How to get 914 started w/o Keys?

[Gonzo]

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

[Tim Polzin]

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.

[Jim Osborn]

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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THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME

***AGENT 009, JAMES BONDO***

[JP Noonan]

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.

[Gruppe5]

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.

[JP Noonan]

...yeah, because those 914's are worth Sooooo much on the black market. 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

[Gonzo]

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!!!!!!

[scriabin]

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.

John

[Joe Bob]

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....

[Gruppe5]

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

[Jim Osborn]

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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THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME

***AGENT 009, JAMES BONDO***

[Ian_G]

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. . .

[James M]

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. 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"

[JP Noonan]

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

[7391417]

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.

[Germain]

Um, couldnt you just get in by... I dont know leaning over the window? (I never take mine out with the top on)

[campbellcj]

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....

[Wayne 962]

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

[Joe Bob]

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

[NOTRIGHT]

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