Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Post Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-24-2019, 02:08 PM   #1
whiteraven
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Alaska
Posts: 4
Garage
dead battery

I'm sure this isn't the first time this sob story has been on here but I couldn't help myself.987 has been in the garage all winter under a cover. So when I am ready to uncover and move it out the battery is dead. Of course we all know that the battery is under the hood of the frunk. Hood release, an engineering marvel. Any way to the manual. I did every thing the manual said multiple times,nothing happens. I go to you tube. One suggestion is to access the release cable from the driver side wheel well.Remove wheel and tire first,hmmmm. One lug nut requires a special socket. Guess where that is. Long story short is...... be sure the battery in the "FOB" is good. Works just fine now. Thanks.

Whiteraven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2019, 12:49 PM   #2
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,631
So did you have a dead car battery or was just the key fob battery dead? If you have electricity available where your car is stored you should use a battery maintainer, the CTEK 3300 is a good one. The CTEKs will cycle and not overcharge your battery. You can get an attachment to plug the CTEK maintainer in through your cigarette lighter too. And a battery maintainer plugged into the cigarette lighter will usually give you enough juice to pop the trunks open when the battery is dead. On a 987 you can probably also re-route the frunk emergency release cable to be hidden in the bumper behind the cover for the tow hook, like many do for the 986.
PaulE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2019, 04:04 PM   #3
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: New York
Posts: 347
Garage
Not a fan of using the cigarette lighter for charging. Use a trickle charger directly to the battery. Open the frunk, run the wires down to the battery between the windshield and the frunk hood. Close the hood, and plug in. I use Battery Tender Junior, and it works fine.
Blackcloud is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2019, 07:17 PM   #4
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: NY Suburbs
Posts: 339
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulE View Post
On a 987 you can probably also re-route the frunk emergency release cable to be hidden in the bumper behind the cover for the tow hook, like many do for the 986.
Can you elaborate on that, how that's done on a 986?

I once had a 1986 944 Turbo with an electric hood release and an emergency manual cable, and when the battery died, nothing worked. It was a nightmare, and an expensive one, to put it mildly. I don't want that to ever happen again.
__________________
2004 Boxster S, 6 spd, Triple Black
1986 944 Turbo (sold in 1988)
Since then, a 300ZX, a few BMW 3 Series, a few VW's
BoxMann is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2019, 05:42 AM   #5
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: RedBank, NJ
Posts: 48
In case you need a new battree, I replaced my 9 year old Bosch one last month with this one from Advance Auto. AutoCraft Gold Battery, Group Size H7, 800 CCA, Part # 94RH7
I paid $130(with online discount code) out the door and the fit/vent hole was perfect. No extra modding/cursing was needed.

Last edited by rjh986; 03-26-2019 at 05:45 AM.
rjh986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2019, 07:52 AM   #6
Registered User
 
kk2002s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: S. New Jersey
Posts: 1,239
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulE View Post
On a 987 you can probably also re-route the frunk emergency release cable to be hidden in the bumper behind the cover for the tow hook, like many do for the 986.
Can you elaborate on that, how that's done on a 986?

For MY 2002 I removed right side head light and under was the emergency front trunk release cable. Route it through the hole for the Tow hook

Also I always leave my car with both Frunk and Trunk popped open (With lights removed) so they are accessible without electricity
__________________
2002 S - old school third pedal
Seal Grey
kk2002s is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2019, 12:39 PM   #7
"50 Years of 550 Spyder"
 
10/10ths's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: The Road
Posts: 918
And.....

...Porsche specifically engineered the cigarette lighter to be a battery maintenance charge point.

There is a cutout in the bottom door trim on each side for the charger cable to pass through and the Porsche factory battery maintainer has a cigarette plug on the end of it.

Works fine.
__________________
550 SE #310---"It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow."
10/10ths is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2019, 02:23 PM   #8
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 62
"There is a cutout in the bottom door trim" that I did not know. Been dropping the window an inch for 20 years now when I put the queen away for the winter. Thanks!
mikeinmass is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2019, 09:04 PM   #9
whiteraven
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Alaska
Posts: 4
Garage
dead battery

Thanks for all the ideas guys. This coming winter there will be a maintainer on the battery and the frunk will be left unlocked. Happy trails.
Whiteraven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2019, 09:07 PM   #10
whiteraven
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Alaska
Posts: 4
Garage
dead battery

Forgot to answer ? Yes car battery was dead and FOB battery was dead.
Whiteraven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2019, 05:52 AM   #11
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,631
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeinmass View Post
"There is a cutout in the bottom door trim" that I did not know. Been dropping the window an inch for 20 years now when I put the queen away for the winter. Thanks!
I knew about the weatherstrip cutout but still always drop the windows a bit when I park in my garage. I figure it takes pressure off the glass and the weatherstripping. It probably doesn't matter, but it makes me feel good!
PaulE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2019, 06:05 AM   #12
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,631
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoxMann View Post
Can you elaborate on that, how that's done on a 986?

I once had a 1986 944 Turbo with an electric hood release and an emergency manual cable, and when the battery died, nothing worked. It was a nightmare, and an expensive one, to put it mildly. I don't want that to ever happen again.
Assume you saw kk2002s' response? The emergency cable is in the passenger side headlight bucket as he said. The instructions to remove the headlight are in the owner's manual and the tool should be in the tool roll with the spare tire, but I find that a 1/4 inch deep 6 point socket on a ratchet with an extension works better. I forget the size but it is a small one. I did the re-routing of the cable when I had my front bumper cover off to clean out my radiators and ductwork. I don't know if it's necessary to have the front bumper cover off, but it certainly made it easy for me.

If you don't do HPDE's and don't use your tow hook often, you can put a little piece of string in the loop of the emergency release cable so it is right behind the plastic cover and easy to reach. If you do HPDE's you need to be able to screw the hook in, which will cut the string off, but it's not hard to fish through the hole for the tow hook and find the cable.
PaulE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2019, 10:05 AM   #13
Will there be cake?
 
tonythetiger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: East Coast
Posts: 623
Garage
I reached mine by removing the passenger side marker light (pops right out) and fishing in with a coat hanger to grab the release. Took 5 minutes and was easy.

tonythetiger is offline   Reply With Quote
Post Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 11:01 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page