Battery Dead and Cant Access It, please help. - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

fenderstrat1234 · 04-09-2008, 12:54 PM

I have an early 99 boxster and, over the course of the winter, the battery died. I have been reading articles about how to pop the front trunk via the fuse panel. Most of them involve the red pull-out tab in the fuse box. I dont have one, instead I have read to connect the booster cables to C3 fuse and pop the trunk.
I cant find a way of connecting the booster cables to the fuse to activate. Ive tried paperclips and the such and they dont stay. Does anyone have a suggestion? Is there other (electrical/non electrical) ways of popping the hood? Also, i believe the alarm may have been active when i last closed the car, will this make a difference?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Lil bastard · 04-09-2008, 02:24 PM

The is a stainless steel emergency mechanical release cable tucked under the bumper on the passenger side. It may take some searching, possibly even removing the inner fender to find it, but it's there.

Just pull it.

Then, I'd suggest locating it to a spot which is not obvious, but readily accessible shopuld you ever need it in the future.

fenderstrat1234 · 04-09-2008, 02:34 PM

thanks alot for your quick reply! i tried to locate this cable, but i couldnt find it. I'm not a car expert, would it be possible for you to tell me how exactly to reach it? thanks alot!

poopoopaul · 04-09-2008, 03:08 PM

The cigarette lighter trickle charger works too, but that just means you'd have to wait on it if you order it.

60drvr · 04-09-2008, 06:42 PM

Do a search on the forum and you will find a bunch of posts on how to find the cable to pop your hood. If worse comes to worse, take the front bumper off...there is a very detailed post of this also and you will easily find the cable. Relocate it to your tow hook hole by taping it in a neat roll and then a small zip tie to hold in place. An hour or two of work...simply some screw removals and you will never be locked out again. While you have the bumper off, you might as well clean the radiators. If this is too much work, there was a recent post of a gentleman who used an external battery to "jump" his battery enough to get the hood open. I used an trickle charger all winter in Ohio and tried to drive my car about once a week and I have had no problems. I got my trickle charger from Pelican parts in Cali. Hope this helps.

fenderstrat1234 · 04-10-2008, 06:42 AM

Thanks alot 60drvr, I've been looking for these threads, but to no avail. I was also wondering, with regards to popping the hood via the fuse box, how would one attach the positive cable to the fuse? My dealership told me to stick paperclips into the fuse, but there isnt a place to stick them. My fuses are the "littlefuses" if that helps. they have two contacts on the top, but they arent raised, so i cant get anything attached to them!

Lil bastard · 04-10-2008, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderstrat1234

Thanks alot 60drvr, I've been looking for these threads, but to no avail. I was also wondering, with regards to popping the hood via the fuse box, how would one attach the positive cable to the fuse? My dealership told me to stick paperclips into the fuse, but there isnt a place to stick them. My fuses are the "littlefuses" if that helps. they have two contacts on the top, but they arent raised, so i cant get anything attached to them!

You cannot 'jump' the fusebox on the earlier cars, so don't waste anymore time with that.

You are going to have to either locate the Emergency Cable, or use a lighter based charger, or get a Memory Saver with a 9-volt battery which will give you just enough power to unlock the doors which also trips the cam securing the Hood/Trunk levers.

Dragonwind · 04-10-2008, 11:46 AM

With a small flat head screw driver you can move the plate where the hood release is (next to your seat). I did this once and was able to get it open that way. Do a search on RENNTECH.ORG too. I think I found this method there.
Chris

fenderstrat1234 · 04-10-2008, 01:40 PM

SUCCESS!!!!! I got the hood open by using a paper clip to maneuver the locking mechanism for the trunk release out of the way. But it seems my problems arent over yet. I hooked up a booster pack ( http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Ep
rd_id=845524442952263&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672502&bmU
ID=1207863248391&deptid=1408474396672395&ctgrid=1408474396672406&sub
ctgrid=1408474396672502 ) if it makes a difference.
I hooked the positive cable to the battery and the negative to the hood clip. When i turn on the pack, i hear a faint clicking under the dash that goes for 2 seconds, stops for two, and repeats. When I turn the key into any position, the clicking disappears, some of the dash lights go on dimly, and the radio light flashes. Yet, when i turn the key to start the car, nothing. I'm no car expert, but the hood clip i attached the cable to seems to be covered in black paint. whether or not that would inhibit the flow of electricity, i dont know. Any help is appreciated, the weather in Ottawa just turned nice, and im DYING to get my baby on the road!!!!!!!!!!

