Flat Battery - Locked Boot Lid

[Jon Bryan]

Good afternoon. I need your help please. I have a ‘98 986 Boxster with a flat battery. The front lid is locked and can’t access the battery to jump start it. I can get into the car but the levers are locked. I have tried removing the lever cover by the driver seat but can’t get Alan keys to turn anything. I can’t remove the inner wheel arch covers to find the infamous emergency release cable as the jack and wheel nut is in the boot. Someone has suggested attaching a charger pack to a positive terminal that can be found on the fuse board but there isn’t a terminal like those on later models. Someone else has suggested removing the fuse board by the 4 screws and the release cable should be behind that, which I can pull to release the boot lid. So I have 2 questions.
1, Is there somewhere else on the car that has a positive terminal that I can attach a charger to, to create enough power to activate the car and release the lid?
2, By removing the fuse panel, is the release cable behind there or am I just being too hopeful?
I would really appreciate your help with this.
Regards. Jon Bryan.

 

[Ivan Ford]

Is the accessory socket live?
If so trickle charge via this.

 

[Robin M]

Accessory socket or Cigarette lighter socket would be my suggestion too.

 

[Motorhead]

Jon,

If the above doesn't work you should be able to access the emergency release cable which is at the front of the R/H* wheel arch (according to the PET).

If you can wrestle the wheel into a convenient position, it should be possible to gain access to the wheel arch liner. Most of the fasteners tap vertically into the front bumper anyway and you may be able to get a hand through the gap to locate the cable without removing the liner completely.

Jeff

Edit: *Note that the PET I was looking at was for US vehicles so I suspect that the cable could be in the L/H wheel arch for UK vehicles.

 

[Gary986]

Hi,
This happened to me.
To get to the cable if you can't remove the front offside wheel then turn it to give yourself just enough room to get behind the wheel arch cover and grab the cable to release the bonnet. This is probably too late now but there you go incase you are still stuck.
Gary.

 

[997Mike]

I suppose there is no chance you could bump start the car or is the battery that flat

Mike

 

[player_porsche]

Hi All

This just happened to me on my late 2015 981 Boxster too. Luckily I have a 2nd car so removed the battery from that and attached to the emergency pullout positive fuse box connection and negative to the chassis door lock. This let me open the bonnet.

I’ve bought a C-Tek 5 charger but this Porsche battery seems to be dead as it errors after a few hours! How long should these massive 80amp batteries last, as its only 3 and a bit years old?

Same process for 718. I wouldn’t use a battery booster as you do not want any load going into the fuse box. Buy a small scooter 12v battery maybe just for access emergencies.

BR
J

 

[Motorhead]

Jay,

Depending upon usage - cold cranking, short runs, stop-start, etc. - I suppose a 3-year battery life should be considered acceptable. Regular use of a battery conditioner should help to keep the battery in top condition and extend its life.

For some unknown reason Porsche seem to insist on using rather obscure battery suppliers - I think yours is a Banner? - rather than say Bosch or Varta. Rather annoyingly, if you have Porsche Extended Warranty you're forced to use a Banner battery which is usually very expensive when supplied by any Porsche Centre, although you may be able to source one cheaper elsewhere.

Jeff

 

[dij999]

I am in the same position - can open door but not bonnet or boot. Is the release cable near the front of the wheel arch or the back? Have had an attempt at finding it but no success - I presume it is on the left side of the car. I can't remove a wheel for better access because the wheel nut key is in the boot!

 

[player_porsche]

DIJ See my post about accessing via the fuse box near the pedals. I don’t believe any cable exists as it is a local solenoid directly on the catch.

Had to select AGM mode on the charger. Working perfectly once done and not had an issue since as driving it regularly.

 

[Motorhead]

I am in the same position - can open door but not bonnet or boot. Is the release cable near the front of the wheel arch or the back? Have had an attempt at finding it but no success - I presume it is on the left side of the car. I can't remove a wheel for better access because the wheel nut key is in the boot!

David,

I think you'll find the release cable behind the front section of the offside wheel arch liner. You should be able to gain access to the liner by applying some wheel lock.

Jeff

 

[Gary986]

Motorhead is correct. The cable is above the liner offside front wing. You will have to turn the wheel and reach between the wing and liner towards your headlight. When you find it give it a little pull and your bonnet will pop open. I've had to do it myself.
Gary.

 

[farleton]

I have posted elsewhere about the problem with Porsche batteries. I am on my 5th Boxster. I used the first 4 as my daily driver and with an average annual mileage of 20,000 miles never had a problem. I bought my current one just before I retired. This car without the business mileage is a bit of a garage queen. The battery failed completely after 2 years. OPC replaced it under warranty. After a further 2 years the new battery failed and I found out to my horror that there was no separate battery warranty. Should have bought a Bosch or Varta from Halfords at half the price with a 5 year warranty. After a bit of a moan OPC gave me foc a Porsche branded C-Tec trickle charger which plugs into the cigarette socket which is live even when ignition off. I am not sure if that is the case with all Porsches. it is certainly not the case with my other car.Since then I have kept the car plugged in at all times in the garage and touch wood 3 years on all is well. I must say however that on both occasions when the batteries failed I was still able to open both boots with the lever on the door sill

 

[Mel Dougan]

Earlier this year I experienced this on my 1998 - 986. Fortunately it was in the garage and had a jack available to access the offside (rhs) wheel arch liner to activate the Bowden cable and all is well. I now keep the trickle charger on even if leaving the car for a day or so! I have read that this problem can occur on other modern types but I have no detail. I have noted that a new battery will expire after around 4 weeks if not on trickle charge! My 986 does not have the fuse panel access that you might read about else where. (later models?)

 

[Nick_USA]

See attached, if you have access to a spare battery or decent charger there should be no need to use the cable method.

Nick

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