98 Boxster, dead battery, fuse box charge - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

dparker · 12-16-2006, 10:37 AM

I'm sure this has been gone over many times, but I couldn't find any exact instructions on how to get enough juice to be able to pop the front hood so I can access my dead battery.

I looked through the fuse assignments and couldn't find any mention of the hood/trunk releases. There were three fuses related to security - with those, I stuck a penny into the fuse slote and then touched the positive terminal from a jumper cable attached to another, good car battery. No juice got through in all three cases.

I'm really not excited about removing the front wheel and then well to pull the cable - that's a bit out of my league.

Is it possible to get some juice through another car battery, through a penny stuck in the fuse slot, to pop the front hood? And if so, which fuse is it?

Many thanks,

DParker

MNBoxster · 12-16-2006, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dparker

I'm sure this has been gone over many times, but I couldn't find any exact instructions on how to get enough juice to be able to pop the front hood so I can access my dead battery.

I looked through the fuse assignments and couldn't find any mention of the hood/trunk releases. There were three fuses related to security - with those, I stuck a penny into the fuse slote and then touched the positive terminal from a jumper cable attached to another, good car battery. No juice got through in all three cases.

I'm really not excited about removing the front wheel and then well to pull the cable - that's a bit out of my league.

Is it possible to get some juice through another car battery, through a penny stuck in the fuse slot, to pop the front hood? And if so, which fuse is it?

Many thanks,

DParker

Hi,

The problem is that the Hood Latch, while a cable operated mechanical device, has it's actuating lever inside the car electrically locked when the car is locked. There are two ways of going about moving this lever (which locks out the pull-up lever for the hood) to the open position.

First, you can use a long Dental Pick to work the tiny metal lever up. Difficult to see and get hold of. Not recommended if you've never done it.

Perhaps an easier way is to get a Male Lighter Plug (Radio Shack or Auto Parts Store). Add 2 wire leads to it. Insert it into the lighter socket and touch the leads to a 9-volt radio battery (be sure to observe proper polarity touch the + battery terminal to the Center lead on the Lighter Plug, and the - battery terminal to the Outside lead on the Lighter Plug. Then immediately unlock the car with the Dash mounted Central Locking Button (the battery will drain rather quickly due to the draw on it). Once this is done, then the mechanical lever will be unlocked and you can pull it up and unlock the hood. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

dparker · 12-18-2006, 08:52 AM

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the details, makes sense. While looking for a place to buy a male lighter plus, I came across a new product from Black & Decker that looks like it'll do the trick: their simple start in-car battery charger.

Any thoughts? Looks like it'll work in this situation, and also be useful to carry around in the car in case I need a charge in the future (of course I need to keep the battery charged, no small thing).
DParker

djomlas · 12-18-2006, 09:41 AM

the problem with that cool device is that you will alwayes keep it in the trunk

and same goes for the deicer thing if you need to use the key to open the door, its always in the glowebox or inside the car, never with you
just an opinion

MNBoxster · 12-18-2006, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dparker

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the details, makes sense. While looking for a place to buy a male lighter plus, I came across a new product from Black & Decker that looks like it'll do the trick: their simple start in-car battery charger.

Any thoughts? Looks like it'll work in this situation, and also be useful to carry around in the car in case I need a charge in the future (of course I need to keep the battery charged, no small thing).
DParker

Hi,

Yes, this would definitely work. But, is is essentially a rechargeable booster battery - a starting aid. Nothing wrong with that, but you'd still require a battery maintainer to properly condition your car battery and keep it on Float for extended periods of non-use, and this will be about the same money.

Your choice of course, but rigging a battery jumper as I mentioned should cost under $10, leaving you with more $$ to then acquire a maintainer. But, as I said your choice, you may find this alternative easier...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

dparker · 02-23-2007, 07:32 AM

I'm still trying to get access to my battery through the front hood of my 98 Boxster, which won't open without a charge. I've connected a decent sized 9 volt battery ("lantern battery" it's called) to a cigarette lighter feed with positive and negative connectors, but that didn't do it.

I'm wondering if I can "trickle charge" the battery through the lighter feed. Can I use my plugged-in trickle charger and connect it directly to the cigarette lighter connection, give it a couple days, and then will the battery be recharged? Or does the lighter connection not reach the battery?

I'm trying to keep the tow truck/dealer out of the picture, but I'm getting increasingly pessimistic...

Any advice welcome - thanks.

DParker

Trakehner · 02-23-2007, 08:07 AM

According to my owner's manual, there's a "pull out" stud (I don't have the manual in front of me right now, but if memory serves, it's on the upper right of the fuse panel) that you can pull out with a fuse puller. Once you have that out so you can make contact, connect a positve cable from another car batter to the pull out terminal, and the negative lead to ground (owner's manual recommends door latch) and you'll have enough power to operate the hood release switch.

Curiously, the Owner's Manual also specifies how to use the dash gauge to check the oil level, but that's another post.

dparker · 02-23-2007, 08:35 AM

I wish I could pull out a fuse and charge it, but my car's an early model and doesn't have that option. I have to either figure out a charge via the lighter, or manually get the hood open, which I suspect is better left to the dealer.

Anyone tried trickle-charging a battery via the lighter plug?

DParker