Dead battery hood Trunk release My advise! Be Prepared.

[986ron]

Came home from work out of town and went to install a battery tender in our 98 Boxster. Battery was dead. Checked Wayne's book and my Bentley manual and then went to Pelican's forum and Mike Focke provided good info. Tried removing the right inner fender but the wheel was on and the security lug socket was in the truck. Tried power to C3 and got the rear trunk to pop but not the front. Then had success with the thin screw driver to cheat the lock solenoid. Problem solved and lesson learned. Would have been much different outside in the weather. Everyone should learn how in advance. Car is new to us and I have yet to get my winter maintenance going but IMS bearing is ahead along with other improvements at 25,000 miles. The forum saved the day.
Ron

[Wayne 962]

Originally Posted by 986ron

Mike Focke provided good info......The forum saved the day.
Ron

Cool, spread the word to all your Boxster friends!

-Wayne

[Showtime]

Check also my thread Boxster S Project.. 6th picture clearly shows the emergency cable.
In the picture you can see , with the bumper cover removed, The Red Lever in centre of the trunk - next to that is a thin bare cable that runs to the right (as you sit in the car) Left as you look at picture. It terminates where the headlight would be. (Mines a 2002 986 model ) .

I'll be hooking it up to an easy access point before reassembly

[aharp]

As a new owner of a slightly used 2000 Boxster I forgot to turn off the running lights last night. Woke to a dead battery and locked front trunk. ARRRGH!! Thanks to the great posts on how to open the front trunk. I used the suggestion of applying 12 volts to C3 in the fuse panel. When the mechanism still did not work I tried to unlock the system by using the remote key lock. Still no luck!!Then I thought maybe I need to close both doors and then unlock with the remote. This worked like a champ.....I did not try sticking the key in the lock to unlock... Don't forget your radio code.

[davekogden]

Great photos and advice, but the front cable on my 2001 986 did not enter either wheelwell area even with both plastic wheelwells removed. I was finally able to see the cable inside my front bumper after using a telescoping inspection mirror to look above the A/C line. WOW.

I'm taking the advice of 'smlporsche' and rerouting the cable to the tow hook area !!!

[Wayne 962]

This thread must be well ranked on the search engines for Boxster front trunk lock cable!

-Wayne

[Boxster01!]

The 14V battery works perfectly, it took me a while to realize that you have to close the car door before it will work.

[WRGREENER]

costco has it


Universal Porta-Jump™ Emergency Car Battery Booster
Fully Charged, Plugs into Cigarette Lighter or 12V Power Port, Restarts Battery within 15 Minutes
Item # 476087
$24.99
Shipping & Handling included

[Wayne 962]

Originally Posted by WRGREENER

costco has it


Universal Porta-Jump™ Emergency Car Battery Booster
Fully Charged, Plugs into Cigarette Lighter or 12V Power Port, Restarts Battery within 15 Minutes
Item # 476087
$24.99
Shipping & Handling included

While you can use this to apply power to open the front trunk, I don't recommend charging your car from the cigarette lighter like they imply here. The circuit is not intended for this purpose, and I think you might overload the wires if you're not careful. Then again, maybe I'm just being overly cautious.

-Wayne

[tomP]

I have a 2005 Boxter. I waxed it on Sunday and left the key in the ignition overnight and now it is completely dead. Pain in the neck as now I cannot remove the key from the ignition and doors will not completely close.

I tried to connect a charger to C3 in the fuse box and that didn't work. I tried to get some power to it with another car's battery and that also did not work. I really do not want to take it to the dealership and spend the $ and have to believe I am doing something wrong.

The battery is less than a year old and I am stunned it drained in less than 24 hours.

Any other suggestion which do not involve removing the wheel and cover?

[RadioDjKev]

I am copying and distributing this email communication for another person regarding there 1999 Porsche 996 cab. Please respond to them at there email address, or there contact information below. Below is a copy of there email and problem: spetersen@daklaw.com


From: Sean A. Petersen (spetersen@daklaw.com)
Sent: Tue 11/29/11 4:24 PM

I saw your answer regarding opening a trunk of a Porsche with a dead battery. Is that the same for a 1999 996 Cab? Is it also the C3 fuse? Thanks for any help.

Sean A. Petersen
Dowling, Aaron & Keeler, Inc.
8080 N. Palm, Third Floor
Fresno, CA 93711
P: 559.432.4500
F: 559.432.4590
spetersen@daklaw.com[/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B]

[ronster]

Just to be clear on this the '97-99 Boxsters use a cable release for the frunk and don't have the same electronic issues getting it open as the later models. To my knowledge they also all have the frunk emergency cable release on the passenger side wheel well in the US.

