2001 S Acting Strange - Electrical?

[dyazdani]

I have a 2001 Boxster S, manual transmission - I recently had some body work done (new front bumper, new driver side front fender, new driver side headlight) at the local dealer.

It's been acting odd since I got it back and I'm trying to figure out what's going on.

Symptoms:

1 - rear spoiler extends when it should not (never get near 70mph) and does not retract except by the footwell switch. (I know it extends because it's still up when I get home)

2 - Sometimes, when I switch on the lights, the battery idiot light and usually the oil pressure light come on

3 - Often, accompanied with #2, there is also a "clacking" sound that starts in the rear of the car

Again, #2 and #3 do not happen except immediately after I hit the lights...

I bought a new battery thinking it would fix the problems (the old one was about 0.5V low anyway), but the issues are still there. Could this be the alternator? I need to check the charging voltage, I'll post results later.

Also, are there any electrical connections or grounds in the front bumper or driver side front fender areas that maybe the body repair techs may have forgot to hook up?

Thanks!

[dyazdani]

Update: Voltage with the car running is 14.15 V

[Loren]

1. Have you battery tested - both specific gravity of each cell and load testing.

2. If the battery is good suspect the ignition switch.

[Porsche_Monkey_4life]

Do you have a sound system? I have a fuse on my grounding cable and when that burns out all sorts od funny electrical stuff starts to happen. Check all the fuses you can find. My suggestion anyway.

[dyazdani]

1. Have you battery tested - both specific gravity of each cell and load testing.

2. If the battery is good suspect the ignition switch.

Battery is brand new as of Thursday and the ignition switch was replaced back in August with the upgraded design. Not to say that there couldn't still be an issue...

[dyazdani]

Do you have a sound system? I have a fuse on my grounding cable and when that burns out all sorts od funny electrical stuff starts to happen. Check all the fuses you can find. My suggestion anyway.

No, it is all stock, but I do have the HID kit from CQ Light installed. I wonder if there is an issue with the ballasts or something. Might be a possibility since there are no issues until I hit the light switch.

Again, everything is 100% normal, unless I hit the lights...

Edited January 31, 2009 by dyazdani

[juniinc]

maybe it's the CQ ballast,,, unhook the HID ballast power let us know what happens.

[dyazdani]

I finally got around to inspecting the ballasts. I pulled out both sides and replaced with halogen H7 lights and it appears that there are no more problems. Not sure which component is on the fritz with the HID kit, maybe I'll play with it further.

Thanks for the help.

[juniinc]

glad she is all fixed,,,

I've already seen more than a few CQ ballats disrupting with electrical system.