New 996 Owner - A Comedy of Errors

Car is locked, battery apparently drained down in a short amount of time, and my key isn't working in the door. Could the RF pill have gone bad? The LED on the key works, the light on the dash is still blinking. I figured the remote wouldn't work after a few days, but was expecting the key would open the door. I've only owned the car for two months, I think I recall using the key to open the lock, but not 100%. Cheers, jeers, and suggestions welcome. At least with Minnesota winter upon us I have a couple months to figure it out. Thanks, Steve

The key should open the door. You can reach the battery by accessing the emergency frunk cable, which I think is accessible from the front passenger fender liner (check your model to verify.) GLWS

The key does not unlock the door. I have taken the screws out of the fender liner, but without the wheel turned or removed, I don't think I can access the cable. The shop that did my EOS said they loan me the lug key to get the wheel off, but it seems odd that the key won't work.

There�s a small metal rod that connects the inside of the door handle to the lock mechanism. It�s become disconnected. Had the same thing happen to me. You will need to call AAA to slim Jim the door open. Once they get it open you will want to pull the door card off and reconnect the rod. Never lock your car when parked in the garage. The car goes into sleep mode after 5 days and if the car is locked the lock won�t respond to your remote. Always keep the car unlocked when parked in your garage.

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OP didn't give the model year, so... I have an 2003 and I don't think any of the 996.2s have a manual release (mine doesn't). Mine does disable the keyless unlock after sitting for a few days, so even if you could get the battery charged up, if the manual key doesn't work, you'd still have to slim-jim it open.

Ah, and I just noticed that the OP said the security light was still blinking, so looks like slim-jim time after trying all keys that came with the car to manually unlock it.

Weak battery may let the red light flash but not enough power for other systems... Emergency cable under drivers taillight. Jumper from another 12v source to the engine + post. Good luck!

Sorry, it's an '02. Don't both the key fob disable AND the car lock itself after a couple days to minimize the battery drain? I had pre-emptively locked it to keep the battery charge as good as possible, of course not knowing something was up with my door lock. I suppose I'd rather find out now about the door lock malfunction, rather than being out in the world somewhere and have my key fob battery go dead. Anyone know of a good locksmith in the Twin Cities area?

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There's a manual cable on each end of the car.

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Have you tried the emergency manual release cable behind the front bumper? You Tube

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Always lock your car when parked in the garage or your battery will drain much more quickly.

Getting into the trunk is not gonna help him. The car went into sleep mode (does it after 5 days of not being started). With the door lock mechanism not working, the only way in is a slim Jim.

Once you get this all sorted out, remove the drivers side rear tail light and you will see the release cable there. Put a little electric tape to hold the loop end of the cable near the outer edge of the tail light (where it's not really visible, but you know it's there) . Then if this happens again, you can simply use the hook of a coat hanger (or anything to grab the release wire) , slip it in the loop and pull the cable and open the rear deck lid where you can then put a battery jump,

Question. How can you remove the tailight without opening the rear lid?

Just so I'm clear on the RF pill in the key; is it only for the ignition or does that also get activated unlocking the door? If it's the latter, could that have malfunctioned?

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You can't, that's why it is suggested to stick the loop of the release cable underneath the tail light such that you can pull it without removing the light as soon as the op has managed to open his car.

Locked or unlocked the drain is pretty much the same. You need to open the frunk, disconnect the battery wait a minute, reconnect the battery, that should wake the system up. Then use your remote.

I don't think the differences will show up in that little time. A week would be a better test.

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Can't, but you can take a coat hanger and fish out the cable.

[img=left]https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/_/rsrc/1472845873737/WhatthefrontlatchcablelookslikeP0001-large.jpg?height=280&width=420[/img]

Thanks for the tips guys, I suppose since I'm not in a hurry, I can work on accessing the frunk to try battery trick. Probably won't be until Monday or Tuesday, but I'll keep you all posted. I was going to relocate the manual releases, but figured I had all winter to rub it with a diaper and get that done, guess that wasn't in the cards.

I suppose a couple shots would be prudent, '02 C2 Targa 6 spd, Lapis Blue, Savannah Beige interior with Sport seats, Advanced Technik, 18" Carrera wheels and badge delete. Minor IMS failure at 29k, original engine punched out and upgraded to 997 spec 3.8L I bought it with 38k miles on it, now it has 40k.

Nice! Who did the engine work?