[jdiba]

I love this website

I have gotten more valuable insight and info from this site than I can shake a stick at !

Boxster Knowledge is GOOD !

[harryhchen]

My boxster does not have remote opener and I always open the front/back trunks using the handles under the driver's side door. They appear purely mechanical too me. I thought they should work even the battery is dead. Did I miss something here?

[ronster]

Originally Posted by harryhchen

My boxster does not have remote opener and I always open the front/back trunks using the handles under the driver's side door. They appear purely mechanical too me. I thought they should work even the battery is dead. Did I miss something here?

It depends on the year of your Boxster the early '97-99 were cable operated and I don't know when the change to electronic was made. The issue with the mechanical, when the battery dies, is getting a door open to activate the frunk release. That is why it is recommended to reroute the emergency frunk cable from the wheel well to the tow hook slot. That way you can pop your tow hook plug and pull the emergency cable to open the frunk and access the battery to change it and activate the electrical system to open the door. If you don't reroute the cable then you may have to remove the tire to get at the wheel well liner to get at the cable. A strange set up for sure.

[AL MEREDITH]

I have a 99 where the latch got gumed up and wouldn't open. The first time you must remove the entire left front wheel cover so you can stick your head all the way in to see the "wire" taped beside the headlight assembly. Once we pulled it the first time , now it is hanging down and visable.

[boxstermt]

I have a lovely ageing 986 / S reg / UK
battery went dead & couldnt open front trunk!
read this and other various forums/guides

options seemed to include -
1 cigarette lighter charge 1 hour and see
2 use a 12V jumper onto the C3 fuse, third row down, third fuse, 15AMP, blue
3 use a 3 - 4 inch flat thin screwdriver to somehow jimmy the lever
4 use the pull cable by taking the front driver wheel off
other descriptions said the pull cable was in the headlight passenger side
others talk about re-routing the cable somewhere more accessible

1 didnt have patience to try

2 didnt have the kit
some reports said there is an emergency red fuse ?newer models
some nice diagrams about how to make a circuit but it seemed a bit above me to be honest
you probably need to be quite handy and at least know some basics

3 had a try but descriptions didnt work for me and i couldnt see between the gaps between the front trunk lever and the back trunk lever
so couldnt see the solenoid, U plate, white bit that some people were talking about so gave up before i broke something

4 worked just fine!
you need to take the wheel off
keep your wheel nut stored safely inside the vehicle - not in the trunks!
you need your bolt nut, a jack, torque wrench, flat head screwdriver, size 10 nut & 13 nut
master key to unlock door
check handbrake on
jack up under drivers door
take off wheel
undid wheel arch cover - size 10 bolt, plugs - flathead screwdrive to prise out - and then pliers to pull out
see the picture
the cable on my car was coated in black plastic, about 5 mm thick, you can see a bung on it
gave it a pull and then click! the front trunk was open
then you can mostly close the front trunk (after you take the battery out) but do not fully close it!
i kept my car out overnight with the front trunk slightly open, it was fine
also another tip is to have the master key in the ignition dialed to the number 2 spot so it doesnt alarm
also when you put the battery back in the horn sounded when i reconnected the negative
(i had the key in the ignition again but i suspect that you dont need to on this stage)

so my plans are -

1 in the future charge my battery up over the winter to avoid it happening again (it was cold and infrequent use so it just drained i guess)

2 going to look into a solar charger into cigarette lighter to keep it topped up (i only drive it once a week)

3 if it happens again, i'd be happy to take the wheel off again
of course not so easy if youve left your car in the airport for 2 weeks and your dad isnt just around the corner to help!
the other options might be easier but (2) and (3) above seem complex to me

REMEMBER to keep your wheel nut stored safely inside the vehicle - not in the trunks!!!

i hope this helps someone
i posted this because some of the comments here & elsewhere helped me

matt

[Jeff396]

Hey,

I just went through this for the second time. Check your fuse box to see if you have the red fuse. It's near the bottom of the panel. I don't think it's actually a fuse though I could be wrong. What you do is pull it out as far as possible. You'll see that the edges are metal once in the out position. From there you just connect a set of jumper cables to that and a good ground.....I used a hinge bolt for ground. Then connect the other end to a 12 volt battery of another car and you're done. I can't imagine any method being easier than this one especially if stranded somewhere away from home. You just have to find someone with jumper cables that's nice enough to give you a jump or keep a small set of jumpers behind the seat.

Jeff

[Joe-B]

I thought this would not work if the battery was removed from the car. Is that wrong?

[Jeff396]

Good question. I may give that a try tomorrow. Of course it might be a bit risky trying this method on a car with no battery unless you were sure the positive battery cable wasn't touching metal.

Jeff