charli

Hey Guys,

I'm having a problem with the rear spoiler on my 2005 Boxster S.
Moving it up and down works perfectly when parked using the button on the dash.
However, while driving, it never goes up.

Anyone experience this sort of thing before?
I'm sure the mechanics are fine as it works well using the button...

thx!

Macster

Are you sure you are going fast enough to trigger the spoiler?

How do you know it never goes up? I had to use a hand held mirror to see my Boxster's spoiler.

Does a warning light come on?

charli

i had my passenger look ... no spoiler and no warning lights
at 190 km/h i would expect it to pop up ;-)

Macster

Well, my WAG is the signal is not be sent to raise the thing. If it were and it didn't go up the DME would know this from a switch not getting triggered after the signal to raise was sent and not acted upon.

However, this brings with it at least one issue: Understanding how the DME could fail to send the signal. Could it be the VSS to the DME is not getting through? Hard to believe. And I think there'd be some other things going on, like missing speed at the speedo unless this gets its speed from another source (ABS wheel speed sensor).

I do not have the wiring diagrams of the Boxster handy to see where VSS comes from from a sensor located on/in the transmission or from some other location (possibly an ABS wheel speed sensor).

Another possibility -- I guess -- is the speed at which the spoiler should be deployed has been changed. I believe there is some adjustability to this setting, though if there is it requires access to a Porsche diagnostics computer. I do not recall every coming across anyone reporting having found any way to change this setting with Durametric.

I vaguely recall looking into a spoiler issue some weeks back and IIRC there can be a relay issue that can have the thing working ok with the button but not from a DME trigger.

Sorry to be so vague. I won't be at the office and at my wiring diagrams until Monday afternoon.

the_vetman

My guess is that your passenger failed to see it because it is difficult to see from inside the cockpit. You'd have to partially stand up to see the spoiler raised on Boxsters, which I'm guessing your passenger didn't do at 118 mph with the top down - s/he would've likely been knocked down by wind.

Porsche spoilers deploy at 75 mph. A better test would be to have someone follow you on the highway and go up to 80 mph. I'd bet yours goes up. If it's malfunctioning and not going up, you SHOULD see a warning light.

Barwaut

charli,

I face the same issue...

No clue what is going on, but on the other hand I don't bother if the thing is coming up...

Macster

This is the more likely explanation than something electrically or mechanically wrong. I just can't come up with a good explanation as to why if the thing wasn't going up when it should why there is no warning light.

With my 02 Boxster I had a heck of a time seeing the spoiler with a hand held mirror. I had to hold it way up -- I had to top up -- as far as I could and twist and turn and tilt the mirror until I could see the top edge of the spoiler. I didn't do this again as it was a distraction to get the thing in view.

A few times on the road with the sun down low I would see the shadow of the spoiler. I spent some time on one road in KS speeding up to watch the shadow of the spoiler appear then slowing down and watching it disappear and doing this several times. The road was straight -- KS remember -- and headed due north/south so the setting sun provided a good shadow of the car and the spoiler.