withersjw

Hi all,

Hoping for some guidance from others who have dealt with electrical gremlins. I have an 06 Boxster S with a wonky driver side window. It drops fine when I activate the interior or exterior handle, but doesn’t go up when I close the door. Auto up does not work either on the driver side. I have read all the threads, tried the window reset etc. all to no avail.

I have an icarsoft POR 3.0 reader and have poked around. I see a DSDC code 8206 “Control Unit Faulty”. It doesn’t clear, comes right back, so I initially thought I may just have a bad unit (and may still do). I could read the ECU, see switches window activations etc, so i have comms with the DSDC, and everything works but auto up.

I know that others have had microswitch issues in the handles or the latch mechanism so i looked at these on the scanner. I can see the signals for these toggling as expected on the live debug option, so unless Im missing something they look good.

I bought a used controller and motor from eBay and installed it. At that time I did not break into the inner door, as my guess is the latch / switches etc are good and I didn’t see any obvious wiring issues.

The replacement controller / motor cleared the original code but it has 4 new errors. 2 about the driver side mirror horizontal top and bottom limits, and a couple of PDK issues in the door controller (my guess is its coded for an auto mine is 6 speed). Everything works on the door still with the exception of the auto up.

Anyone have any ideas what else could be in play. Is there another sensor I am missing that could be preventing the window up, I know thats likely a safety issue in case there are small fingers in there.

The rest of the vehicle scan is clean apart from a couple of errors about accessing the display on the head unit. The original Porsche unit was replaced with a pioneer, so there is clearly no comms to the original Porsche head unit. I don't think its related to the aftermarket radio, but the car is new to me and don't know when this started. I was aware of the issue when I bought the car.

Went back to the original controller for now.

Thanks in advance for anyones thoughts.

John.

Schwinn

Start with the battery. It's well known that these cares are very sensitive to weak batteries. It's an easy thing to replace if needed, and weak ones typically throw weird codes and such among other things.

Voltage tests are not enough, though they can identify a definitely-bad battery. Load tests are also unreliable as they can provide false positives and negatives. My recommendation is to replace it if it was ever dead, jump started, or just old (>5 years). It's lower cost and easier than chasing other things.

Beyond that, does your reader support any active test modes? The Foxwell NT530, for example, can provide readback of switches and remote-activation of things as well. You can use those to see if the micro switches are working properly, etc, without tearing into everything manually and testing with a DVM.

withersjw

The battery was recently replaced. I have the i-carsoft POR3.0 reader, and I can see the switches etc. do in fact work as expected.

I tripped across this post a day or two ago which seems to be a highly likely cause. Window problem - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

I have an aftermarket radio and I am guessing the door controller is trying to save the memory to the original Porsche head unit. It looks like this can be coded out; I am chasing that down now. Unfortunately,the iCarSoft code reader does not appear to support coding. If anyone has any other ideas for how to do this, I would be very interested in hearing them. Otherwise, it's the dealer or local independent to see if they can help.

Thanks very much for the response.

HerrOberst1969

So here is my issue: I have a 06 987 base Boxster. The passenger window will NOT do the "one touch" to go up. Goes down fine, no issues. There are no noises, no grinding, nothing. Sooth operation. I have tried the various forms of up and down, hold 3 seconds, hold 10 seconds, etc. I recently replaced the alternator AND installed a new battery. The driver side window is perfect and goes up and down with one touch. Now when I open the passenger side door, it will drop.. Like 2 inches. BUT when I go to try the one touch, nothing. So I am stumped. Any suggestions on what to do? I have even tried disconnecting the battery and letting it sit for about an hour before I put it back on to no avail. IS there a solution? I am really getting frustrated to say the least...

withersjw

Have you tried the window reset procedure to set the limits - I believe the owner's manual has details on how. If you have tried this, do you have an aftermarket head unit in the car. If so, it may be the same issue I am dealing with.

withersjw

Finally solved this. It turned out to be a defective door controller. I bought a replacement ($50) which I later discovered from the coding had come from a Cayman with PDK, memory seats, etc. so when I put it in it had several codes (mirror codes, PDK codes - I have a manual, and some others). After a bit of poking around I bought a Foxwell NT530 and was able to go into the door controller programming and update it to match my car. Works perfectly now.

I had the iCarSoft PorV3.0 before, and while it does a great job of reading and clearing codes, it cannot update the coding adaptations. So I would highly recommend the Foxwell unit for that added capability.

8Lug

I can confirm that the only fix for the window not going up that last inch when the door is closed and/or handle released is a new window motor (which comes as one piece with the window control unit that fails). No amount of battery disconnects and window reset procedures will do anything. This is an issue with the control unit. Bad new is the factory replacement motor is $850 new. Good news is there are dozens of used ones on eBay from $50 to $100. Just make sure you buy from a seller that accepts returns In case you get a working motor but with a faulty control module. The replacement is a DIY job that takes about an hour the first time as you carefully follow all the steps to remove the inner door panel. Secondtime you could probably do it 20 minutes.