VERY FLAT BATTERY

[Motorhead]

Eddie,

If you’re struggling with the electrical method you could try gaining access to the battery by using the emergency manual bonnet release cable located in the front of the nearside front wheel arch, probably best accessed by removing the front part of the wheel arch liner.

Jeff

 

[g59tester]

Hi All , I've managed to completely flatten the battery in my 2007 Cayman S cant even get the ignition light to glow and of course cant open the bonnet. I've followed the procedure of exposing the little contact in the footwell fuse box. i tried to energise the bonnet catch with a 4 Amp battery charger. i got some relay chattering but no real operation. I've tried with a heavier charger and now cant get any response at all. i'm now attempting to charge up a large domestic battery and will use jump leads.
its a good battery . I think the dashcam may have flattened it over a period of about 3 weeks

Have I blown a fuse? if so where and what one?
Any other suggestions?

Eddie
2007 Cayman S
1987 944 Turbo

 

[g59tester]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the suggestion. Being 75 I had hoped my days of lying under cars was over. how easy difficult is it to get the inner wheel cover off?

i'd still prefer the 'Electrical ' solution. i'll try and find the fuse and check it.... assuming its in the fuse box in the footwell

Eddie

 

[Motorhead]

Ha,ha! Being of a similar age, I know what you mean Eddie.[]

I think that there are 4 Torx screws securing the front section of the liner - 2 in the wheel arch and 2 on the horizontal section - but you may be able to get away with just removing the wheel arch screws to get in and have a poke around. Probably it would help to jack-up the nearside front to get better access, and I’ve heard that the release cable can be very stiff owing to lack of use.

I don’t know of another fuse box other than the one in the footwell. Here’s a link to the fuse listing which could be helpful:

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=721338

Jeff

 

[g59tester]

Yesterday I managed to get some jumper leads from another car with the engine running directly onto the small contacts on the red 'drawer'. Lifting the sill latch makes no difference. Using the key fob i can detect a faint fluttering/ vibration from, presumably a relay , under the front wing near the filler cap. No operation of the solenoid latch.

Does that mean the only solution is to remove the offside front inner wing and pull? the emergency cable. Is that reliable?

Eddie

 

[crypticc]

H

How long did you leave the tender/other power source connected?

No experience of this but from experience of Central locking... if battery is severely depleted it'll take several minutes for any connected power source to get enough charge in to overcome the empty battery. Until that happens the empty battery essentially behaves like a short circuit sucking anything you can give it and nothing left for what you're trying to achieve.

Regards,

Chris

 

[g59tester]

Guys just to finish this story.. I got further information from various sources. mainly that the sill lever will not work as its remains locked with 12 volts on the small red contact point. Also the door check on the B post has a gasket below it thus offering a doubtful earth. Exasperated having tried the procedure a number of times without success I got the AA man out!

He knew exactly the procedure to follow BUT he put a meter across the jump lead terminal on the live contact and the earth point which he was using.... the painted door restraint. having checked the voltage was there he got me to operate the key fob and Bingo it worked first time. So I wasn't getting a good enough earth. You should experience a small spark when you connect to earth.

Hopefully this is helpful for anyone with a similar problem

PS big day today my 944 Turbo is getting its top coat!

Eddie

2007 Cayman S

1987 944 Turbo

 

[Motorhead]

Thanks for letting us know Eddie. Good to hear that you got it sorted … eventually!

Finding a good earthing point on a painted body is always tricky. Wishful thinking, but it would be helpful if Porsche could fit an earthing lug in the vicinity to make the procedure more reliable.

Jeff

 

[FluffyOwl]

Without wanting to start a new thread, I have a similar problem. Boxster 987.1 with a dead battery.

I bought a boost box from Amazon (NOCO Boost plus), however every time I try to connect the black terminal the boost box gives a red ! warning, suggesting that I've either got my polarity wrong (I'm not colour blind) or I have no earth. I tried the door latch inside the pillar, but that gives me the error. Door hinges are iffy as they are plastic coated. I just get no circuit to unlock the front boot. Frustrating!

Any suggestions?

 

[AndrewCS]

Take some of the coating off to reveal bare metal ...