duff

I don’t remember seeing any markings on the plugs when I was looking previously. The wiring diagram I had showed the connections as A and C and I was hoping that would be stamped somewhere so I could differentiate them.

However by looking at which pins were in use and testing them I could see that (with the catches at the top) A was on the left (black) and C on the right (brown). This allowed me to wire in a momentary on-off-on switch to short either pin 8 (open) or 2 (close) on connector C to pin 11 (ground) on connector A.

Not sure if that helps, but I will be revisiting these plugs in the near future as  really don’t want this to be a long term solution. Hence I can have another look then and if there is anything else you’d like to know while I am digging around in there feel free to ask.

It appears the airbag fault has gone away all on it own which is a plus.

The after market camera failure is down to me bolting the handbrake down onto the wire that runs to it which has basically destroyed it. A quick attempt at cutting out the bad bit of wire and re-joining the cores has not worked so I suspect I will need a new wire and/or camera. 

I still haven't worked out what the roof issue is, but as the sun is out and the Mrs wants to be able to run around with the roof off so I have jerry rigged a new switch that bypasses the logic in the control module and allows the roof to be raised and lowered. Not quite Porsche engineering, but it works!

So everything’s is back in and it looks like the only place you really need to glue the carpet back is under the glovebox where it meets the door frame. Everywhere else sits in nicely. Just need to work out what glue is best to use. 

Now with everything back in I have 3 issues:

- the airbag fault light is on. I am not sure why as I was careful not to start the car with the seats out/unplugged.

- the after market rear view camera isn’t working. Hopefully I have just dislodged a wire on the back of the head unit.

- the roof still doesn’t work. I was hoping it might have magically started working for me! 

is there anyone anywhere near Bristol who might be able to run some diagnostics to help trace the roof issue and also reset the airbag warning? Beers (or chocolates/flowers/cake/etc… ) waiting.

I did chop the carpet so that I could fully remove it. Now down to the bare metal it looks like the leak has been resolved. I have hosed the car all over and left it out in the rain for a week and there is no sign of any water in the cabin. The water I thought was still getting in was actually stuck in the sodden foam and being pull out by gravity. I know others have said it before, but it is crazy how much water the foam holds. The carpet itself can actually feel dry even though there are litres of water in the foam below.

So, after a lot of squeezing, hair drying, dehumidifying and natural airing the carpet is now pretty much dried out so I hope to get it back in and make the car usable again. For those that have done this before; did you re-glue the carpet? if so what did you use?

4 minutes ago, nelmo said:

Do you have to completely remove it? Just lift it up high as you can each side and leave it to dry that way? Throw a few of those dehumidifier bags under it, leave doors open for a few hours when the weather is better - should work eventually, no?

My daughters Aygo had a leak and the boot carpet was soaked. Luckily, easily removed and it dried out after a couple of days on a radiator, although I was amazed it took that long - didn't feel that wet.

I am hoping that without the carpet I can guarantee the leak is gone as it will be obvious if the water pools again.

I am also thinking I’ll fit the seats, pedal, gear lever and handbrake back in so it can used while I do this. 
 

in fact I am literally about to bite the bullet and chop through it. It will still be one piece as I only need to chop one end

1 hour ago, Happy Days said:

If the trim covers the carpet across the centre console, would it be worth looking at cutting it?

I was really hoping to avoid that if I can but it looks like I might have to.
 

I assume I am missing something but I just can’t work out where I can disconnect that loom at all.

6 hours ago, duff said:

However the way the carpet is attached down the middle and hence what needs to be removed now does appear quite different. Has anyone got a link to a 987 guide for this or any experience/advice?

It looks like the only bit left to deal with is the thick black wiring loom running from front to back. It seems to start under the dash and head into the engine bay with the shift cables. I am unable to work out where where to unplug this, but as it starts below the carpet and finishes above it I can't see how the carpet can be removed without disconnecting it.

I am working towards getting it all out. The car has actually been out in the rain over the last few days and shows no obvious signs of new/increased water which is positive, but as noted there is clearly still a lot of water in the foam underneath the carpet.

I had been following a guide to get this far that I have just realised is for a 911. It  is extremely similar up until this point, although the discovery it is for a 911 explains the few minor differences I found along the way.

However the way the carpet is attached down the middle and hence what needs to be removed now does appear quite different. Has anyone got a link to a 987 guide for this or any experience/advice?

12 hours ago, The Caped Crusader said:

To properly investigate the leak, I think it would be best to remove the B-pillar covering, rear bulkhead carpet. Then get into the car with a torch with the seats folded forward, if too tight, remove the seats. Then, get someone with a garden hose pour copious amounts of water over the top and sit and watch where the water is coming in. 

Yes, I am finding it really hard to tell what is new and what is existing water.

I have almost pulled everything out - seats, centre console and various bits of trim are now in the garage.

I think I also need to remove the handbrake before I can get the carpet fully out though.

Unfortunately it has been wet this afternoon so not had a chance to make any further progress today after work.

