944 Boot Opening

robhesketh · 05-08-2005, 01:51 AM

Hi,

Any ideas on how to open the boot on a 944 if the battery is dead?

Thanks

Rob

Mark944na86 · 05-08-2005, 02:56 AM

RHD cars have this great feature: the battery dies, the hatch won't open, so you can't get to... the battery!

LHD people have no idea what we're talking about here (their battery is in the engine bay), but here's the scoop: You have to crawl into the hatch area via one of the front doors, unclip the carpet at the back of the hatch where the hatch lock is, and manually pull the cable (a bit like a bicycle handbrake cable) wire to release the hatch mechanism.

Being no taller than about 4' high helps, but fortunately is not strictly necessary...

Have fun!

-Mark

Eldorado · 05-08-2005, 03:39 AM

what doofus came up with this design? :S

Mark944na86 · 03:57 AM

Unfortunately, the steering column went right through where the battery would normally be on the LHD models, and so they had to find a place to relocate the battery. Hmmm... not lots of alternative locations in the engine bay...

So they end up putting the battery in the left hand side "cubby" in the hatch area! Hence the "catch-22" problem if your battery ever dies.

But at least your dead battery is not going to get stolen! Built in dead battery anti-theft device...

-Mark

IceShark · 05-08-2005, 07:16 AM

There are two other solutions to this problem, though they are probably more work than crawling into the boot. Get the car in the air and clip a jumper cable to the main positive post of the starter. This can be a little dangerous if you don't have the rear wheels off the ground or the car in neutral because you might accidentially hit the starter solenoid trigger, light up the starter motor, and drive the car off the jack stands.

The safer way is to just pull up the fuse relay board and jumper a positive to the main positive feeds on the board. They are at the right forward face of the board.

robhesketh · 05-08-2005, 07:21 AM

Thanks chaps - I managed to do the unglamorous boot crawling thing and pull the cable. It's actually in the manual, which was safely tucked away..... in the boot.

If any of you are interested, there's a picture of my beastie at www.ukphotographs.com/autogallery/robhesketh/cars/ I'm sure you can guess which one it is!

Thanks again,

Rob

88BlueTSiQuest · 05-08-2005, 09:18 AM

Sort of along Iceshark's reply. But, why not splice into the hatch's power wires, and install a connector to it, that can dangle under the car. You can use a 2 pin connector, and make a secondairy harness that would allow you to either utilize a 12volt drill battery or even a set of jumper cables to pop the hatch in the event of another dead battery?

Just a quick thought, as I don't have to worry about that sort of thing, being that I own an '83 LHD car, so battery in the front and no electric hatch release.

ronin · 05-09-2005, 03:12 PM

plug jumper lead into lighter. push button. hatch opens. done

two minutes, max

88BlueTSiQuest · 05-09-2005, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ronin
plug jumper lead into lighter. push button. hatch opens. done

two minutes, max

Didn't even think of that. A 9volt battery wired into a cigarette lighter plug should allow enough current to toggle the hatch release so long as there are no other accessories on. If the 9volt isn't strong enough, a 12volt drill battery would be. Or use one of those cigarette lighter 'jump start' devices.

Anyway you slice, there's ways around having to crawl back there to do it manually

IceShark · 05-10-2005, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 88BlueTSiQuest
Didn't even think of that. A 9volt battery wired into a cigarette lighter plug should allow enough current to toggle the hatch release so long as there are no other accessories on. If the 9volt isn't strong enough, a 12volt drill battery would be. Or use one of those cigarette lighter 'jump start' devices.

Anyway you slice, there's ways around having to crawl back there to do it manually

Yeah, the cigarette lighter socket is a good idea, though you have to go buy a plug gizmo.

In my case the darn boot release cable snapped so I had no choice but to crawl back there.

Paul Glasson · Paul Glasson's Garage

I'm a bit confused here. My car is RHD and the battery is in the front engine bay (LH firewall side of car) not in the back hatch area. The electric hatch opener has never worked and I use the key to unlock the back hatch. Perhaps there is a difference to the models in Aus but looks exactly the same as the Copper coloured one of Toto?

IceShark · 05-10-2005, 07:25 AM

Ah, you have an '84 NA. They didn't have the same fuse/relay board arrangement so maybe could fit the battery on the left side of the engine bay. The later cars would have required too much reworking of the tub and it was easier (cheaper) to put the battery in the rear cubby.

You also must have a mechanical hatch release just with the key which Porsche should have stuck with. In the models we are talking about the hatch key just activates a switch that turns on a servo motor that pulls the hatch pin linkage. No electricity - no pull linkage. And you are SOL unless you crawl back there and pull the release linkage by hand.

tifosiman · tifosiman's Garage

At least in the USA, the 88 and later cars got a hatch release that was solenoid only. The key just activates a switch which turns the motor on.

For the pre-88 cars, the key physically pulled the two metal rods and opened the hatch. The electric motor only came into play when using the release button in the front near the driver's feet.

strath44 · strath44's Garage

I was unaware of any stock 944's pre or post 85.5 having there battery anywhere other than the engine bay and i've seen them all over the world lhd and rhd. The only variation being whether the battery is on the pass or drivers side. And while we're on that topic check your battery trays for rust / battery leaks regularly!

IceShark · 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by strath44
I was unaware of any stock 944's pre or post 85.5 having there battery anywhere other than the engine bay and i've seen them all over the world lhd and rhd. The only variation being whether the battery is on the pass or drivers side. And while we're on that topic check your battery trays for rust / battery leaks regularly!

Talk to your fellows at

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tt.asp?forumid=15

You will probably have to sign up (no cost) to read or ask any questions.

I can tell you for certain the later RHD cars have the battery in the left boot cubby hole.

seaboltman · 05-10-2005, 03:13 PM

hum... couldnt you have just opened the truck with your key?

88BlueTSiQuest · 05-10-2005, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by seaboltman
hum... couldnt you have just opened the truck with your key?

Nope, read what they've said. The key hole on the newer cars, and some of the older ROW cars didn't engage an actual manual mechanism, it merely pushed a button that sent power to a trunk release solenoid. No power, no pop.