In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Ugh. I should have warned you. I did the same thing.
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Ugh. I should have warned you. I did the same thing.
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
I don't think I used a stubby, pretty sure I fit a regular sized screwdriver in there, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to break them free. They were really tight from the factory.
This:
https://www.harborfreight.com/33-piece-precision-screwdriver-set-93916.html
...and good for lots of other fiddley jobs.
Update: New ignition switch is in, and it still won't start. Same symptoms, it attempts to turn over once, then nothing. All lights work, battery is good. Here's a video:
Battery is new and has been on a charger this whole time. Here's the voltage:
Thoughts?
Plug anything into the OBD port and see if that's it. Same problem as me?
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:Plug anything into the OBD port and see if that's it. Same problem as me?
Worth a shot, I suppose. Were your symptoms the same? It acts just like a dead battery.
Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
I will certainly check!
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
I will certainly check!
Well, I'd love to check, but now my top won't work, so I can't get to it. So, just to review, I can't diagnose my transmission issue because it won't start, and I can't diagnose my no-start issue because the top doesn't work.
The fun never stops with this car. 
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
That video sounds exactly like a weak/bad ground. Find an FSM for this car and follow all the engine grounds in the engine bay - especially the starter ground. Verify the starter is getting battery voltage and if its then make sure it is grounded. I would bet a donut your issue is a ground.
FatMongo said:AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
That video sounds exactly like a weak/bad ground. Find an FSM for this car and follow all the engine grounds in the engine bay - especially the starter ground. Verify the starter is getting battery voltage and if its then make sure it is grounded. I would bet a donut your issue is a ground.
Yeah, that makes sense. But again, the top won't work, so I can't access the engine bay. I did some quick googling but didn't find a method for how to drop the top manually. Surely there's a way?
If the top is closed/up:
First check a few things. Is the parking brake set? Is the parking brake light on the instrument panel lit? If not, there is a microswitch at the base of the brake lever that is not working. Top relay: It's the double relay on the panel by your foot. Pull it out. Give it a gentle tap to free up any relay stuck inside. re-seat it. Try the top again. Top latch: Open it. Poke and release the 'catch' a few times, it may free up a stuck microswitch.
Opening it manually: There is a section in the owner's manual about popping off the ball joints that attach to the top. Never quite worked for me. 1st: Try removing the bolts (32) that attach to the transmissions. There's locktite on it, so it may be hard to start. If that doesn't work try using a VERY LONG screwdriver to pop off the clips that hold Arm (10) to the clamshell at (11).
Oh, E36 M3. I bet it's the parking brake. Doh! 
That definitely sounds like weak juice getting to and from the starter.
a weak battery or weak cables or weak connections.
Battery could have an issue even showing full voltage.
I had a ground cable once that looked great but was corroded to pieces inside that caused issues.
I'd be willing to bet it's one of those
Not sure if it is a boxster issue but there is a connector on the passenger side of the firewall in Caymans near the battery that gets corroded. I think they called it the power pin? My dad's Cayman also had a corroded connection on a cable from the battery to the starter. He traced the cable under the car and cleaned every connection and ground he found. No starting issues since.
Edit: The power pin feeds power to the fuse box behind the glove compartment.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:Oh, E36 M3. I bet it's the parking brake. Doh!
It was the parking brake. But, in my defense, I also have to hold the key on to get the top to move. But anyhow, it did. So now I can hopefully spend some time on diagnosis of problem #2 this weekend.
Man, I hate to see someone else with a never ending series of problems, but at least I feel less alone. At least my car is currently drivable despite it's issues. This is allowing me to put some miles on the car until I re-ignite my desire to work on it. Next step for me is to buy the three VIN Durametric tool.
BTW on the OBD Dongle it sounds different to you. For me everything appears OK, ignition comes on, but it just wont engage the starter, so if your car is more dead than that it's probably a different issue.
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:Man, I hate to see someone else with a never ending series of problems, but at least I feel less alone. At least my car is currently drivable despite it's issues. This is allowing me to put some miles on the car until I re-ignite my desire to work on it. Next step for me is to buy the three VIN Durametric tool.
BTW on the OBD Dongle it sounds different to you. For me everything appears OK, ignition comes on, but it just wont engage the starter, so if your car is more dead than that it's probably a different issue.
Yeah, it is. I tried the OBD2 dongle and it didn't help. Also, on the first attempt, you can hear the engine try to turn over, so the problem would seem to be electrical, not electronic. As in, all the switches and circuits are working correctly to get it to start, but there's not enough juice for it to actually happen.
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
Bingo!
Connected that back up, and she fired right up. Hooray, I'm back down to one problem.
Since I was on a roll, I went ahead and dropped the trans again. This is what I found:
Not sure what to make of this. The fork seemed to be sitting loose on the input shaft. But it was still clipped to the lower pivot point. Also, the front surface of the throwout bearing is kind of chewed up, as you can see.
Once again, I find myself appealing to you for suggestions.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
Bingo!
I'm not particularly smart or skilled. I've just made the same mistakes enough times that I remember stuff.
I'll poke around my 'parts engine & transmission' on Monday and see if anything makes sense for that fork issue.
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:Are you certain that the ground connection from the starter bolt to frame bracket of the SAI blower is good?
Bingo!
I'm not particularly smart or skilled. I've just made the same mistakes enough times that I remember stuff.
I'll poke around my 'parts engine & transmission' on Monday and see if anything makes sense for that fork issue.
Well, you've been a lifesaver to me, and should you ever find yourself in Michigan, I'll buy you all the beers, and I suspect Adrian would, too.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:Well, you've been a lifesaver to me, and should you ever find yourself in Michigan, I'll buy you all the beers, and I suspect Adrian would, too.
The beers we owe will put you out of comission for a day or two!
I've spent some time poking around the interwebs and looking at diagrams, and it sure seems like I put it all together right. The thing that's bugging me is how the face of the release bearing is chewed up, like it's been making contact with the tines of the clutch cover.
So, here's the thing: That's a FAG release bearing I got from RockAuto for $15. The Sachs and OEM ones are $70+, and I've had great luck with FAG bearings in the past, so I thought, why not? But one thing I noticed about the Sachs/OEM ones from pictures is that the face on those is metal, and on this FAG one it's plastic. So if it's designed to contact the tines, and this cheap one is getting chewed up by them, could that be causing the noise?
Have I caused all these issues by using a cheap release bearing?
Might want to check that clutch plate is not reversed
dave215 said:Might want to check that clutch plate is not reversed
Just did, it's not.
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