Drivers Window not dropping on Entry/Exit

[TechnicalReaction]

Hey guys,

I hope you are all doing well and keeping healthy during these horrible Covid-19 times. Since I am spending a lot of time at home I figured I spend a little bit of time on my (new to me) 2000 986 Boxster S, mechanically it has been very well looked after it just needs a bit of TLC on the interior and exterior.

 

One thing that stopped working a few weeks ago was the drivers window stopped dropping when entering and exiting the car. Now I know that this is fairly well documented across multiple forums but from my reading I am not too sure where the fault actually is with mine and thought I'd ask you very knowledgeable people before buying anything, below is a list of what I know does & does not work:

- Drivers Window opens and closes fine when operated via the interior switch. I can even drop it very slightly to simulate what would happen when entering/exiting the car.

- Drivers Window does not drop when entering or exiting the car via the handles.

- I can hear/feel the micro switch 'click' when pulling both interior and exterior door handles.

- If I pull the door handle so I can hear/feel the switch engage I cannot then physically pull the window down slightly (I read about this on a separate forum).

- When putting the roof down the windows drop slightly as they should.

- I've inspected the green plastic tab at the bottom of the window regulator and there is no play in the mechanism I could see/feel.

- A couple of times since it stopped working it has magically started working again very briefly. When this has happened the window literally drops then pops back up very quickly multiple times while holding the door handle open. I think this has only happened when getting out of the car not when getting in.

- Passenger Window has no issues whatsoever.

 

Thank you for your assistance in advance!

Luke

 

[GmanB]

Micro switches are probably shot in the door latch mechanism. I think I read on here to spray contact cleaner and banging the metal on the latch can jolt the switch back to life. 

I was a bit lazy and just had the mechanism replaced. Drivers side will likely fail more frequently as it tends to get used the most. 

[Shazbot]

Possibly door lock module.

As you've had intermittent function using handles i'd go with that. The interior door pull and the external handle both work the same mechanical function on the door lock module. The modules themselves have  five micro switches inside  (they are the same as VW Golf IV or Audi TT modules depending on year ) and the solder used is lead free which dries out, cracks and causes poor connection.

Just checked the wiring diagram and the module has micro switches for ;

key contact closed, key contact open,door contact,lock,safe contact.

Also shows 9 pin connection.

The lock micro switch is connected to both inner and outer handles so very likely especially if the key (or fob if it still works) locks the car properly, the handles opearte the release and the dash indicator functions properly.

Golf mk 5 modules are about £25 on the bay of evil but require sligh modding which involves trimming a bit of plastic.

As a test try banging on the lock area as you pull the outer handle, this sometimes causes the solder to temporarily connect. It's a trick any Golf owner knows ! .

 

[Shazbot]

LOL @GmanB beat me to it by 2 minutes   ..................

[TechnicalReaction]

Lovely thanks guys I'll go have a look at that in a little while! When you say the Golf Mk5 modules need modifying, by how much? I'm not too afraid of using some spanners if it saves a bit on the Porsche tax

[GmanB]

Haha I think it was your post I read @Shazbot, credit is all yours. 👍

[½cwt]

3 hours ago, TechnicalReaction said:

Lovely thanks guys I'll go have a look at that in a little while! When you say the Golf Mk5 modules need modifying, by how much? I'm not too afraid of using some spanners if it saves a bit on the Porsche tax

I'm pretty sure there is a 'How To' on this.  Definitely been done by quite a few people.  A Google search will throw up some answers too.

[Shazbot]

If you put in the Audi part number doesn't need modding  8N2837 016 b

Example on bay of evil

After market £19

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Front-Right-Door-Lock-Actuator-Mechanism-9-Pin-for-Audi-A3-A4-TT-8N1837016B/183430866352?epid=5021492578&hash=item2ab554e5b0:g:QNcAAOSw2sNbmdPN

Porsche tax genuine £188

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-GENUINE-PORSCHE-996-986-BOXSTER-DOOR-LOCK-ASSEMBLY-RIGHT-O-S-RHD/202600956342?epid=652216350&hash=item2f2bf541b6:g:R1kAAOSwoOxcarIF

[the baron]

Try and spray the micro switches with wd40 then tapping the door lock mech from the door shut this may help, in my case it worked for a few weeks then reverted back to not dropping so ended up buying a genuine door mech from my OPC which with discount was around £120, didn't see the point in buying second hand or after market one as this could open another can of worms and as its a right PITA to, didnt want to do it again.

[Shazbot]

If you do go genuine see if you have a local TPS (Trade Parts Supply) that will sell to public, most will, and quote the part number above. They are official VAG company that as the name suggests supply genuine VAG parts to trade. Might be cheaper, possibly, maybe.

Personally not had a problem with after market but might have been lucky.

[TechnicalReaction]

Thanks guys will probably go non-genuine and have a go, if it doesn't work I don't mind leaving the car in bits whilst I wait for a genuine one to arrive.

I tried a tap and some WD40 with no effect unfortunately. Thanks for all the help I'll post back once i'm all sorted!

[JohnnyUK]

On 4/4/2020 at 5:55 PM, TechnicalReaction said:

Thanks guys will probably go non-genuine and have a go, if it doesn't work I don't mind leaving the car in bits whilst I wait for a genuine one to arrive.

