utkayaker

I have a 2001 Boxster with the following problems:

1) Neither Speedo works
2) Odometer doesn't work
3) ABS light remains lit on dash
4) Spoiler does not retract
5) Maybe unrelated but the right rear brake light keeps blowing bulbs.

It seems like the problem could be the ABS or Speed Controller.

Someone yesterday told me he thought it was the M535 and Transponder....

Anyone have any ideas?

Macster

Quite a varied list of symptoms, but all are electrical, or could be electrical, in nature.

I have no idea what M535 or the transponder are. If these are easy and inexpensive to replace you might just throw some parts at the symptoms.

Or figure out a way to test these items for some kind of proper operation.

How's the battery? How are the battery connections?

These cars can manifest some pretty weird symptoms/behavior with a low/weak battery.

Has the car sat unused for some time? Even if the battery is good, I'm always concerned about mice/rodent infestation and damage.

You have to give the car a thorough inspection looking for rodent sign. They'll gather the fuzz from the carpet in patches for nesting material. They'll chew through the rubber sheeting that forms the radiator ducts. They'll chew through one of the gas vapor lines that runs from the tank to the engine compartment (this on a newish Cayman). In another case the critters ruined a Turbo Cab's engine wiring harness among other things.

There are no apparent car security system issues/symptoms so the advice about checking for signs of moisture on the cabin floor is probably not applicable here. But check for signs of water leaking through the windshield and perhaps getting into the dash.

Check the body water drains for signs of blockage. If water gets into the cabin depending upon where it comes in it can really cause some problems.

Unlikely but check the engine controller and electrics in its area are dry. Don't touch these just look as if you touch and static discharge you can ruin an otherwise good DME.

For the brake light bulb blowing problem this can be from water in the housing or possibly rodent damage. You will have to remove the housing or housings and check for water sign. If you find some you'll have to figure out how the water is getting in. Through some crack in the housing? Bad housing to body seal? Or is the water coming in further away and flowing along the wiring to the housing/connector?

For the ABS warning light it might be helpful to know what error codes are associated with this. These might provide a clue.

Daniel Trofin

Hi there, my first post on this website, have a boxster S 2001 with kind of the same problem, used maybe one per month, no speedo, spoiler up, abs on, tiptronic buttons nor working, from the service they said the cluster is gone, 4x speed sensors and brake wear sensors...curious to find out how you fixed yours.

Thank you and good luck.

Dave H.

bad/dirty wheel speed sensor(s)
bad speed sensor wiring
dirty/crusty/rusty/damaged speed sensor inductor wheel

if it isn't obvious (one of the above), possibly a faulty ABS module.

you'll need a shop with a scan tool to check wheel speed inputs or faulty module.

M535 should be the radio part of the alarm for the remotes. not likely.

Macster

Used once per month the first thing that comes to mind is the battery is down.

'course, the caution about checking for moisture/water in the cabin always applies. Under the seats and along the door bottoms.

And mice. They can be in a car and have damaged it in just days of inactivity. 3 to 4 weeks the female can go from alluring to pregnant to motherhood.

Daniel Trofin

Hi, thank you for your reply,
It seems that is one of the speed sensors only, when he is touching it the abs light comes on and the spoiler up, however the guys from the shop manage to to brake the cluster now nothing is working and I left them to find a solution and fix it like initial,
Any ideea what values the batery must be...the one from the car is 62Ah.

Macster

When I went to buy a new battery for my Boxster -- after the original one went nearly flat -- the parts department manager informed me Porsche had upgraded the battery to a larger CCA and AH and in fact once I got the new battery home found it to be physically larger, longer, than the original battery.

(Might add when I found the new battery larger I was a bit worried about securing the battery properly but I found I could move the hold down with its bolt down to the next position. There was even a nut already in place and the new larger battery fit just like the smaller original one. Nice.)

Unfortunately I can't recall the CCA and AH figures now.

So my advice would be to visit a local Porsche dealer parts department and ask for the correct battery spec for your car.

Or doing some online searching/research to learn what the proper battery should be for your car. 62AH seems a bit lower than I recall for my Boxster's original battery. Regardless of what the original spec battery has for AH's I seem to recall -- vaguely recall -- the new higher spec battery has an 80AH rating. I still can't recall the CCA rating but it went up too.

When you fit a new battery be sure to connect it correctly and be sure there is a vent line and it is secured to the battery and routed as the old vent line was routed.