Central locking, alarm and remote problem

[Lorent]

Hello, I have a problem with 99 Boxster.

The battery fo the remote has been dead for several weeks and I finally got to replace it today. I have simply not had time to do that before and for the past several weeks, I did not bother locking the car at all (I park in safe and locked places anyway).

Now, with the new battery the light on the remote are blinking fine when I press the buttons but it does not lock/unlock my car. I am unable to open the trunck either with the other button on the remote. Also, I have noticed that when I manually lock the car with the key, it does not lock both door (no central locking) and the alarm does not get enabled. However, when I am sitting in the car with ignition on, both doors get locked when I press the central locking button on the console.

I researched the related topics in this forum and I tried to reset the key (flip the battery upside down for 15 seconds) then press a button when ignition is on but no sucess so far.

Any idea on what the issue could be?

Thanks,

-Lorent.

[Tool Pants]

Do you have the second remote to try?

[Lorent]

I do not have the second remote. I bought the car used a few years ago and the seller had lost the second one.

[CJMeredith]

You might try checking the fuse to the central locking/alarm control box under the driver's seat. Unfortunately, you have to pull the seat to get to it easily. I recently had identical symptoms and found the fuse blown. I replaced it and it's been fine since.

Chris

[Loren]

You might try checking the fuse to the central locking/alarm control box under the driver's seat. Unfortunately, you have to pull the seat to get to it easily. I recently had identical symptoms and found the fuse blown. I replaced it and it's been fine since.

Chris

If you remove the seat -- Do not put the key in the ignition while doing this or you will get an airbag light. The airbag circuit is activated when the key is put into the ignition (even in the off state).

You are looking for water damage to the central locking/alarm control box.

[Lorent]

I took the drivers seat off tonight and replaced the 15V fuse. The one that was in there did not look bad, but just in case. No luck :(

I did not notice any water damage either. The central locking/alarm control box looks in perfect condition.

While reading some other posts, it looks like the key can go out of sync with the car and I suspect this is what might have happened. I used the car for over a month without battery in the key and this will teach me being lazy replacing the $3.29 battery...

One thing that worries me a little is that I read somewhere that one can activate the alarm in emergency mode by locking the drivers door with the key 3 times in a row quickly. I tried that and nothing happened. However, I am unclear on what the result should have been.

At this point, any other suggestion you might have would be really appreciated.

[Loren]

Since you don't have a second key perhaps now would be a good time to buy one.

[mylamb]

Lorent,

I had a similar problem with my car (I only have 1 key too.) It sounds like your keyfob needs to be replaced. I put in batteries all the time and it wouldn't permit the fob to unlock the car even though the light was blinking. You can pay full price for a fob or get one at Suncoast Porsche or on eBay & then have it programmed at a dealer (1 hour of labor.) It's a pain & even on a budget, will run you over $200, but I'm betting this will solve your problem. I've spoken with 2 parts & service techs at delerships & they said the design of the fob is flawed and they break all the time.

:cheers:

[Lorent]

I stopped by the dealership tonight and they confirmed it would be $375 for a new remote, including programming. It would "only" be $70 if I had the 21-number code that came with the key which, of course I don't have. What a rip off! I am completely disgusted that a well known flaw in a Porsche car key does not result in a free replacement. I have owned numerous cars, both sports and regular ones and I can't imagine that such a thing would happen with a Ford or even a Hyundai. This is extremely disappointing from a manufacturer like Porsche.

My experience at the dealership was not good anyway. The rep who talked to me was less than knowledgeable about the issue and the other guy he called seemed more preoccupied by his white shinny teeth and his fake tan than actually caring about my issue.

Between the two of them, they were unable to confirm whether I should expect my passenger's door to be lock when I lock the driver's side with the key. One of them thought that this feature was introduced with later models only (mine is a '99) and the other one said that there must be something wrong "either with the cable or the microswitch in the drivers door". The result is that I do not know what is wrong and I have no guarantee that spending $375 for a new remote will actually fix my issue. Now I remember why I stopped servicing the car at the Porsche dealership years ago.