Dead Battery

my 2008 Boxster has been kept on a the same battery maintainer for the past 8 years with no issues. A new battery was installed in August 2018 - a Motomaster Eliminator AGM 94R/L4/H7. I didn't drive it for 10 days, and when I went to start it today the key remote would not work. The battery maintainer green light was on as was the extension cord light attached to the mains. I opened the door manually using the key and tried the remote again with no luck. I put the key in the ignition and tried turning the car on, also with no result. The ignition key is now stuck in the ignition switch and won't come out! Also the drivers door will not close properly. I am aware of the sequence to open the frunk using a donor battery and the fuse box, so I will do that, but wanted to know if anyone else had the same issue. Could the maintainer be fried? It's 8 years old.

It could be or the battery itself just went belly up and the maintainer works fine. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Yup it’s happened to me… a few times. And every time it’s that painful memory of getting power to the break out pin under the dash so I can get the frunk open etc etc… this is why I back in just in case it happens and I need a jump… but yes the battery is probably junk.. 5yrs is normal for a battery life and you have no idea how old it is before you get it

OP said that the battery was replaced in 2018, so only 3 years old but still "possible" it took a crap. Ive seen more than one thread over the years regarding the main ground strap on the 987 corroding and suddenly nothing one day on a car that was working fine the day before, however I would "assume" that the tender wouldn't be showing a green light if this were the case? I guess its possible that it would if the tender cables are connected directly to the battery itself bypassing the car and any issues it had with the connection to the battery?

I had the same issue on a 2006CS. The dealer indicated that AGM batteries shouldn't be used in a 987.1 - something about the way the alternator works with the battery. My battery was fine for a couple of years and then just wouldn't hold a charge. I could charge it on Friday and it would be dead on Monday. I switched back to a traditional battery and have not had any issues since.

You got me… I hit the wrong key… yes 3yrs. In my mind I was thinking the battery could be 5 plus years old. Sometimes they sit for a while and are not fresh out of the quarry 😂

ditto. I put an AGM in my 06CS and it just lives on the charger. Won’t survive overnight without it. Not ideal for a daily driver. I’m putting a trad battery in as soon as. Shop said the AGM was a bad idea, and I’m definitely in agreement.

Our other cars have automatic headlights, which is my excuse for killing the battery on our 2008 CS a couple of weeks ago. To open the frunk, all it took was clipping my 4 amp charger on the under-dash terminals. It opened immediately. No need to haul a battery over from another vehicle.

I get all that… I think the other guy stated, it just happens way to often…. My Exige was like this too

How critical is it to keep the battery on a tender do you think? I don't DD my '06 BS, but I do make a point to drive it at least once every weekend. I'm figuring I don't need to keep it on a tender. Am I mistaken?

I have a 987.1 Boxster and I sometimes had let it sit for a couple of weeks. After finding the battery weak a couple of times, I have kept it on a tender ever since. Before I started using the tender, the battery did seem to be healthier after sitting a few days if I locked the car. (Suggested on this forum actually. Something to do with diminished parasitic draw) OH, and never ever leave the key in the ignition. It'll be dead'er than a door knob the next day. (I had it up on the lift overnight) Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

I had a 99 Mercedes and the battery lasted 15 years.

FWIW: I use a BatteryMinder. Do your homework on these. They are supposed to not only keep your battery charged but prevent the plates in the battery from accumulating sulfates which prevent the battery from becoming fully charged by sending pulses of electricity that, for lack of a better term, blast the sulfates off the plates. There is science behind it. I just don't have that in front of me. The small lawnmower batteries usually only last 2-3 years; I'm on year six with that one and the battery in my 14base tests out at 100%. I try to keep them hooked up whenever they are not in use. And I mentioned on a previous reply that my 99 Mercedes battery lasted for 15 years.

