2006 Boxster S clicking not starting

Hi all, Just purchased a project 2006 boxster S manual, the car has been sitting for a while, so the battery was completely dead. The good: I hooked up a battery booster and the few things came to life- ac works, radio works, dash lights, side marker lights, spoiler goes up and down. Oil level seems good according to dash, almost full tank of gas, coolant seems like normal level. The bad: The windows rolled down but never came back up, had a psm warning message, headlights not coming on, driver side door key lock just spins freely, and attempted to start the car but it just click several times, each click about a second or so apart, engine did not attempt to turn/spin. My first move is a new battery, anything else I should consider or look for?

Dead battery, old oil, brake fluid full of moisture, even bod gas. More history will clear up these points but they could be a concern. Also what is the age of the tires ? Has the Boxster been sitting for lest say 5 years?

Once a battery has drained below 50% state-of-charge (less than 12V) it can be damaged enough to never deliver the power (AMPS or voltage) needed by the car. Porsches are particularly sensitive to marginal/bad batteries. So I'd pull it and take it to an auto store of your choice such as Auto Zone, Advanced Auto, etc and they can do a load test. They can sell you an equivalent replacement for lots less that the Porsche dealer. You've got to get a good battery in there before dealing with the other possible issues. BTW the window stops need to be reset after the battery is dealt with. The process is in the manual. The PSM error will clear itself after a short drive. And as suggested, change the oil. And hope the gas isn't stale or your could have a big headache.

What measure of time is "a while"? Was it indoors or outdoors, heated enclosure or barn? I'm going to wager the battery is all it needs, good luck. If you're a Costco member they have interstate batteries that fit, just buy one, call it the price of entry into the Porsche world.

Some good advice above. A new battery is a good idea. I wouldn't bother with any testing of it - if it's been sitting there for any extended period of time, it's been discharged to a level that it will never fully recover from so just replace it. A few comments/questions: 1 - Why was it left sitting for a "while"? Did it have issues when it was parked? 2 - Open the fuel filler - and sniff. What's the gas smell like? Like gasoline or something sort of stale? If it doesn't smell like semi-fresh gas, get it out of the tank before trying to start the car. You may be pumping crap into the fuel system otherwise. 3 - If the fuel smells stale - I'd be tempted to pull the sparkplugs before trying to turn the engine over. It's possible one of the injectors has failed open and filled a cylinder with enough fuel to cause hydrolock. Trying to crank the engine over when it's hydrolocked (with a nice fresh battery) can bend connecting rods, and you really don't want to do that (new engine time.) It's "probably" fine - but I know I wouldn't be really comfortable cranking it over without making sure there isn't anything in the cylinders that might cause damage. Mebbe that's just me.. but the symptom of all the lights coming on and then the starter just clicking, well, could indicate a weak battery or a locked-up engine.. Good luck - let us know how this works out...

Hi all, thank you for the replies and suggestions. I found a folder with some invoices and contacted the last shop it visited. They confirmed the car had a major service in 05/2023 at 101K miles that included: oil change, brake fluid, spark plugs , shifter cables adjusted, water pump replaced, transmission serviced and fluid change, serpentine belt replaced. According to the Carfax, looks like the car was traded in at a dealer in Florida on 9/2023 and then they sent it to auction where I bought it about 2 weeks later. So give or take about 6 weeks sitting outside in an auction lot. The car currently has 106K miles, I'll run through all the checks mentioned above but I feel hopeful a new battery will solve many of the issues. I'm curious why the dealer would send it to auction, assuming it ended up there because it's a high mileage Porsche with aftermarket wheels and exhaust, and hopefully not because of other hidden issues. Anyway, I'll take a crack it at this weekend and report back my findings. Thanks again!

Probably a good idea to just get a new battery like the others are saying. But if you have a good battery from another car you could try to use that to jump your battery. Take it out of the other car and jump it to your Boxster battery, then connect the jumper box to the good battery. That can sometimes get a very dead battery to take a charge.

Hey all, my back hurts from squeezing into tight spaces and have a bunch of nicks and small cuts on my fingers, but enjoying the process! Quick update on the project: Got a new battery and rechecked all fluids and connections on the motor. The new battery fixed the following: All exterior lights are now working properly Car started on first try Passenger window rolls up and down using the passenger window switch Still diagnosing: The driver window does nothing for the window, the driver switch oddly can lower the passenger window but not lift it back up...(Wondering if this is an issue with the switch itself?) Car starts and idles for about 10 -15 seconds with rough idle and then dies. (slight burning smell) Hooked up the icarsoft and it can not read the DME, says there's a communication issue/not reading it. (all other systems reading functional) The top is not working, doesn't even attempt to open. I can't hear any mechanical/electronic attempts. What I have tried: Swapped the rear body control module (nothing changed) Swapped the ecu/immobilizer/ignition (Still not reading DME) Checked all the fuses by clutch pedal (all are in good shape, none blown out) My next steps are to track down the relays, I found a diagram for an 08 Cayman, which I believe would be a similar layout and location. But looking for specifically the main DME relay, Fuel pump relay, and convertible top relay. Any other considerations and suggestions on what else to look for and try?

