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flat battery, how to open door?

S

Scorpio.72

New member
Hey all,

Quick question, the battery on my boxster has ran flat now i cant open the doors to recharge it, anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff
 
Doors? Or Luggage compartment?

Unlock the door with the key. The alarm will probably go off when you open the door, see if putting the key in the ignition to the first turn silences it (it may not if the battery is low).
As the battery is flat the levers that operate the release do not work "" The levers are cable operated but a solenoid locks them closed, and the switches will only operate if the car has sufficient battery power.Put the key back in the door now the alarm is (hopefully) off. Take the fuse box cover off . Take a look inside and look for a red covered post (the red cover slides out) with a graphic of the front boot open on it. I don't think the '97 model has this though. If you have this then things are a little easier.
If you have the red post then inside the cover of the fuse cover there should also be a fold-out sheet with instructions on how to open the boot. If the piece of paper is missing then this is what you do:
  • Get a spare battery and a set of jump leads, connect the positive of the donor battery to the pull-out post.
  • Connect the negative lead to the latch striker in the door opening. Be prepared for the alarm to go off (if it hasn't already gone off when you unlocked the car and opened the door).
  • Switch the alarm off by locking and unlocking the door lock.
  • Unlock the luggage compartment using the lever or switch.
  • Disconnect the negative cable first, then the positive.
  • Push the pull-out terminal back in to the Fuse Box and replace the cover.
If you do not have the red post then:
  • Open the door.
  • Using an external battery, connect the negative lead to the door stop.
  • Connect the positive lead to both sides of fuse "C3".
  • With the door open, move the door latch with a screwdriver into the closed position.
  • Using the key, lock and unlock the door.
  • The front and rear hood releases can now be operated.
In no case should any attempt be made to start the engine using any of the methods listed here "" the current through the terminals is insufficient and you risk expensive damage.
Good Luck!



 
cheers for the reply Mark,

... but ummm, its a flat, flat, 'no life at all' battery, the cars been sat for a while (wasnt used at all during winter and i forgot to keep starting it) so turning the key in the door doesnt do anything, any other ideas?
 
Eek. The door lock is mechanical, you should be able to get the door open. It would be a weird coincidence to have the mechanism fail at the same time as the battery dies.
You might need to get to the emergency cable to get the front boot open, get the battery charged or replaced, and hope the door unlocks once it's done.

 
yeah strange, i had no problems at all last time i drove it, any ideas where i find the emergency cable? I have been looking over the whole car today and cant find anything that opens the bonnet.
 
It's hidden away at the top front of the inside of the front wheel arch (drivers side), I think it's only really intended for workshops to access as it's not mentioned in the manual - it's really tricky to get to if the wheel is on- so if you can get this off first then that's better (I just hope your locking wheel bolt thing is not in the font boot).
There is a slot in the far edge of the plastic wheel arch that is used to access the cable, but it's likely to be really difficult even with that, so getting the wheelarch liner out is likely to be the best way. Sorry, but if it was made easy every thief in the world would know how to get in to a Boxster/996/997 front boot!
 
lol, 3 guesses where i left the locking wheel lock thingy! i just found a LHD pic here that shows me where it is (mines RHD but at least it gives me an idea).

Thanks for all the advice. :)
 
Gents,

Having suffered several flat battery incidents, I had invested in a new battery and trickle charger (Mark you may recall?!). However it still suffers from being unable to start upon my return (drive every couple of months) and I have resorted to carrying jump leads in order to get her moving.
A couple of question if I may - I assume I'm safe to do this in order to start her? - The battery seemingly has enough life for the alarm, doors, front and rear boot but not enough to turn her over.

Second question, having suffered with this enough I came to the conclusion I could disconnect the negative and leave the battery on trickle charge, reconnect and happy days! Sadly not, I managed to wake several neighbours with the alarm. Is there a away around this or any advice that I would happily heed to enjoy my motoring even more!

Many thanks

R
 
ok had a quick look about and it seems im not alone with the fact the key wont open the door if the battery is flat see here, the key just turns in the door lock and wont engage, has anyone have any ideas at all (short from breaking the window which i dont really want to do if i can avoid it)?

... I think i know the answer already, but its worth asking anyway (im not mechanically minded so dismantling my car worries me).

PS. @ Rob

... sorry, not sure what to advise, Mark would know more than i do (actually thinking about it, my dog knows more about cars than i do, i just drive them! lol).
 
Jeff - like Mark says it looks like the only way into the front then is to pull the cable in the wheel arch. Description here pinched from another website!
http://www.986faq.com/7-0/default.asp#009

 
I initially had issues with the battery going flat on my 2006 even with the CTEK charger plugged into the cigarette lighter socket, connecting to the battery directly has solved the problem completely.

I have no idea why on my car the charger didn't enjoy the cigarette lighter connection when everyone including my local porsche center said it would be fine.

Regards

Paul
 
@ D7Rob

Are you putting the ignition key to the first "accessory" position before removing the battery lead? The alarm will go off if you don't as teh car assumes it's being stolen. Having the key in the ignition and set to the first position tells it you are likely to be the owner.

@ Paulwat

Maybe you've got one of the cars where the accessory socket power is cut after a short while (the reasoning being that you might leave sat-nav/radar detectors etc plugged in and drain the battery!)
 
Thanks Mark - I'm currently in a different country to the car, however I will try the key in the ignition and let you know how I get on.

R
 
hiya, just a thought as i had this problem with my s2, could the cable have snapped? resulting in not being able to open boot or doors? regards jason p
 
There is an emergency opening cable attached to the bonnet lock. It travels behind the bumper upper cover, and can be accessed up under the Drivers side wheel arch. - Mines in the body shop at present, or I'd take a pic and post it. Its a thin cable with a small loop on the end. right up behind the headlight/Radiator where the Front wing joins the body. ( If you imagine where the line of torx screws fix the wing to the car under the bonnet, follow that line to the front and thats roughly where you will find the cable.
 
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