RedBarediver

Replaced the bulb in the speedo and to my delight it's working perfectly now. 

But....the airbag light has come on. I thought that a little strange but maybe I should have waited a bit before taking the speedo off. No worries. I have a little reader that can reset it. Pull that out of the garage and plug it in. Read the codes and clear. Airbag light goes out - only to come back on a few seconds later. Fault code is "0020 Ignition Circuit Driver".

Apparently this is something with either the alarm or the driver airbag. I have taken the battery off again and will leave the airbag to de-energise, then remove it (I want to move the steering wheel a smidgen to the left in any event), and will check if all the connections look good. My gut tells me that I may have done something when I put the speedo binnacle back on and maybe a wire came loose or isn't properly connected or something stupid.

The plot thickens..

29 minutes ago, Halfordwill said:

Change the bearing then I had a noise coming from mine and in the end changed 3 of the four bearings as they all had a problem and at the age of the car the grease in mine had almost completely dried out. 
I made a small tool set up to remove the bearings and replace in situ which made life easier but if you have been doing work on them you can probably take out the hub and pop down to a garage with a press. 

I guess that's the only thing left to do.

12 hours ago, Halfordwill said:

The other thing I had causing a noise was the handbrake cable had just come into contact with the rear wheel and I had to cable tie it over slightly. 
if I put the handbrake on ever so slightly the tension in the cable pulled it away from touching the wheel. 

Tried that too, No result

The annoying and frustrating thing is that you can usually see where something is touching or rubbing, a bright wear mark or some sign on opposing surfaces. But here? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Rien.

I have taken that blasted wheel and rotor off so many times I can do it in my sleep. And still the sound persists. 

On 3/23/2024 at 8:31 AM, TV8 said:

Found him and plenty of recommendations in this thread. 

 

On 3/23/2024 at 10:26 AM, ½cwt said:

Yes, Paul knows his Boxsters and regularly help out with question from owners on here and on the FB group.

I can highly recommend Paul as well. He did the suspension work on my car and it absolutely transformed it. If he sells you a Boxster you can rest assured that it is in tip-top condition. Last time I was there picking up mine he was busy with a lovely Anniversary model 986. Gorgeous car. If he hasn't sold it yet, that would be a great buy.

On 3/22/2024 at 10:41 AM, ½cwt said:

Someone posted on this and included a YT video in the last 2 or 3 months, but I can't find it at the moment. As I recall, the spring inside it is slightly longer and there is a different taper on the plunger too but otherwise the person in the video found them to be interchangeable.

I saw that video too. I think it was Aaron on Help Me DIY. He has a few very helpful Boxster related videos. I found the one where he did the cam chain tensioners with the engine in the car quite illuminating.

3 hours ago, Halfordwill said:

Use a headlight clearcoat to seal. The cream they give you in a kit soon goes yellow again. I bought some packs of wet and dry discs for the drill and started at 600 grit eventually finished at 3000. Only took 30 mins a side and I removed the lights from the car so much easier. 
 

your noise is probably the stone guard rubbing there’s very little clearance and it doesn’t take much to bend them. 

The stone guard was the first thing I took off and threw in the bin

Last time I did the headlights on my 147 it took a LOT of elbow grease and they still look slightly dull. I reckon I'll have to do it with the drill this time.

3 hours ago, phazed said:

be aware as to how close they run to the brackets and panels.
 

On mine it is definitely related to the wheel. There used to be a god-awful racket which was the wheel impacting somewhere on the brake backing plate. Cut most of the backing plate away and that cured it for a while. 

3 hours ago, ½cwt said:

On mine it was just corrosion on the bulb holder contacts when I lost a number plate light.

I'm getting in there this weekend and sorting it out. 

I'm also doing the service this weekend so lots of fun and no gardening for me

4 hours ago, smit572 said:

I had an annoying noise like that once , took me ages to find -turned out to be failed wheel bearing !!

I am starting to think that's what I'm dealing with. The bearing isn't rumbling or anything yet, but I think it's starting to go. When the weight is off the wheel and I rotate then I can't hear anything. Put weight on the wheel and drive and then it is there. Sort of a "scree-scree" every rotation.  Drives me mental.

7 minutes ago, Patt said:

Number plate lights are often corroded contacts (old 993 part). bit of sandpaper will fix. 

I may have spares in the shed, DM me if you need me to search them out.

I still have a headlight restoring kit in my box of tricks somewhere and I have the number plate bulb in my spare bulb kit, but thanks for the offer. It's much appreciated.