So after getting the car out of the garage and covering it with water I think there is still some ingress. It is hard to be certain as I was surprised to find  that the foam still hadn't fully dried out under the carpet despite it having had a dehumidified on for 2 weeks and the top of the carpets being bone dry. It certainly appears that the leak from the behind the driver has been stopped so the assumption is that it must be combing from the front. I spent some time this afternoon stripping more of the interior out. I plan to go the whole hog this time and get the carpet out so I can make sure it is fully dried out and hopefully with it gone identify if and where water is still coming in.

Regarding the non functional roof.  The issue definitely appears to be electronics related. It will open and close by sorting the connector pins on the Rear Control Unit to ground so it is fully functional. I assumed this meant the Rear Control Unit must have drowned again and that the water in the drivers side must have made it across the cabin to the space under the passengers seat but I can't see any evidence of it getting wet, nor do any of the other functions driven by the Rear Control Unit show any issues.

Restored my headlights.

They were fairly bad and I am kicking myself for not doing them earlier as it was so easy to make a huge positive difference.

The whole process is aided by the fact that removing the headlights is so easy you don't need to worry about taping round them, you just pull them out.

12 hours ago, Menoporsche said:

Unit under the pax seat for the 987 is the "rear control unit", so if it gets wet, expect funny behaviour at the back of the car. I don't know if that includes the roof.

8 hours ago, Paul P said:

Yup - thats the unit that drives the roof mechanism

So far the water appears to have been constrained to the drivers side of the cabin. The passenger side has felt slightly damp to touch but not had any pooled water under the seat and the foam under the carpet has seemed dry. I am hoping the dampness is just down to the volume of water on the drivers side and it condensing on other surfaces in the cabin. 

The rear control unit was only replaced before Xmas so I am hoping that is still good. When it failed last time it was doing all sorts of odd things as it died (roof trying to open, spoiler going up and down, rear brake lights lit up) whereas this time everything seems fine other than the roof is not operating. I’ll see if the manual spoiler deployment still works though as that stopped working last time and then take it out and crack it open to check inside.

Having been in the garage with the dehumidifier on the car is pretty much dry now. Last time I checked there was just a very small amount still held in the foam under the drivers seat. It certainly feels a lot drier in the cabin that it has for a fair few months. I am hoping for a dry day or two this week to get the car out again to try see if and where water might still be getting in.

Unfortunately this saga continues...

As the weather was awful I ended clearing out the garage and squeezing the Boxster in (first time I have had a car in the garage for nearly 20 years!) with a dehumidifier running in the cabin. This removed lots of water, but even after running for a week the carpet foam is still fairly sodden and leaches water when squeezed. In fact, despite trying to squeeze as much out as I can and mooing it up it seems to reappear.

I was planning to put a load of paper in the cabin and soaking various areas of the outside to see if I could trace the source of the water based on where the paper got wet, or ideally confirm that the leak is now fixed, but on getting it out of the garage I have discovered the roof no longer wants to open 😧

The roof worked when it went into the garage and when unclipped the windows drop as expected. On clicking the button the dash reports the roof is being opened, but nothing actually happens. I am pretty sure I can hear a relay clicking under the dash, but no other sound.

Oddly when I discovered the drivers cabin was soaked I had initially tried to open the roof to check the drain holes and had similar symptoms, although I can't remember whether the dash reported the roof as opening on that occasion. That time I checked the fuse and while it seemed to be ok with no obviously failure as there was a spare in the fuse box I swapped it in and the roof started working again. I meant to test the fuse I took out to see if it was actually blown but forgot and must have thrown it away. This time I pulled the fuse and again it looked fine, but this time I did test it and it has continuity so that isn't the cause.

There are no obvious holes in the foam drip tray so I think it is doings its job. In fact it now appears that any water tipped down below the hood is being funnelled straight into and out of the drain tubes and no longer into the car. Hence I think jamming the hose in successfully cleared a blockage.

It is still quite wet inside so hard to say if the problems solved but it certainly seems better than before. 

24 minutes ago, Paul P said:

Think there has been some previous discussion on these - from memory @Gutley did some tests - bottom line was "yes - they are there for a reason and if missing water gets in" as far as I remember it .

Thanks - I'll search out the thread. I suspected they wouldn't be there if not required but they are quite pricey pieces of plastic!

35 minutes ago, iborguk said:

These were standard on the 987.2 (not the 987.1)

One word of caution, they are great for stopping larger objects going down the drains but it's still important to check the drains regularly as they can , if you live in the right area get covered in silt/dust and block up. Ask me how I know.

I'd still have them but just keep up with regular checks on the drains.

Ok, that would explain why my 987.1 does not have them. Warning noted though and after the 2 issues I have had I am definitely going be checking frequently from now on.

So I took the arch liner out and both drain tubes look good with water flowing out of them and no cracks or splits.

I also tried taking the waterproof membrane out of the hood recess to get access to the drain tube from above, although I soon gave up on that when I realised you have to remove the bracket that the hood arms connect to as it runs all the way behind it. Hence I just lifted it as much as I could to see the cup at the top of the drain tube that the hole in the membrane guides water into and again it all looked good and I could see the two were aligned.

