C3 Fuse-What does it look like?

[2002S]

Have been reading about being ready when the battery fails so I have a set of small jumper cables under the passenger seat and thought I was ready.
Today I decided to take a look at the hood opening fuse.
Here's what mine looks like. It appears to be all plastic. How can that possibly make an electrical connection?
Is mine broken? The pics in the owners manual shows a smooth surface and not the two holes as mine has. Am I in for a trip to the dealer for a new part?

[thom4782]

Unless I am missing something, your picture shows the E row of fuses, i.e., fifth fuse row from the top. The C3 fuse in in the third row and it is third from the left. It should look the same as the other 15 amp fuses.

[2002S]

You may very well be right. I probably picked up the C3 designation from another thread in this forum.

The one I'm interested in is the red one with the picture of the hood-opening logo on it.

It's the one you are supposed to connect +12 volts to in order to open the front trunk when the battery is dead.

[thom4782]

Now I see what you're referring to...the terminal clamp. It looks the same in your picture as it does in my '01S.

I'm guessing that the conductor passes down the narrow side(s) of the terminal clamp (the top in the picture) and serves as the channel for the current to flow.

I don't know what the function of the two holes is if they have any functional purpose at all. I did not pull the clamp out of my car to see if it has fuse like qualities. I suspect it doesn't. Others may know better than me.

[2002S]

Thanks for looking.
Apparently I'll need to carry a set of jumper cables with much larger clamps than I now have. I was planning to use my old motorcycle jumper cable set, but the clamps will not open that wide.

[Meirschwartz]

its a little bit hard to see in your picture, but the tip of the plastic "fuse", is suppose to be covered with copper.

[Meirschwartz]

here is a pic of mine:

[thom4782]

I would think that so long as you can clamp your wires across the terminal you'd be OK whether that is across the wide (top to bottom in the picture) or the narrow side (front to back). The only issue I see is whether the cables have enough current capacity (diameter) to carry the current. I don't know what the minimum rating is...

[2002S]

Thanks.
After a full minute of scratching the area with my thumb nail and under a stronger light, I can now see the metal band on the pull out portion.
Thanks again.

[Meirschwartz]

Just to make clear (better be safe then sorry).
You use this only to open the front trunk, not to jump start the car.

[thom4782]

Excellent...

If the terminal clamp solution doesn't work for opening the front trunk, there are other options. You can see these in the following thread if you haven't seen them already: Dead battery hood Trunk release My advise! Be Prepared..

For my part, I relocated the emergency release cable to the tow hook hole. I did this by:

1. Removing the passenger headlight assembly
2. Locating the emergency release cable and pulling it forward so it was clear of the headlight tray
3. Snaking the cable down inside of the bumper cover making sure it passed in front of the actual bumper and the tow hook hole in the bumper cover
4. Winding the exposed cable up into a small loop
5. Passing the wound up loop back through the bumper cover hole and seating the original looped end of the cable into the threaded hole in the bumper itself
6. Tying the assembly with fishing line to the two small needle like holes in the bumper cover at the bottom of the tow hook hole so the assembly doesn't come adrift behind the bumper cover

Using this approach, I can pull the cable out of the threaded hole and screw in the tow hook. If I had put the emergency release cable through the threaded hole, I would have to push it out the back in order to insert the tow hook.

Hope this helps

[2002S]

Correct!! Let's hope we never need to use it at all.
Thanks again.

[2002S]

Originally Posted by thom4782

Excellent...

If the terminal clamp solution doesn't work for opening the front trunk, there are other options. You can see these in the following thread if you haven't seen them already: Dead battery hood Trunk release My advise! Be Prepared..

For my part, I relocated the emergency release cable to the tow hook hole. I did this by:

1. Removing the passenger headlight assembly
2. Locating the emergency release cable and pulling it forward so it was clear of the headlight tray
3. Snaking the cable down inside of the bumper cover making sure it passed in front of the actual bumper and the tow hook hole in the bumper cover
4. Winding the exposed cable up into a small loop
5. Passing the wound up loop back through the bumper cover hole and seating the original looped end of the cable into the threaded hole in the bumper itself
6. Tying the assembly with fishing line to the two small needle like holes in the bumper cover at the bottom of the tow hook hole so the assembly doesn't come adrift behind the bumper cover

Using this approach, I can pull the cable out of the threaded hole and screw in the tow hook. If I had put the emergency release cable through the threaded hole, I would have to push it out the back in order to insert the tow hook.

Hope this helps

Well, I tried. Removed the passenger headlight and found the hood release cable taped there. For almost three hours I tried to snake the cable around and down inside the bumper cover. Finally gave up and pulled a loop of the cable through the threaded tow-hook hole and zip-tied it loosely to the fishing line that holds the bumper plug. Then I tucked the few inches of excess cable back behind the bumper cover.
If the need arises, a decision will have to be made: pull the cable to open the trunk or push the cable back through the threaded hole in order to install the tow hook. When the situation arises, the decision will be obvious.

[thom4782]

I can feel your 3 hour frustration. And now that I read my procedure more closely, I should revise step 3.

If I recall correctly, I snaked the cable in two steps. First, I used a really long zip tie and led it from the bumper cover hole up to the left over the bumper toward the passenger head light. When I go a hold of it near the top, I pulled a string through that was long enough to tie to the emergency cable end, Then I pulled it back out through the bumper cover. It wasn't easy and I think I got a bit lucky.

[sHREDDi]

I tried the battery to fuse before and always worked. Now the alarm goes off. Tried putting key in ignition and door turning several times. Key does not have insides for a while. Have to fix but need to move 2002 boxster S. So I read under wheel well left side presuming front. Behind passenger side headlight? Any suggestions please? Really appreciate it.