Trunk won't open even with jumper cables

2003 Carrera, totally dead battery, attached charger to red contact in fuse box and door hinge, horn sounded in alarm mode, turned the key in the door lock/unlock, turned the key in the ignition switch, pushed the 2 buttons on the key multiple times, no luck. Any other suggestions?

If you are saying that you hooked up a battery charger to the terminals it is likely that you didnt have enough current at 12 volts to do much other than set off the alarm. Can you use a good battery and jumper cables?

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The manual says use a battery not a charger. Charger won't give you enough juice.

Agree with the others, a charger probably is not enough. However, did you try the trunk release IN the car? You said you only pushed the buttons on the remote key. Think about it, if your battery is completely dead, so is the immobilzer. Your keys won't communicate with the car because it has no voltage. As said, get more 12V on it. And relocate your emergency release cable for the frunk so it is accessible at times just like this.

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Hi we are new sponsor to the forum and all we do is lithium-ion battery products including Starter Batteries and also the Mini Jump Starter... our brand is Antigravity Batteries MICRO-START . Anyway as some others have recommended and stated you need to have a certain amount of current probably a good couple amps from 6 to 10 that would be enough to energize the system because there will be other areas of the system pulling current.... Additionally I tested with an ammeter in-line on the battery and flicked that trunk switch button and it was a good couple amps it took to even activate it. So if you have one of the mini jump starters you can attach it to your battery to supply sufficient current to get in the trunk. I don't know if the 996 has the same fuse box panel with the red BuSpar that you pull out but you could also use 12 V on that as long as it has roughly 6-10Amps....

I have an Antigravity battery that I used with my motorcycles. It has always worked great. I keep it under the driver's seat in my '02 996 C2...just in case my battery dies!

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Agree he should try the trunk release in the car but the immobilizer only affects the ignition. The remote on the key us entirely separate - has nothing to do with the start sequence.

I tried a charger and it did not have enough juice. Used the battery (which was fully charged and out of the car at that point) and it opened the frunk right away!

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That's cool. We actually have alot of our smaller ones in the Race Cars and just came out with a Automotive battery ...the RS-30... Also, I have a question for all of you.... I have read so many forums about those who can't get into their frunk.... and it actually happened to me.... But I used one of our MICRO-START products and connected the mini jump starter clamps to the the red buss bar where the fuses are (in a 991) and then grounded to a seat bolt.... but that was sort of a hassle and I couldn't see under the seat and mucked about for 10 minutes. So I was thinking what if we (Antigravity Batteries) made a harness with a cable end that hid under the front of the hood at the base of the windshield (at least that is how it is on a 991) and you could pull it out in emergencies and plug in a MICRO-START or other Mini Jump Starter and energize the system to open the frunk....But not only that you could jump start from this connection so you wouldn't need the mini jumpstarter clamps. Would that be something you guy might want to buy? We actually already make that exact thing in a smaller version for Touring and ADV motorcycle guys so they don't have to remove the seat to to be able to jump start thier bikes in the middle of Africa.... They just plug their MICRO-START into what we call our "Clampless Harness" and can start the bike and drive away without spending 15 minutes removing the seat to put clamps on the battery to jump start it. So I'm thinking the same thing but for a Porsche since this seems to be a problem that often occurs. Let me know your input either way.

Antigravity, I saw something like that already on-line... The part on the right gets mounted to a flat panel anywhere and the part on the left is what plugs into it magnetically. You just hook up your charger to the leads coming off of the back of the part on the left. That way if you FORGET to unplug it when you go to drive out of the garage it just pops off... and it also comes with a dust cap to cover it if you want to make it look clean when your out or just not using it.

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I keep mine in the frunk with my wheel lock socket.

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That interesting and cool, thanks for showing that to me. Don't know if that connection wouldn't be alble to handle 6-10 amps of current.... I don't think since it looks like is just a magnetic connection and not a mechanically sound connection. It would be good for a maintainer potentially though.... I see some other uses also. My idea is a bit different....Our current harness is like this image below.... it takes the place of the clamps on our MICRO-START unit. You bolt it to the battery like a typical battery charging harness... but then when you need to energize the system you plug in the blue end to a MICRO-START.... then energize or even jump start the car. ITs used instead of having to connect clamps directly to the battery.... https://shop.antigravitybatteries.co...newer-xp1-xp3/ . I was just thinkin we could make the wires a little longer to allow them to get outside of the frunk and tucked away where they can't be seen but accessable....

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fpb111, If your battery dies, don't you have to figure out a way into the frunk to get to your antigravity booster? You can always open the car door with the key and access the booster if it's in the car. Please correct me if my thinking is off!

