that. I don't recall who I bought it from, it was one of the mail order Porsche dealers. Maybe Sunset? It was quite a while ago now, I really don't recall.