Did you drain the fuel out and put fresh in? If not - that can be why it starts, runs for 10-15 seconds and stalls out. I'm not familiar with icarsoft - can it read the "state" of controls/switches/relays? That's a very useful thing to have when trying to troubleshoot a car with this many issues. Such a tool would be very useful in troubleshooting the windows, and would enable you to raise the lowered windows even if the switch for them isn't working correctly.

Thanks for the reply! The icarsoft is a Porsche specific diagnostic tool, but I don’t think I can check relays and activate things like windows- I believe the most I can do is check communication, read fault codes, and clear them, Ill check to confirm. Would the PIWIS tool or durametric have the ability to read the state of relays and controls? I have seen both durametric and piwis III as a rental on eBay for relatively low cost, which would be better? As far as the gas, it smells fine, not varnished or stale from the filler end, but I’ll pull the fuel pump this week to get a better smell and look inside the tank.

The PIWIS probably has a longer learning curve than the Durametric - you might also look into buying a Foxwell -- either the NT530 or the new NT710. Both of those are capable of doing those tests. The NT710 is much easier to use IMHO. I have both.

Is the slight burning smell like an electrical burning smell? Maybe you have a bad earth at the starter motor or battery?

Hey all, The slight burning smell seemed like electrical smell, only noticed it after the car shuts off. I started extracting the gas out of the tank, it was almost full, so I’ll finish up this week, but looks a bit darker than fresh gas. Hoping a fresh few gallons with some Heet will help. I was able to borrow a Durametric, got the driver window up and down! Only physical things that did not respond to the Durametric was the convertible top, radio still no sounds, and puddle lights in the door. All the fault codes listed below: Dme : no faults found PSM: -4444 steering angle sensor not initialized Instrument cluster: no faults Vehicle electronic system: no faults found Airbag posip: 8016 passenger airbag OFF light open circuit /short circuit to ground C152 communication PSM control unit (drive) C140 communication instrument cluster (display) 8057 AWS read out fault memory 8012 voltage supply below lower limit Advanced weight system: 8A01 front left sensor implausible 8011 power supply C152 communication PSM control unit (drive) Steering column electronics C152 communication PSM control unit (drive) Gateway: 8007 gateway incorrect coding PAS: 8004 terminal 50 8005 terminal S 8001 power supply C152 communication PSM control unit (drive) Communication drivers door control unit 8053 electronic steering continuously blocked 8055 electronic steering lock blocked at times Front body module : 8034 angle sensor front 8035 angle sensor rear C140 communication instrument cluster C131 communication gateway control 8001 power supply C130 communication steering wheel electonics C122 communication driver door C123 communication passenger door Left and right door (had same codes) 8009 door h button inner sh stroke C171 fault rear control unit

Sorry; Way over my head.

Update: I got some fresh fuel in the tank and heet to help with cleaning injectors etc. I Hooked it up to a charger and car starts immediately, and stays running for much longer than before, but still has a very rough idle and eventually dies. I was able to get obd codes while running and clear and re-try and the same codes came back, misfires on cylinders 4,5,6. No other codes, assuming it’s not coil packs or spark plugs given it’s all the same bank, any ideas what it could be?

You had all those codes you previously listed?

You smelled burning at some time? Check the wiring for that cylinder. Is it possible a critter got in there and ate some wiring? I'd have to see the wiring diagrams - but most Bosch systems of this era sent a constant 12V+ to the injectors, and then opened them by grounding the negative side. If a mouse caused issues with the constant 12V - that might explain it. And pull the plugs/coils - and read the plugs. If they're soaked with fuel, it's probably an ignition problem. If they're dry as a bone it's probably a fuel issue. You'll also get some idea of the condition of the coils. You may want to install new plugs as long as you have them out, and especially if you find them flooded - they may never fire reliably again (dunno why - but once flooded badly - some plugs never seem to recover.)

No, many of the codes listed above were gone. I think it was a low-voltage issue, once hooked up to the charger for several hours it seems to clear them up. But the DME was showing these new codes (multiple misfire, misfire on 4, 5, and 6) once I could get the engine running long enough to get a read.

I found a folder with some invoices and contacted the last shop it visited. They confirmed the car had a major service in 05/2023 at 101K miles that included: oil change, brake fluid, spark plugs , shifter cables adjusted, water pump replaced, transmission serviced and fluid change, serpentine belt replaced. According to the Carfax But the DME was showing these new codes (multiple misfire, misfire on 4, 5, and 6) once I could get the engine running long enough to get a read. I'm trying to piece together your problem and I copy pasted some of your post above. Per Carfax a lot of work done by someone. Who not ID. After running with fresh gas, you still have these misfires. I'm wondering about the coils themselves. I would pull the plugs, see if they are correct for car and if installed/gapped properly. If they are ok and did you get all the old gas out? If you did then in my mind that only leaves the coils. Does that make sense? One last part is the serpentine belt replacement. Done right? I would think if not then both cylinder banks would have problems not just one bank. Hope you got this car cheap because a pain.