Cahlager

Hello, I recently bought a project 2000 Porsche Boxster with the 2.7 and the manual transmission. Car has 98k miles. My hope is to go full blown racecar over the next few years with it, and eventually have a stand alone engine management system. For now I would like to simply hear it run before I remove the transmission to replace the IMSB. I cannot get it started, and have believe I may have an issue with my immobilizer under the seat but dont know how to confirm that this is my problem. The car will not turn over with just the key alone, even when I jump the Clutch switch wires. The only way I have been successful in getting it to crank over is by jumping the starter relay AND turning the key. So with the the starter relay jumped, I can then turn the key and it will turn over, but it has no spark and i believe also no fuel injector pulse. I have removed the immobilizer and inspected the motherboard and i see no water damage or broken solder joints. But I can tell you that the car sat for some time with the windows down, so water damage may be present anyway.

I need some assistance with diagnosing my problem. Before I drop $600+ on having the electronics reprogrammed I would like to know without a doubt what the problem is.

Thanks in advance!!! You'll probably start seeing a lot more of me here on this and other boxtser forums as the project develops.

Macster

You need to do some research to be sure but I believe Durametric offers a tool that can obtain codes from the security module. If so these might point you in the right direction. 'course, it would help if you had a factory manual which listed these codes and like the OBD2 reference offered some diagnostic steps to diagnose the problem. But with the codes you can google them and maybe come up with enough info to proceed.

No crank can be a bad clutch interlock switch which I believe you have bypassed. It can be a bad ignition switch. 'course the security module is also suspect. Have you other keys to try? The key you are using may just have a bad RFID pill. Another possible explanation is the RF antenna behind the key surround is not transmitting/receiving a RF signal. When you turn the key the security module causes an RF signal to be broadcast. This is aimed at the key head where the RFID pill is located. The pill receives this RF signal which energizes its RF circuit and it transmits a RF signal with its ID. This RF signal is then received and decoded and if the RFID matches one stored in the security module the starter circuit is energized and if everything is working the engine should crank. Whether it starts is dependent upon if there is fuel and other things but cranking is half the battle. If the security module receives an ID it does not recognize it will log this as some kind of status/error code.

With the car having sat a while with the windows down even if water didn't get in the car mice may have and the'll gnaw the heck out of wiring. Under the dash is lots of wiring.

Even though you managed to get the starter to turn the engine over the engine controller may not have sufficient authority/permission to activate the injectors and spark the plugs.

Cahlager

Thank you so much for your help and information. I do not have other keys to try, but I am going to have a look at the ignition switch and the RF antenna to make sure it is in place as it should be. The trim around the ignition lock cylinder is loose and worn, it may be from weather damage, but perhaps it could be because someone has been in there messing around in the past. If that were the case they may have broken a wire or not replaced everything exactly where it goes. As far as my memory serves me, I dont recall there being any check engine light or security lights on the dash, is there another specific light that would come on if the security module wasnt recognizing the key?

Thanks again man!

stjoh

As I recall there is only one wire from the immobilzer to the ECU giving the "ok". I'd start by looking at that. I'd also make sure the battery in the key is fresh.

ahutcheon

I don't think the battery in the key makes any difference. The key for my 2001 is missing the electronics (I just use the drivers door lock), but the car works just fine. I believe the RFID "pill" in the key housing is important, that is still present in mine.

TexSquirrel

Yep, only need pill.
The battery is for remote door lock and trunk buttons.

Macster

My impression is, and I can't recall how I came to get this impression, is the failure of the security module to recognize a key's RFID or if it fails to receive any RFID at a start attempt does not light the CEL or cause any other warning light or message to appear.

A test might involve just removing the RFID pill -- handle with care! -- and trying to start the engine. If you do see the CEL come on or some other warning light or possibly some warning/error message pop up then you know and you know the problem is not with the RFID pill or the circuity that is used to get the RFID from the pill to the security module.

Shawn Stanford

My understanding is that the RFID code in the key is static, and that the car needs to be taught to recognize the key. If the water damage wiped the car's key memory, the car will need to be reprogrammed by a Porsche dealer to recognize the key.