fenderstrat1234 · 04-10-2008, 01:47 PM

Sorry to keep posting, but I just read somewhere that when boosting a car, the negative lead has to be attached to an unpainted metal. Where would be the best place on a boxster to attach the negative lead, given the booster pack cables are about an arm's length long.

Lil bastard · 04-10-2008, 02:11 PM

At this point, you should NOT boost start the car. You should charge or replace the battery.

From your description, I suspect you may have issues with the battery itself. Have it load tested, or if 5 yrs. old (or of unknown age) just replace it. I suspect it's been discharged too many times to properly hold a charge anymore.

If you try charging it or boost starting the car, I would expect that the car would strand you somewhere.

986chris · 04-10-2008, 06:12 PM

you would think the bastards would put the emergency cable in a deicent accessible spot with a friken sign on it. PULL THIS!!! Sorry for the the trouble. hehe. later

J-RAD · 04-10-2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poopoopaul

The cigarette lighter trickle charger works too, but that just means you'd have to wait on it if you order it.

Agreed. Run to Target, Sears, or your local auto store and pick up something like this:

http://www.target.com/Black-Decker-Battery-Booster-BB7B/dp/B000H774BY/sr=1-16/qid=1207882187/ref=sr_1_16/601-2334779-7179315?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Abattery%20charger&page=1

You only need enough to get the power necessary to pop the hood, then use cables and jump it. You'll be on the road in an hour. You could also leave the cigaretter charger on long enough to start the car if you want but it will take a bit longer.

And next time, when you park your car for the winter, leave the hood cracked open.

p.s. I did the same thing a year or so ago. Just be happy you didn't disconnect the battery (like I typically do) and close the hood tight. That would really suck.

boxster_s_boy_34 · 03-17-2009, 04:21 AM

I don't know if there is something wrong with my car or not, but that fuse jump trick that is in the owners manual didn't work for me. I'm hoping that since the battery has now had about 10 or 11 hours to rest that I might be able to pop the front deck lid ( I accidentally left my lights on after an ARMY vehicle inspection.) I was so furious when I did try this technique and nothing happened though. If that doesn't go well I'm just gonna try the cable release.

Jake Raby · 03-17-2009, 06:23 AM

For future reference by those who have similar "trunk lockout" situations...

I have great luck taking a cigarette lighter plug, dissecting it to ensure which wire is positive, then jumping the hot and ground from a battery charger, or other 12 volt source to it..

This gives power back through the system, into the fusebox and voila, the trunk can then be popped.. You won't read this in a workshop manual, but it works better than anything else I have tried.
This gives instant results, no waiting and no BS.

If you want to further protect other systems in the car (I have never had issues, but...) you can pop out all the other fuses except the cigarette lighter fuse and the fuse that powers the trunk release circuit during the power up process.

Bobiam · 03-23-2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

For future reference by those who have similar "trunk lockout" situations...

I have great luck taking a cigarette lighter plug, dissecting it to ensure which wire is positive, then jumping the hot and ground from a battery charger, or other 12 volt source to it..

This gives power back through the system, into the fusebox and voila, the trunk can then be popped.. You won't read this in a workshop manual, but it works better than anything else I have tried.
This gives instant results, no waiting and no BS.

If you want to further protect other systems in the car (I have never had issues, but...) you can pop out all the other fuses except the cigarette lighter fuse and the fuse that powers the trunk release circuit during the power up process.

That's a good idea.

Also, if ever you have the front bumper skin off, there is a emergency release cable for the front trunk release that is normally out of reach. You can reposition it behind the cap in the bumper for the tow hook. This method will assure that you can get to the battery if you are in East Snowshoe somewhere, and have no electricity or helper car available.