How to get 914 started w/o Keys?
 

Lost my keys!! Anyone have any recommendations on how to get the car started? It needs to be driven home! Thanks in advance.

What might be the easiest solution is to go out now and buy a membership in your AAA. You may need the extended coverage, but replacing lost keys is covered. Someone will come to your car and make you a key on site. The membership is probably less than what you would have to pay a locksmith to do it. Besides, the other benefits are nice too.

Unplug the harness from the back of the ignition and try jumpering several of the wires to find out which one turns on the ignition circiut then there's on that will start the car. Look under wiring diagrams on this site. Good luck

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If the steering wheel isn't locked then unpluging the harness will work. Even if it is unlocked you run the risk of it locking up while driving!!! If the key switch pops out it will lock the steering wheel in whatever position you happen to be in. A safe way is to remove the whole ignition switch http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Mult_Steering_Wheel/Mult_Steering_Wheel.htm

and

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/914_ignition_switch/914_ignition_switch.htm and then hotwire it. Iknow you don't want to go through the hassle but it is the safest way. BTW if the steering wheel IS locked you are out of luck, the locksmith is the only option.

Sometimes a key from another Porsche will work, try "raking" it in and out of the lock while turning lightly.

Hey did any of you guys stop to think that GONZO might just be some auto theif out there, just trying to pump information from some "veteran" Porsche people on how better to do his job?........

Sorry Gonzo, MAybe you are "just Stranded" but I'd think you'd be calling a shop or someone, instead of surfing the internet for info if your prize was stranded somewhere.

...yeah, because those 914's are worth Sooooo much on the black market. http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif Lets see, $0.20 a pound for scrap metal, 2000lbs minus rust....

Oh, sorry, I forgot some people have 914's with floors, and matching body panels, and they don't leak oil, blow smoke...my neighbors LOVE me.


I did think about it, but Gonzo's been around for awhile now. http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ultimate/ubbmisc.cgi?action=getbio&UserName=Gonzo Of coarse now any search engine can retrieve the info from this BBS. It's never been a secret how to hotwire Porsches (911's to be exact) ever seen the movie "No Mans Land"?

If there is any justice in this world maybe Gonzo is going after a certain "Doctor's" 916 http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif

So Gruppe5 if I was such a car thief & you think that I should call a shop!!!! Then why even have this awesome forum & just let everyone take their 914s to a shop!!!!!!

Well, personally, I've plum lost count of just how many 914's I've stolen in my modest little career. No one ever seems to hear me leaving the driveway, no one ever follows the oil trail back to my house, and as a 'hot' vehicle, I find I can just blend in with the economy car crowd so well that I've got no fears about driving my new 914 the very next day, to work.

Anyway, if you really don't mind having to replace that ignition, the old dent puller method works real well. 'Rake' out a unit with that, and any old slot screwdriver with a leather fob becomes your cool new key.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/smile.gif John

Geez, if you're really stranded, the old cram the screw driver into the ignition and turn with a vise grip works all the time....

Well guys... not all of us drive around in dilapidated pieces of $H!+ 914 Porsches. Although the 914 has been deemed the POOR mans Porsche ever since its nimble beginnings, there are some of us who take pride in our cars. I'm sure Rich Johnsons car sitting on the side of the road would catch a couple glances from would be Porsche car wanters.
And yes there is NO point to any of this really.... lol

These are not the easiest cars to steel. Good luck trying to slimjim the car. I've tried that on my car when both of the door handles broke. Not even the tow truck driver could get the door open. We ended up using a coat hanger and manipulated the window crank to get the window down enough to open the door.

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009,

Actually I've gotten into mine a few times with a slim jim. You just have to angle it back enough.

Ian

BTW this was because I was too cheap to buy a second key for the first few months. . . http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif

Same thing happened to me when both my door handles broke. Called AAA and the locksmith they sent couldn’t get it open with a slim jim. I had to push down on my targa hard enough to pop open one of the rear clips, then he used the coat hanger to roll down the window. To bad he chipped my window and tore up my drivers seat when he was doing it. http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/frown.gif if it gets to the point where I have to get the window down again I would do it myself rather then have the horror of watching some guy tear up my car and say "oops sorry about that"

Whats even more fun is a 911 with electric windows, locks, and shaved door handles so there was no lock to jimmy. Hint: involves TWO coat hangers and going in from the opposite side http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif

I once locked my keys inside my '73 because I locked the door before I shut it (I was in the pass. side for some reason go figure!)
AAA sent out a guy in a "Clown Car" and he could not open it with a slim jim, he ended up taping two together inserting it through the window from the back seal by pulling the window out a bit and then hooking the door lock and pulling it unlocked. It took over half an hour, makes me feel safe though.

Um, couldnt you just get in by... I dont know leaning over the window? (I never take mine out with the top on) http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/smile.gif

glad to know it ain't too easy on the 'teeners...i once coat hangered my way into my early 911 targa in about 45 seconds. (lock knobs are only a few inches from the openable vent windows.) scary....

Ok, just to prove that I am as dumb as everyone else:

I was out on a date, and I was slightly nervous, and I left the keys in the ignition and locked the doors behind me (with the roof on too).

So, I managed to use a coat hanger to unlock one of the rear latches on the roof. Then I used a really long hanger to hook and pull the keys out of the ignition.

I am somewhat absent-minded at times, and having done this on several cars (and a truck or two), I'd say that the 914, surprisingly enough, was the most difficult to break into.

