Front trunk and jumper cable issues
 

Ok so my boxster has been laid up for a couple months now since I swapped cars, I stupidly haven't been periodically going and starting the car nor did I disconnect the battery as I didn't expect it to be sat for so long.

Today I went to try and get the car started and I was unable to get into the front trunk. I googled and searched and so forth and ended up with both front wheels and inner arch linings off but I still couldn't find those little hooked cables (the rear one is there however and it works) and I also tried the jumper cable on the little red tab in the fuse box attached to a spare battery but as soon as I hooked up the second positive to the battery the alarm sounded and I got no response from the switch in the panel by the seat.

I am not sure if the battery is so dead that it needs a few minutes connected up? Also I Pressume this procedure bypasses the installed battery alas it should work regardless of the installed batteries health? I need to try it jumping off a battery installed in a working car so I know it's good but other than that I am stuck for ideas other than an axe through the front trunk and a second hand unit to replace it..... Really don't want to do that though hahah!

If you Google "Boxster front trunk release cable" and click on images.

Same thing happened to me several months ago, I used the 'hot shoe' on the fuse method to get the lever to work.
Best of luck.

you can also use a cigarette lighter plug to connect to the electrical system. allow the battery to charge for a few hours. use the key fob, and when the locks will actuate the battery is charged enough to use the internal trunk release.

Charging through the cig lighter is a good idea, but it can be a bad idea to try to jump start the car from there. I have bought two used cars that actually had the insulation melted on the lighter wiring and shorting across to other wires from having too much current applied.

Also, I got the hood to unlatch on a water damaged '01 by applying 12v from a battery to pin 33 on the blue connector on the immobilizer box (probably the most complicated way to unlatch the frunk).

***Just noticed that you are in Scotland*** Are the manual release cables on the opposite side from the Left hand drive cars? Did you check both sides?
Good luck and careful with that axe.

Solution!
 

so last night i managed to remedy the situation!

pulled out the red "fuse" in the fuse box and clipped the positive lead of a set of jumper cables to it, then the negative clip i attatched to the steering column.

attatched the positive and negative to a spare battery i had placed in the drivers footwell and the alarm activated.

shut the car door and locked the car with the key in the lock.

pressed and held the button on the key fob and the frunk popped open just like that!

i assume when the battery in my car died the doors were locked. using the key in the door the car still didnt know it had been unlocked due to the dead battery so the buttons at the side of the seat didnt work (safety feature so with the roof down and the doors locked someone cant reach in and open the 2 trunks). so i had to shut the door and lock it and use the key fob to open the frunk as the key fob will work with the doors locked or unlocked!

i also found the beldon cable had just been stuck down the back of the middle fron radiator so there wouldnt have been much chance of me finding it! it has now been re routed :)

Why not leave the hood closed but Un latched when storing it?

Mine is a DD and I am in San Diego, so there is no reason to hibernate the car for winter

I see lots of threads about batteries dying in storage. Seems like a simple remedy. If the battery dies, you can still open the hood without anything special
:cheers:

Buy a battery maintainer...these cars draw a lot of juice just sitting and will kill the battery quickly. I have one with a quick disconnect and always put it on if I won't be driving for a few days.

Also, not a good idea to disconnect the battery, as you'll clear all the settings in the ECU back to factory defaults which could lead to problems.

I have a Battery Maintainer. I have the adapter routed just above the hood for easy access. When I'm not using the charger the adapter is easily tucked in under the hood.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1413390338.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1413390359.jpg

I put in an AGM battery, which will hold a charge longer than a lead-acid battery, especially in the cold. I also had a battery tender, but I removed it because I find it easier to just disconnect the negative battery terminal if I will be out of town for more than a week or so. This has no detrimental electrical effects whatsoever on the ECU (2003 S), although of course I do need to reset the clock. When I disconnect the battery, I remove the hood catch (2 bolts) so the frunk can't lock.

LOL, I've often wondered why people dont do that too Jay. Such an easy, simple, free option. I'm no brain surgeon but even I have done that before, hmmm.

some of us dont have the luxury of just being able to leave a car lying open for all the world to see and open if they feel the desire too.....
i have recently moved house (~15 miles away from my old house) but i still own my old house so for the time being i have left the boxster outside my old house in the driveway which is right next to a public footpath and a road. i do have a garage at the old hosue but the boxster wasnt put in there as i needed full access to the garage for clearing it out and was using it during the house move. i also didnt want to move the car to the new house (which doesnt have a garage) as i wanted to minimise the chances of it getting damaged by moving in and out of the house with large items etc.

i dont live in a bad area by any means but word can travel fast so for me to leave the frunk open is basically an invitation for anyone driving or walking past to open it and have a look inside and help themselves to toolkit, spare wheel, battery, carbon strut brace and in extreme cases, headlights, bumper, bonnet and so on and so fourth....

i will be moving the car soon to my new house and the plan is to get a cover for it and also leave the frunk on the latch since it will be under the cover, and for the most part, out of sight to bypassers! i will most likey get some kind of battery tender aswell for the future but i plan on leaving the car for about a year until insurance renewal time so i will probably remove the battery since it will be sitting for so long!

Koosh

Yes, goods points.

I was more referring to those that garage their cars for the winter
They would not have potential theft problems


I would ask why a car left to sit outside for months would not be covered?

How will you power the battery tender with the car on the street, a long extension cord running from the house across the walk??

If you take the battery out for a year, you should relocate the manual release to the tow hook so you can get to it easily

yeah people who put it in the garage are just silly if they dont first find the release cable or not fully shut the frunk but then again a momentary lapse in concentration can lead to a silly mistake!

cars sit outside year in, year out without covers on them if they are being used so personally i dont see the point in car covers most of the time. my car is well polished and waxed so i dont see what difference it would make having a cover or not. i more just want one to avoid any uneccesary attention.

as for the tender i will not be using onefor a while. the car will be getting moved shortly and its new home is in my new houses driveway and it will sit right outside my living room window. luckily there isnt much of a gap between the window and car if i ever decided to use one, but for this year the battery will come out and a new place has been found for the manual release cable :)

Personal opinion, but I would say a covered car draws more attention than an uncovered one. Covered cars create curiousity about what's under it....and curiousity can be a bad thing.

This procedure works. I just tried it. I need to reroute my cable next.