MOT passed with two minor defects; one of the number plate lights are out, and the left headlamp is a little yellow. Both issues which I shall address this weekend. It has a few advisories but nothing serious and nothing of which I was not aware. (dirty brake pipes covered in grease etc), and that annoying scraping noise on the nearside rear wheel which I just cannot seem to find. I've taken it all apart and cleaned everything, put everything back only for the slight scraping noise to rear its ugly head within 5 miles. Funny enough I couldn't hear it driving home (radio was too loud probably...). 

I plan to address all of these over the next few months once the interior is sorted and the clutch and AOS replaced. Next time around I want a clean bill of health. 

On the positive side the car was nicely warmed up and is an absolute joy to drive. Runs like it's on rails

Taking it for MOT. Wish me luck...

18 hours ago, ½cwt said:

Try some Polytrol on the vents if you have some for the outside plastics.  Helps restore original plastics colours, lots of people on here have used it for scuttle plastics, mirror triangles, engine intake slats etc on the outside.  Might work well on inside parts too.

I have some in the garage so will give it a go. The right hand side does need to be changed though. I'll keep an eye out for a black one.

Well, I replaced the unsatisfactory dash with one that I got from Status Porsche. The install took me about 2.5 to 3 hrs because I was slow and careful. Fitted the last bits this morning (heating hoses and various little bits of trim) and took it for a drive. I was expecting some rattles and squeaks to be honest as this is really the first time I have ever done a job on a dashboard (of any car). To my surprise (and delight) the new dash is rock solid and doesn't vibrate, squeak or anything. It's still a little dirty (as is the whole car) so I'm planning on cleaning it properly when the rain lets up and will share pictures for everyone's enjoyment. I have already fitted a black fuse box cover piece (got one for a tenner) and am waiting for the rest of the black carpets to arrive so I can complete the colour change. I still have to get hold of some nice door cards and I'm not terribly happy with the vents on the side (they look a bit more dark-grey than black). I guess they looked black when compared to the original grey dash but when you put them next to a black dash you can see the difference. It doesn't distract from my enjoyment of the black dash though. I think it looks really good.

I was planning on changing the right hand side vent in any case (it's tatty and doesn't really work properly - some superglue to try and save it didn't help matters) but now I'll just change both.

My central locking button stopped working - it would lock when you press the switch but when you try to unlock the switch doesn't move. It's a rocker switch so obviously something was wrong inside. Opened it up and a little piece of white plastic fell out. Somehow (maybe due to my ham-handedness with stuff) a piece of the thing broke and ended up jamming the one side. Took it out and it works properly again. But now of course my OCD won't rest until I've replaced that switch so a second-hand replacement is on the way.

Lastly, if anyone has a spare OBD bracket, please let me know. I'd be more than willing to take it off your hands. Somehow, during all this mine went AWOL and it's not anywhere in the garage or the car.

@Daboy3000 How are you getting on with yours? Need a hand?

1 hour ago, charlieboy2608 said:

@RedBarediver

Lucas 286THBL 12V
1.2W Black Base Bulb
Single Bulb
Product Code: 481774862

Found these at ECP not sure if the bulb might be dimensionally too large though....if you have the Bulb & holder out of car might be worth a look.

They look the right size to me.

Autodoc wants to sell me one bulb for £1.50 something but then the delivery costs makes it £15 for one bulb....

An eBay seller in Lithuania sells 10 of these bulbs in a pack for the princely sum of £3.48 and  delivery of £5.90. Works out to less than £1 each.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325693692245?itmmeta=01HSBN6X5WV72634FMHXQBGVQ3&hash=item4bd4db5955:g:Jl8AAOSwyqBkic5G&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4D7m6%2FU2ASjyUW6Q6%2FxvUVm%2Fn0SGk%2Far0oXTHRVvf7Ory6B2nqdXVhEVR%2FxI1o7xXeHGe8AHdA58SMUTgkPmIrOi6qGi%2F74QhYb049I9seRNxbO3o0RPHAE%2Bh5gO0nk1o6hmVEXN2gRQoPxo5vqlVNqC2jayMU%2BUAi3xpxBqzIE856e%2FyVC30Q%2FVZlC%2FoWKe0Z43tEFPBLgayjzgKmD8GQNS2bEz6rxs1JFzKNMyOKcs8MopjtiYFV85UAPOG%2FxjN2ju8TeU22CSP%2F3iAw2y28PFcQNazYQ5UBfWsEi9EE4A|tkp%3ABFBMhtOb9cpj

4 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

You're welcome!

 

Besides, I enjoy research like this  and its rewarding to beat  'The Man'.

