dead battery - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Whiteraven · 03-24-2019, 02:08 PM

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.

PaulE · 03-25-2019, 12:49 PM

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.

Blackcloud · 03-25-2019, 04:04 PM

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.

BoxMann · 03-25-2019, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulE

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.

rjh986 · 03-26-2019, 05:42 AM

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.

kk2002s · 03-26-2019, 07:52 AM

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

10/10ths · 03-26-2019, 12:39 PM

...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.

mikeinmass · 03-26-2019, 02:23 PM

"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!

Whiteraven · 03-26-2019, 09:04 PM

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 · 03-26-2019, 09:07 PM

Forgot to answer ? Yes car battery was dead and FOB battery was dead.

PaulE · 03-27-2019, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeinmass

"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 · 03-27-2019, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoxMann

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.

tonythetiger · 03-29-2019, 10:05 AM

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.