Porsche Repair: Problem with steering, battery light, oil pressure, car mileage, moment kind

Question
Hi,
I was parked at the lights in my 2002 Boxster S when I heard a sound almost like a glass bottle dropping somewhere underneath the car. When I pulled away from the lights my battery warning light came on and the steering became extremely heavy. The oil presssure then dropped completely and the computer told me that the engine temperature was too high. Luckily I was about 100 yards from home but when I got there I only just managed to get the hood up before the car went flat. Do you have any ideas as to what might have happened? I am sitting here very, very worried at the moment.

Kind Regards

James Withers

Answer
Hi James,

I'll admit that I'm not an expert on the Boxsters, but I feel your pain!  Let's take the symptoms one at a time.  Tell me more about the car and what you felt:

1.  car mileage...?
2.  Last maintenance date and general comments about maintenance program...for example...the car is my baby or the car gets care when time and money allow, or?
3.  Are you the first owner?
4.  The battery warning light came on...can you go out and test the battery right now?  An inexpensive voltmeter or multimeter could tell you if the battery has 12v now or something lower.
5.  The steering became heavy...sounds like the engine quit and the power steering was degraded to manual steering...but you say the engine was running? til you got to your driveway?
6.  The car went flat after you got to your driveway...meaning that the car died only then?

Sorry to make you do this...but look under the car now.  Any eveidence of leaking fluids?  Anything else that seems weird...I know, everything is weird, but be analytical.

Give me some feedback using the All-experts followup system.

Dave