I love it too. Nothing more rewarding than doing a job for 10% of what they would charge. Plus, just working on the car myself keeps me out of mischief and I always learn something new.

13 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

Here we go:

999 631 303 90 - Beige 1.5W Osram 2452MFX6/ Hella 8GA 007 997-141

999 631 302 90 - Black 1.2W Osram 2351MFX6 / Hella 8GA 007 997-121

All the alternative green ones, 999 631 304 90, are 2W not 3W that the part cat lists.

Looks like they are widely available for under £2 each.  All the above info came from Autodoc after a Google search for 'osram instrument cluster bulbs'

I've saved this to my OE supplier part numbers data for future reference.

And Porsche want to charge over £7 each...

7 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

  I wonder where the 3W green ones are used?  Also I can't see bulbs for the indicator or main beam indication bulbs in the centre dial.

The green ones are inside the cluster so you have to disassemble it a bit further according to the Pelican article.

2 hours ago, charlieboy2608 said:

Great topic-while on this subject anybody well informed regarding which wattage bulb is used for convertible roof dash warning light?

Thanks in advance.

That will be one of the black ones. I have tried to see if I can find what wattages they are but I'll have to take one out and look on the base. I'll do that tonight when I work on the car.

Check out this though: https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/102-ELEC-Instrument_Cluster_Bulb_Replacement/102-ELEC-Instrument_Cluster_Bulb_Replacement.htm

Problemo solvedo. It says very clearly 12V and 1.5 W 

So, that will be for the middle bulb (number 4 on their diagram)

Taking my dashboard out again  The black one I got off eBay doesn't have the attachment points for the speedo binnacle. It seems that whoever took it off the donor car just ripped the speedo binnacle off instead of undoing two T20 screws...

The seller wants pics and then he'll either reimburse me or at least give me something back. I was hoping to just use it as is but it's not really very secure and I'd rather do a proper job. The dashboard airbag he sent is fine so I'll hang onto that. I have already ordered a replacement from Status Porsche and will hopefully have that here by the weekend so I can reinstall before it has to go to MOT on Monday...

33 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

No, I was asking Eugene (RedBarediver), the original poster, to check inside his pod that he's working on to get the info for you.  If he can do that I can add a definitive part number guide for each type of instrument pod bulb.

I have the pod out of the car and will take pictures of the rear so you can see the bulbs. The issue is that all the bulbs for the little screens are beige. And yet, they are all different...

The middle is the one that is blown (first pic). the other four empty spaces have been empty since I bough the car. It may be necessary to get those bulbs and install them once I have passed the MOT. 

14 hours ago, ½cwt said:

They will not all be beige, just the instrument ones.  The other colours will be for the warning lights or even LED backlighting.  I suspect the instruments will all have the same backlighting bulb.  Try putting one from another instrument into the rev counter and see if is fires up.

If you have a multi-meter, set it to resistance.  By Ohm's law, R=V²/P (resistance = voltage squared divided by the power).  So a 1.2w bulb (black) for 12 v will give 120ohms and 1.5w (beige) bulb will give 96ohms and 3w (green) will give 48ohms.

Trying to save you money here!

Thanks. The instrument bulbs are all black. There do seem to be a few bulbs missing (one warning light for CAT and one for what looks like the rear spoiler).

49 minutes ago, Bike Loon said:

Buy all 3, if you replace one I bet it’s brighter than the other older ones 

Ha ha I bet you're right!

5 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

Someone did a chart on here, I booked marked it, but the topic has now gone. ☹️

Checking the parts cat, they don't give a quantity per vehicle (which they do for most parts) so can't even work it backwards.  I have found this through putting the part numbers into the D911:

999 631 302 90 - black base 1.2W

999 631 303 90 - beige base 1.5 W

999631 304 90 - green base 3W

 

As they are about £7 or £8 each you may want to check what colour the blown one is before blowing £20+.

 

I've taken out the blown one and it's beige. As are the other two....

I reckon I'll just get all three but then how to tell which is which if they're all beige.

Following my recent foray into removing and replacing the dashboard on my 986, the centre screen (the one under the rev counter) no longer lights up. It still works so I presume it's just a blown bulb. Easy to swop out and replace but it seems that even the guys in my local Porsche dealership aren't sure of which to order. There are three bulbs (and one would think it's number 4 in this diagram (https://www.eurospares.co.uk/Parts/99963130390/Porsche)) but they're not sure. The three bulbs all have different wattages (3w, 1.5w and 1.2w). Before I go and buy all three (and end up just using one), can anyone confirm which is which, please?