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I'm sure his tongue was firmly planted in his cheek.

omg...of course fpb111 was joking! Except...his point is...battery dies, you need to get in the frunk to access/jump the battery, in order to do so you have to locate the emergency release cable so you need to remove the passenger wheel and wheel liner, but your wheel lock socket is in the frunk so you can't remove the wheel and liner and so you are screwed. Get it? Plus, bonus, if the car is locked, yes, you can get in with your key but more than likely the frunk release (even cable) will remain locked with a dead battery. And you cannot unlock it unless you have 12V supply, so that does no good either. Please use this opportunity and lesson to relocate your emergency release cable to just behind the tow hook plug on your front bumper. This is a fundamentally important thing to do and takes about 10 minutes to accomplish. Pop the plastic plug and there is the emergency release cable. Ba-da-bing! Your in....

Sorry, I didn't get it! I was thinking about my '02 with the electric frunk release!

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Actually I don't think he was joking.... and it a very good question. HOw do you get in the frunk to press the RE-START button on the Battery. There are two ways.... you can do the trunk release but that is a hassle for sure... or you can energize the battery with a MICRO-START or other mini-jump starter or battery... not sure if the 996 has the red buss bar on the fuse panel normally used to energize the system on a 991... but its the same thing. BUT that is why I posted that image of the Clampless Harness kit above... you could energize the system with our MICRO-START from outside the car with that harness... I would make the harness long enought to be tucked away right inside the back edge of the hood... then you just attach a MICRO-START in one second and you have jiuce to the entire system. But to go further you just keep your MICRO-START in the glove box... our smallest one call the SPORT is actually about the size of 2.5 cell phones laying on top of eachother... but not only will it jump start your Porsche... it will also charge any USB devices like your phone or tablets... https://shop.antigravitybatteries.co...-starts/sport/ It will actually easily fit in your pocket it so small... Hope

Thanks for all the advice. Just to clarify, the charger has a "START" mode to provide extra power which is when the horn alarm activated. I did try the frunk and engine compartment electric releases with no luck. Will try a jump from a running car next.

If I were you, I would locate the engine lid emergency release cable under the left side rear light. Put some painters tape on the bumper (to avoid scratches) and use a wedge to separate the bumper and light. Then make a hook out of a piece of wire and "fish" around under the light to locate the release cable. Pull it and open the engine lid. Use the jumper points in the engine bay if trying to jump from another car. I would not hook up jumper cables to the fuse box...just too many amps to be messing around with that.

Antigravity, I like the idea. To me it makes a lot of sense. Question, Do you have to worry about the elements (weather) getting to the connection over time if it is run to the backside of the hood?

I had this happen as few weeks ago. I used a portable jump starter (like what the tow truck guys carry) to get the frunk lid open. All good. More juice = Open sesame.

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My understanding is the OP has an '03, which means he does not have an emergency release cable.

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We would make a cover for it.... that is a good question. I will make one and test it on our GT3 then bring it forward after some testing.

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yes. I will be excited to see how it turns out. I would be all in for something like that.

Thanks for all the advice. Used another car battery with jumper cables connected to the fuse panel positive and the door hinge ground, Horn started and then pushed the buttons on the key long enough for 3 cycles, horn stopped, trunk release worked, charged the battery, everything good. To prevent this in the future, can I plug a trickle charger into the cigarette lighter? The car is parked outside, so will this work with the doors locked?

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Glad it worked out for you. Many folks forget about the procedure outlined in the owner's manual (use a donor battery, remote to open, etc.) and it most cases the process works as advertised. Keep an eye on your battery...once they start to fail, it's a pretty good indicator it will continue to disappoint you usually at an inopportune time.

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yes that is why the lighter is always �hot�. My original post was �satirical�. We don�t use green, or any contrasting color, font here for joke threads. Also many folks hook positive to the red pullout and the negative lead to the DOOR STOP that is a very poor ground. The manual shows using the chrome lock loop on the B pillar, a much better ground.

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They all do. 996 is in the right side in the cavity in front of the fender liner.

Tried all the above with no luck 02 996

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Just wondering if you were ever able to test this?

I just went thru this a few hours ago, that's twice in 4 years of ownership I never lock my car in the garage, but I have a CTEK semi permanently installed in the boot If I'm not going to drive for 3 days I automatically pop the frunk and plug in the CTEK maybe there was a power failure, bit I never checked the 'status'. just unplugged it an closed the boot a jump-pack saved me today and unless my 3 yo battery is gone, should be ok in few hours

During winter I use a battery tender from... Battery Tender. But I also have it connected directly to the battery and I leave the frunk lid slightly opened both so the cable doesn�t get squished and so if the battery tender fails for some reason I can still access the battery. If you have a private garage why not leave the frunk ajar during winter? Worked for me back when our 997 battery went flat even with a (cheap) tender connected to it.

I permanently attached the battery tender leads to my battery and routed the harness by the windshield wipers. That way the connector is always there, covered by a plug when not in use, and I don't have to leave the frunk open all winter.