CS Motorsports near Milwaukee.

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Good to know Thank you guys!

Did you pop the tow hook plug out of the front bumper? I looped my frunk pull cable over the plastic "cable" on the tow hook plug. I know others have done the same, so maybe the previous owner did it on your car. It makes the frunk cable super easy to get to. Easier than taping it below the front edge of the passenger side headlight. I would also look under the headlight with a flashlight. If those don't work, I would remove the passenger front tire and look behind the fender well plastic to see if it hanging below the headlight mounting area of the fender. At that point, I would give up and call the locksmith!

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Don't believe RF pill has anything to do with unlocking door. That is strictly mechanical. The pill tells the car it is ok to start when inserted in the ignition switch. I could be wrong...but don't think so.

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This is correct. The key and manual lock/unlock of the door is purely mechanical and has nothing to do with the RF pill in the key.

Had a locksmith come out today and he used the BP cuff on the passenger door and was able to open the handle. There was enough juice to unlock the frunk but not start the car. Thanks for all of the help and suggestions. Now onto getting the door taken apart to see what's up in there.

Bash, is there a video that you were able to find that outlined this process? Any special tools required? TIA S

Not that I�m aware of but it�s not hard to do. Pull the side mirror cover up and out (don�t disconnect any wires) you can leave it hanging. Remove int door handle (the black plastic piece). It pries off with a flat head screw driver. Remove the two torx bolts under the handle. One is longer than the other. Lift the door pocket arm rest cover and remove the small screw. Remove one more small screw from behind the silver door pull. You may need to pull it to see the screw. Now you can pry the door card off gently. Pop the clips. Lift up and out a few inches. Disconnect the 2 microswitch connections and the connector for the lower door light. Now you can set the card aside. Peel back the left side of the vapor barrier. Unbolt the metal bracket (goldish color) inside the door with the 4 bolts. This will give you room to get your hand in there. With a flashlight you can see the back of the exterior door handle. You should see a 3� metal rod that is meant to be attached to the lock mechanism and secured in place with a black plastic sleeve. If it popped out you may need to unbolt the handle. Two small nuts on the inside keep it in place. Removing these will let you wiggle the door handle out so you can reconnect the rod. That�s pretty much it. Just make sure to test it a few times before you Button it up.

Check this out.

Thanks Bash and Ahsai for the info. Dug into it yesterday and the repair was successful, though I struggle with the door latch cable after it had come undone. Also a addressed a loose mirror screw while I was in there. Can't wait for spring weather so I can get it back on the road.

Good to hear you got it sorted.

Me too! Next up...mufflers.

Can�t go wrong with a Gundo hack 😁 You Tube

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two years of ownership, NEVER lock it when its in my garage, has never drained my battery

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+996. DON�T lock it when in the garage. If you leave the car for 5 days locked it�ll go into �sleep mode�. Remote won�t work to open the door.

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I need this!

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^^This^^ is terrible advice, as your battery will drain far quicker without the doors locked. I think the proper advice is: 1) make sure your battery is fully charged 2) get yourself a battery tender and hook it up whenever your car is parked for more than a week at a time. 3) Make sure the emergency trunk/engine cover cables are accessible so when you need them you can reach them Of course none of this helps you at the moment...

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Read above. He already got into the car. And we gave him the fix for his door lock issue. I never lock mine while parked parked in the garage. Put it on a tender and you�ll never have an issue. It�s not terrible advice.

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Who can leave their 996 in the garage for 5 days? I've got to drive mine almost daily or I get the shakes. Actually if I'm leaving mine for more than 2 days, I hook up the tender and lock it.

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Yep, what Bill said.

So, if you lock it while in garage it will go into sleep mode in 5 days. In sleep mode doesn't it use less battery? If in sleep mode then use the key to unlock the door and it comes out of sleep mode. What am I missing?

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Only a problem if the key doesn't unlock the door since the passenger door doesn't have a key and you can't crawl in through the trunk.

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You�re missing the OP�s original post. His door lock rod came apart from the door handle inside the door. When the car went into sleep mode he had no way to get into the car. Had to call a locksmith to come out and use an air bladder on the window to get enough space to apply a slim Jim. Same thing happened to me last year. I now keep it on a tender and unlocked when in my garage. For many, these are weekend toys and can easily go over 5 days without use. Much easier to keep the car car unlocked and on a tender than to have to deal with breaking into your own car.