-Wayne

I once locked my keys in the 914....took me a whole hour to get my date out of the car....8^)

i have unlocked mine in 23 seconds with a slim jim and i have pulled the lock out of the columm and had it started in under 10 minets

23 seconds to get in, <10 minutes to start it? NOTRIGHT, you are *not* invited over to my house! ;^)

I think you may be taking the name a little too seriously... ;^)

--DD

Not long after purchasing my 914 (in CA then, where car theft is rather more frequent than in most places), I studied my ignition and sought through the methods of hotwiring the car to discover the difficulty level, which I found to be quite satisfactorily difficult. I decided one would have to possess some intimate knowledge of this car to pull it off and actually be able to drive the thing away. And this was comforting, as neither of my door locks were functional at the time, doh!

The only theft deterrence I ever instituted since was a nifty metal finger bolted to my tail shifter and designed so that before exiting the car I could leave the gear shift in reverse and then reach under the car and swing the metal finger down over the end of the linkage to prevent the car from being shifted out of the reverse gear. Figured that would foil all but the most determined klepto.

I did, however (for my own personal use only, now), specially design a slim jim that reliably enabled entry into the driver's side in an easy ten seconds. Just left the door panel off so I could practice and devise the most appropriate shape for the tool--and no I won't say what it looks like.
But I still keep that thing hidden underneath the car (feel free to guess where?) and now simply laugh when those keys end up left in the ignition. Just keeps me in practice.

John, in http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/smile.gif

Thank you, Brian! Sometimes we need to be reminded of simple solutions with a brilliant flash of the incredibly obvious! I also have a hidden spare key and can get into my locked car very quickly without special tools or frustration.

[This message has been edited by mejulihn (edited 02-08-2000).]

My 914 is WAY easy to get into! a few cold mornings ago i pulled on the door handle and it fell off in my hand. now i just have to reach in the hole and push just right and the door comes open for me. not that anyone would really want to steal my 14, because of how "unique" it is. very "custom" multi color paint job that has taken over 25 years to get where it is today! I was thinking about getting a visor strip for my broken windshield that says ""very" poor man's porsche"

Number one: spare key--BORING. No fun there. Of course I had one in a box, two boxes in the course of time actually, but the magnetic box kept disappearing on me. One just fell off somehow, perhaps poorly placed, and the other . . . well, I forgot where I hid it. It eventually turned up months later, or rather, my brain did.

--John

Uh, about the feeling safe about someone breaking into car cause the doors are hard to unlock... you know, most car thieves will just break the window (they dont care).

About theft prevention. I believe the MOST effective method is the one I use. I hooked up a wire to my negative coil(or you can use the wire that goes to the tach)to a switch that grounds it. When the switch is on(the wire is grounded), the engine wont run(the coil is grounded, no sparks)). Use a small switch and route it to someplace hidden but easily reachable when you get in or out of your car. This works excellently! even if someone spent the time to hotwire your car, the engine still wouldn't start. Plus you can legally claim it as "Active Disabling" lower your rates slightly.

Well, I'll throw in my opinion (again) just for kicks. My beleif in theft protection rests solely on insurance. Well not solely, I try to park cars in safe places. But the bottom line is if a theif want the car, the radio, the cool Porsche logo on the steering wheel, the theif is gonna get it. (Unless were dealing with a complete looser theif, in that case, a fake red flashing light will work http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/smile.gif

DD I REPO CARS FOR CAR LOTS
AND DO SOME LOCKSMITHING ON THE SIDE


HAVE A NICE DAY
NOTRIGHT

So Gonzo... did you get it started yet???

What I ended up doing was going to a local junk yard & buying an ignition w/key (cheaper than a locksmith). So without locking the steering column I disconnected the ignition harness & pulled out the ingnition & replaced it. So no I didn't get to steal that 916! http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/smile.gif

Sorry, Notright. I was just kidding!

--DD

Dave,


was that a dinner invitation for NOTRIGHT? break out the fine china, you're having company...

DD
no need to say sorry i know you were jokeing
i dont want any one to think i steel cars
i mad a bet with a freand that i could unlock
just about any car and he said well do your porsche so we locked it up and i open it up
and in 23 seconds i had it open
if you know how to use a slim jim its a good tool to have but if you dont know how to use it you can realy trash the latch in the door

had a nice day
notright

TFI
i was thinking about comeing over to your
house for dinner and maybe we could rent some video tapes

heheheh
just jokeing

have a nice day
notright

just do what I do make a copy of your key and put it in your wallet, deep inside like behind a credit card or something like that, I dont' know about you guys but I do not leave my house or car without my wallet. the only problem is that if you loose your wallet the person that finds that wallet will have your name, address, and key car!!!!!!!

NOTRIGHT

go for it, come on over. bring your 914! i'm a poor college student so you're in for gourmet ramen with a side of frozen veggies... and all the tap water you can drink!

Nice to know I'm not the only one (granted I've been tossed into that "continuing studies" catagory. Lots of people go to university for 10 years...doctors). I usally park 200-400 yards from class and always see 2-3 Boxsters parked along the way. Do they wave, no. Do they know what a 914 is, no. Do they know where the engine is in their own car?

Parked next to a new 996 last week, had nice rims, wide body I think. Spotted a carbon fiber dash, aluminium handbrake and...AUTOMATIC SHIFTER HANDLE!!!

I guess the fiberglass thing on the deck lid was a double decker ironing board, unless Porsche has sold out and made an automatic turbo.

What next??? Cup holders??? The end is near my friends. http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif lol


Got two "stoplight comments" today. One from an older gentleman who had a 914 "way back when" and was convinced that mine was painted the wrong color (I guess his was white). The other from a new Jetta full of teenagers, asking "what year" and "that's one of those 914's right?"

Makes a father proud.