Not having any more ideas I just took the hose and jammed into the cup and gave it a blast and I think this may have dislodged something. Now if I tip water onto the membrane under the hood it disappears almost instantly where as before it would slowly drain away. I can no longer see anything going into the car, but that said it was still jacked so it could just be that the water was just finding a new low point in the cabin to seep into.

I'll let things dry some more and try again in the morning with the car back on level ground to see if things have improved or not. I am also going to get a pair of "Drain Strainer/Water Filter" (98756158700) that I now know exists and I seem to be missing.

A quick question - How crucial are the "Guide Arm Covers"  (9875614450001C & 9875614460001C)?  Mine got pretty chewed up when I had the previous water ingress issue and had to pop the ball joints off and now just fall off every time the roof is raised of lowered.

Thanks for the pic - I'll get the wheel and liner off tomorrow and have a poke around.

Ok, it is water and despite my initial suspicion it is coming in at the front it appears that is not the case, or at the least it is definitely coming in the rear.

I pulled up the carpet so I could see better and repeated the exercise of tipping water into the drain hole under the hood on the drivers side again.

The water drains away, albeit a little slowly, and while some does comes out below the car with the carpet removed I can see some is also coming into the cabin right in the corner. 

I assume this means when the drains were cleared I have either dislodged or perforated something under the drain hole. Is there any way of getting to whatever is below the drain hole?

Thanks for the pointers. 

The bottom of the door car is very much dry to the touch so I don't think that is the culprit.

Looking down in the footwell the dampness appears to start around the accelerator pedal, or at least that appears to be the highest part that is still damp. 

It is much wetter behind the seat but I am currently assuming this is due to the fact it is the lowest point in the cabin.

So a few months back I had water in the car that almost certainly resulted from blocked drain holes under the hood which thanks to some very helpful people on this forum got resolved.

However, I am now facing more water in the cabin, this time though it is only on the drivers side. This appears to be a fairly recent problem either around the time I had the water ingress that wiped our the rear control unit or since then as it hadn't happened in the 2 years prior.

Unlike last time the footwell is sodden as well as the area under and behind the seats. I initially assumed I had miss fitted or broken something in addressing the previous issues as the roof got stuck in a odd position, but I can't see any evidence the water is coming from behind. The carpet up the firewall and in front of the seatbelt mechanism all appears dry. Given it is wet in the footwell my suspicion is that is coming in from the front, but I am yet to work out how or where.

I have checked all the front drain holes and while a couple had some decomposing leaves in clearing them seems not to have solved the problem at all. I tipped water into all the drain holes front and back and can see it run out the bottom pretty much immediately. I have yet to measure that all the water that went in came but I haven't noticed any getting into the cabin when I try this and have tipped a litre or so in each time.

I have also tried tipping water over the door and window to see if it is somehow coming through there but I can't see any evidence of that being the problem. It is bone dry and the seal between the glass and the door appears to be effective.

Hence I am looking for suggestions as to where else to look. 
 

Just to close this one out. 

The Boxster is now all fixed and working again.🥳

The pre-coded rear control unit from mdbdiagnostics slotted in first time and worked a treat. They email you an easy to fill in questionnaire to to collect the required info and then send it out next day delivery. I would definitely recommend this route if anyone else has this issue as it was not only cheaper than any other option I found but also much more convenient.

I realised I could actually adjust the roof rod on the side that looked misaligned and, as mentioned above, these were much easier to re-attach than to detach.

The only minor glitch was that the battery also died on me, rather inconveniently half way though testing the roof, and wouldn't take any charge so another night was spent under a cover with the roof and windows half open. I suspect the fact it was -3 didn't help the battery but I have no idea how long it had been in there either, it looks like a Porsche 'banner' unit so probably a while given the car is old and well out of warranty. I dropped in a replacement and everything now works fine.

Thanks again everyone for the help and advice.

1 hour ago, nelmo said:

I did mine recently - I just moved the roof using the switch until those ball joints lined up, then pushed them on. Went on easier than they came off...

Thanks for the insight and I am glad to hear they go on easier than they come off.

Another update, I went for it and used the roof switch to rotate the roof mechanism into its lowered position. 

The windows now close correctly, which is great, but I am left with this conundrum. Of the two arms that attach to the roof one looks like it will slot in perfectly, but the other is miles out. You can't see from the image but the arm that is out appears to be adjusted to its minimum extent already.

I have run out of time and light this evening to have a proper look at what is going on but for those who have remove or refitted these ball joint am I just overlooking something obvious?
 

Ok, thanks to everyone’s great advice I now have a new rear control unit (I bought the pre-coded one) fitted and lights and rear spoiler are back to normal.

The only thing left (I hope) is to refit the roof ball joints so that the hood works again. Due to the fact it jammed in an odd position the ball joints were removed with the hood half up/half down (as per image at the start of this thread). I think I really want it up or down (I am guessing the latter is best) to re-attach the ball joints, but all advice seems to suggest not to try and use the roof mechanism without the rods attached. Is there a way to set manually move them into the up/down position? 
 

Note the windows don’t fully close right now but I am hoping this is due to the fact the car thinks the roof is half up/half down.