I tried a tap and some WD40 with no effect unfortunately. Thanks for all the help I'll post back once i'm all sorted!

The thin latex membrane that seals the microswitch fails. Over time, the switch then gums up and fails. No amount of WD40 will sort it. 

[TechnicalReaction]

Thanks all for the help, replacing the door lock mechanism has resolved the issue completely, although it was a bit of a more difficult job than I had hoped!

 

I purchased a replacement off of eBay which was meant to be for a boxster however it wasn't correct, I ended up separating the solenoid and the physical latch and mating my new solenoid with the old Boxster latch mechanism, it was a little fiddly but worked in the end!

 

Thanks all

[½cwt]

59 minutes ago, TechnicalReaction said:

Thanks all for the help, replacing the door lock mechanism has resolved the issue completely, although it was a bit of a more difficult job than I had hoped!

 

I purchased a replacement off of eBay which was meant to be for a boxster however it wasn't correct, I ended up separating the solenoid and the physical latch and mating my new solenoid with the old Boxster latch mechanism, it was a little fiddly but worked in the end!

 

Thanks all

Well done on the improvised solution.  First of many.... 

[dunks]

I've just changed mine ,  but had to do it twice as if you do not have the lock in the right setting when you reconnect the battery then it only works for around 5 minutes, and then you cant open the door, so what fun removing the door card from a locked door ... Anyway a couple of observations , My windows had the same problem as the Op but also the horn beeped on locking , that is now solved as well,   but as I have access to most Vm parts catalogues and prices at work I did some research first , The Porsche lock is £93+vat , which I would have purchased but as the dealers are currently closed I couldnt so I put the Oe part number into ebay and  bought up a cheap £20 copy that is listed as fitting an Audi TT instead, but when accessing Audi prices from the dealer , they sell it for £134+ Vat ( exactly the same part number.... What happened to the Porsche Tax

[fizz]

Picked my car up today and the passenger side is doing the same as the OP apart from the fact that mine i consistent. He parked the car up a few months ago and then when he placed the battery back in (never left it in the car over winters) it stopped working. 

Also the side mirrors electric adjustment on mine has stopped working too but will search to see if others have reported similar issues.  

[½cwt]

Micro switch in the door latch (try spraying with contact cleaner), or replacement door latch assy. Could be worth just re-indexing the window, wind fully down and hold the switch then wind fully up and hold the switch for at least 5 seconds once it is up.  There is a VW equivalent part but you have to check the number of pins as detailed above.

[Darren Sapsford]

Had to change the door handle microswitch on mine. Found a working second hand one for £15 and it cured the problem and allowed the central locking to work properly

[fizz]

On 2/20/2021 at 11:28 PM, ½cwt said:

Micro switch in the door latch (try spraying with contact cleaner), or replacement door latch assy. Could be worth just re-indexing the window, wind fully down and hold the switch then wind fully up and hold the switch for at least 5 seconds once it is up.  There is a VW equivalent part but you have to check the number of pins as detailed above.

Added contact cleaner spray to my amazon basket to go with the white lithium grease for my roof mechanism... any other lubricant i should add to my basket before purchasing for the odd DIY job on the car? Already have the standard WD40 at home.  

[fizz]

On 2/21/2021 at 5:19 AM, Darren Sapsford said:

Had to change the door handle microswitch on mine. Found a working second hand one for £15 and it cured the problem and allowed the central locking to work properly

will have a play with the contact cleaner and then look at replacement bits.  

[½cwt]

2 hours ago, fizz said:

Added contact cleaner spray to my amazon basket to go with the white lithium grease for my roof mechanism... any other lubricant i should add to my basket before purchasing for the odd DIY job on the car? Already have the standard WD40 at home.  

Wurth Gummi Pflege (no I'm not taking the mick) for lubricating the rubber seals on the hood and doors.  Also Dr Wack A1 Cabrio Screen Cleaner for the plastic rear window, although I can't see any listed on Amazon at them moment.  Well worth it to remove some of the micro scratches and yellowing.

[bally4563]

On 2/20/2021 at 11:18 PM, fizz said:

Picked my car up today and the passenger side is doing the same as the OP apart from the fact that mine i consistent. He parked the car up a few months ago and then when he placed the battery back in (never left it in the car over winters) it stopped working. 

Also the side mirrors electric adjustment on mine has stopped working too but will search to see if others have reported similar issues.  

When I had on a previous 987 , and drivers window not coming back up and mirrors not working, replacing the drivers side regulator , cured all issues

[Bradders59]

5 hours ago, fizz said:

Added contact cleaner spray to my amazon basket to go with the white lithium grease for my roof mechanism... any other lubricant i should add to my basket before purchasing for the odd DIY job on the car? Already have the standard WD40 at home.  

KY jelly for when you visit Porsche parts department. 😂

[fizz]

37 minutes ago, Bradders59 said:

KY jelly for when you visit Porsche parts department. 😂

😂

[bally4563]

On 2/22/2021 at 8:02 PM, fizz said:

😂

To be fair they are all perfect gentlemen, they do give you a hand on pulling your pants down on arrival!!