Help - Won't Start!
 

Hi everyone,

This topic has been sort of touched on previously, but I'm hoping to get a little more advice from you pros before returning to the location I have my '00 986 auto/Tiptronic base Boxster garaged at...and regrettably, up on blocks.

All was working fine until, midway through my replacement of the fuel filter, I put my father in charge of disconnecting the battery. He disconnected the incorrect terminal first, I believe, and the frunk lights flickered more than once as a result of his attempted disconnection.

Anyway, after this, the windows rolled up beyond the normal height (to the point that they go up above the soft top lip when you close the door) and the trunk latches no longer work. More concerning, though, is the fact that the car won't start; the dashboard lights light up (including the red light on the temperature gauge), air starts blowing out of the vents, but there is not even a sound of the starter motor trying to turn over.

Have we fried the immobilizer? This can't be just the ignition switch having impeccable timing in failing, right? For the record, I tried doing the lock/unlock with the key in the door to no avail, and checked all fuses in the fuse box - all appeared fine/not damaged.

Please let me know what you guys think is the core issue here, and if possible, any tips you have for popping the frunk when the latch won't budge at all. (Note: I don't have the orange thing to plug into the fuse box to connect a jumper cable to, but can buy it if you guys think I need it/wouldn't mind pointing me in the product direction).

Thanks for all your help, and for existing!

:cheers:

there is no order to disconnecting the battery, there isn't on any car really.

have you tried putting the key in the door & locking/unlocking the car?

The window going all the way up is common. Just use the key and turn it to unlock it and keep it there till the window goes down. Once that's done and the car is running go through the re-learn process to re-learn the limits on both windows.

What orange thing are you referring to?

do the buttons work on your key? Unlock & lock? did they work previously? Did you check the fuse on the immobilizer?

Something similar happened to me when I disconnected the battery to replace the ignition switch. Except for the windows rolling up so high.

One time a guy told me that when you're having computer issues, you can reset it by disconnecting the negative terminal and tapping it against the negative post of the battery 3 times and reconnecting it. I know it sounds loco, and I've always taken that with a grain of salt. But, like probably you are now, I was desperate and willing to give anything a shot. It worked!!! Car fired right up.

Hope you have the same results.

I agree with stl - unless you created a short (grounding the positive terminal) I would think that the likelihood of real damage is nil. Computers certainly get confused by interruptions in boot sequence though, so you may need to just disconnect the battery for a bit, have a beer, and come back with your fingers crossed.

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To prevent the possibility of shorting the battery to the frame when removing battery cables you always remove the negative first and replace it last.
Also sparks near any battery acid fumes is not good. Can cause the battery to explode.

This could be debated as much as which oil brand is best or which leg goes into your pants first.

Disconnecting the positive cable 1st removes the possibility of a short.

While I do agree, disconnecting the negative cable from the terminal is best practice and the way I do it, it doesn't mean removing positive cable from the terminal 1st is wrong or bad. Removing either cable from the battery removes power to the car.

Back to the issue at hand though, removing positive cable from the battery will not cause a short or cause any electrical issues...ASSUMING the person didn't cause a short while lossening the bolt/nut that secures the cable to the battery (this is why you SHOULD do negative 1st).

My bet is that if anything happened there is a blown fuse somewhere and....we dont have all the information to determine the exact issue, we can only pass on recommendations of what to check as the most likely culprits that COULD be the issue.

The flickering lights described appear to me to be exactly like someone trying to wiggle the cable off the battery (either terminal) and the cable connecting/disconnecting fromt he post as part of this. Sounds perfectly normal to me cause a short would cause lights to NOT work. VERY common on top posts that crimp their sides to the post for ANY car.

Yes and if you have ever grounded your wrench to the frame and your wedding ring at the same time while removing the positive first, it will possibly be the last time you do it that way.:eek: Don't think the car will suffer though:D

Wow. Thank you, everyone.
 

Wasn't expecting so many thoughtful replies so quickly. You guys are ultimately the reason why I decided to buy a 986 in the first place, because I believed it when I heard there was a supportive community; thanks for rewarding my faith. :cheers:

As for the actual issues...yes, I have tried the key in the door lock/unlock method, no luck. My poor, well-intentioned father said the same thing about the order of battery terminal removal not typically making a difference; perhaps I'm too focused on that being the cause. Either way, I've

When I get back to the car, first thing I'll do is pull out the seat / access the immobilizer to see if that fuse is blown. If it is, and anyone has knowledge/recommendations of the removal + fuse replacement process, I'm all ears!

piper6909, the tip about resetting the computer is helpful, thank you; I will give that a shot as well! Perhaps that's what happened in the first place, though, i.e. Dad's attempt to remove the negative terminal of the battery / flickering connection caused a computer reset to some degree.

Our main issue now, though, is getting the frunk open to even access the battery; apparently the levers for front and rear trunk won't budge (consequence of a blown immobilizer fuse?), so again, helpful hints are certainly welcome.

As for the "orange thing" I referenced before, I'm talking about the pop-out fuse box adapter that allows you to pass in 12V to pop the frunk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tZ1yUsdq7g

**

Thanks again to everyone; wish I could buy you guys each a beer just for your time (especially you, ike84)! If you ever find yourselves in NYC or Iowa City, IA, shoot me a message!

Oh dang! Luckily 12v and not 120v!

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it's not the volts that'll kill you, it's the amps. ;)

The frunk will not open if the battery is disconnected.
Should be a pull cable behind the right front wheel well liner.
Do a search here on the forum should be info and pictures on cable location

You can access that cable from the circuit panel in the driver's footwell. Remove the panel cover and the front of the housing and the cable will be lying at the bottom.

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Hah! You are correct good sir. But just as the fall is not the thing that kills you, how high you fall from determines how hard you hit the ground.

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It's a 2000 you wont have the red jumper in your fuse panel, that is for later cars that have electric release. Yours is manual using a cable release.

Honestly, just pull the seat out and check the fuse, should take you all of 10 minutes.

the way you describe it is that the handles can't be pulled up, which is cause the car was locked. There is a pin that gets put into place that prevents the handles from being pulled up. Your car thinks it is locked & the alarm is armed.

Also by checking the fuse we mean checking to make sure it isn't blown. use a multi-meter, dont rely on a visual inspection. Wouldn't be a bad idea to check all of your fuses at the panel, should only take about 10-15 minutes to do this.