Help! My 987.1 Boxster has a dead battery and I can’t get the frunk open. I am aware of emergency method but the positive terminal is not accessible. If it is the orange button it is jammed way in there. If it is the 5-prong plug it has plastic around it so no connection can be made. Any ideas? Does the cigarette lighter method work? I’ve seen conflicting opinions. Thanks in advance! John

You need to carefully pull that out… it’s really the only way .. use a needle nose plyers

That pull out is usually only just enough to open the front bonnet… a trickle charger is optimum but if you need to jump it obviously another car can help that along.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Make sure you have a really good ground connection, and then use the key fob to pop the frunk once power is applied. Use a cigarette lighter socket if all you’re wanting to do is see if you can charge it back up. The method using the post in the fuse panel is for a quick relay power to the latch, and not for charging the battery.

Good to know. Thanks!

Another emergency measure, if you simply can't get workable juice to open it electronically, is to use the manual release. It's well-hidden - driver's side fender liner needs to come out, but there's a little metal cable up in there near the headlight module you can yank on to open the frunk. I've had to research this because it turns out my physical lock cylinder doesn't work and if the battery dies, it's my only way in until I can get that fixed. There appears to be a yellow electrical wire nearby (at least on some cars, I've seen at least one post where the poor owner broke that thinking it was the release cable), so be careful of that.

Isn’t that accessible if the headlight is out? I know my 911 is that way… of course the headlight needs to be put to access it

A new battery will certainly take care of the issue… that pull out pin was really only designed to pop the hood… The cable runs on the driverside but I don’t know that it’s accessible unless the headlight is out, but I’d have to look for myself. I had my lights out in my 997 and it was right there

Using a new battery with the fuse pin open hood routine should work just fine. Mentioning the pull cable access with the head lights out seems somewhat confusing since you have to open the hood to remove the headlights. If the hood is open to do that, then you can access the battery, right? So what's the point of removing the headlights?

I had asked someone to confirm which side the cable is on and he replied that he saw it on the driver side when he had his headlights out.

At least on the 987.2 , the emergency release cable is only accessible from inside the front left hand side (drivers side in the USA) wheel well. Some people have been able to reach it with the wheel on. I would recommend removing the front left wheel and the wheel well liner. You have your wheel lug security key in the glove box right Here is a picture (note, not the Yellow wire!). Once you are in there, some people extend the cable and bring it over to the location of the tow hook opening (and/or swage a loop onto it). You pretty much need to grab it with a pair of vice grips and pull hard. Here is my inside front left wheel well (bumper is off the car which is why you can see daylight on the left. And here is a closeup showing the cable.

Is it what appears to be a white loop behind the yellow wire?

Okay here’s the latest chapter in my saga: After leaving it overnight in an auto supply parking lot I was able to open the frunk using the fuse box and a battery I bought from them by constantly pulling the release beside the door. So then they were able to install the new battery and I drove it to my mechanic because the frunk would still not open. They couldn’t open it electronically and when they took the tire and splash guard off apparently the emergency cable is detached. The only thing they can think of is to remove the bumper guard but they cautioned that the tabs might break, etc etc. Opinions?

Oh good grief...the nightmare never ends. I got nothing... Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

🤣Nothing like German Over-Engineering!

I read somewhere where a guy with a similar problem hot wired his rear (?) body control module. He was able to then use the inside switches on the drivers sill. I think he just needed to get battery voltage to a couple of pins and he was able to make that work.

And to answer your other question from post #38, no, it is a cable (not really visible in the picture) that is sticking out of the black tube.

Well that sucks. If the manual release is gone and the electronic popper won't pop anymore, then..yeah. It may be time to start pulling the bumper cover and hope these folks know their way around the front end enough to not break anything. I've got nothing on why it would open with the emergency power but not after the new battery. I've seen a few stories of random modules needing to re-sync with the rest of the system after a battery failure, but nothing specific to the frunk latch. I guess it's possible that the attempt to provide emergency power was the last straw for the latch itself or something like that, though no way to know until the thing is opened back up.

Once you get it open again, aside from leaving it open until it's fixed, you may want to look for the cable as well? I hear it's behind the headlight, so you can get into there when the hood is open. Do let us know how you solve the problem in the end, as well! I'm sure many of us are very interested!

Yes I will. Maybe I’ll write a book about it!🤪

For whatever it's worth, I've read more than a few times that the best way to open the frunk after hooking up the fuse box hookup is to wait a few minutes and then use the key fob rather than the door sill switch. Haven't had to but it's something I've read over and over again during the past 13 years I've owned my 2008.