31 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHDead battery, can?t open frunk, alarm blaring
Reported or suspected cause
battery
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
I had a dead battery (turned out to be a bad battery that wouldn't take a charge) and a locked frunk.
Leading evidence: 'battery' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'battery' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Recommend trickle battery charger' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
Another thing to save this issue is reroute the frunk lid emergency cable to a point where it is accessible through the tow hook hole.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
With the drivewr door open, I ran a jumper from my truck battery to the power post in the fuse box.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I strongly recommend a trickle battery charger when locking a Porsche in a storage garage.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
You may have to open the engine lid with the emergency release cable located under the left taillight, and then use the main jumper points in the engine bay.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
31 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Having a (not so) slight issue getting the frunk open on my 2004 996 w a dead battery.
Stopped by my storage place on Friday and battery was dead as a door nail. Went over yesterday with jumpers and tools to remove the battery and put it on a charger for a few days.
With the drivewr door open, I ran a jumper from my truck battery to the power post in the fuse box. Ground on the door hinge. As soon as I put the + jumper on the truck battery, the alarm starts blaring and nothing I do will turn it off.
inserting the key into the ignition, turning it on and then off, and removing it. Alarm still blaring.
Inserting key into door lock and turning it on and off. Alarm still blaring.
To make things difficult, I do not have the center console installed (it�s a prepped track car) so there is no center console cigarette lighter to plug a trickle charger into. I do have the cig lighter in the dash but I�m not sure if that�s constantly on like the console location. Getting in, closing the doors and I�ll try turning the ignition on while I have the charger in the cig lighter to power the trunk release.
Any other thoughts??
It seems you are going to have to work your way around with the alarm horn blaring. I thought your goal was to get the frunk open. So when the battery cables are connected to the jumper and ground, you still can't open the frunk? You may have to open the engine lid with the emergency release cable located under the left taillight, and then use the main jumper points in the engine bay. Or locate the emergency release cable for the frunk. This is the exact reason for relocating the frunk emergency release cable to just inside the tow hook plug. Think how easy this would be if you could just pop the tow hook plug out and wonder of wonders, there is the emergency release cable. One quick pull and your in.
Good ideas. The car is in a storage unit so it doesn’t allow me much room to get in there and jack it up to remove the wheel and then remove the fender liner.
I couldn’t close the door with jumper cables connecting the fuse box, but the battery tender cable is much smaller so I’ll try that in the dashboard cigarette lighter. If that doesn’t work, I think your idea of removing the tail light is much simpler than pulling the wheel or moving the fender liner. I’m going to give it a shot during lunch today. Thanks again for the suggestion. I’ll let y’all know how it goes...
I've always wondered if the battery is out and the frunk is closed, can it be opened (i.e., is the battery necessary for any current to flow to the unlock mechanism). When I've taken out the battery, I put a car mat over the front lock just in case.
The alarm going off once I apply power to the system is new to me. I’m pretty sure the imobilizer is blocking the frunk from unlatching. I’m hoping it’s because the door is open when the system energizes. The battery (AGM) has run run low several times over winter storage and simply putting 14V on the pull out jumper in the fuse panel has worked. And of course there’s no power in the storage unit so I’ve got to bring my own generator.
There is a notch in the bottom of the weather stripping on the passenger door to run the charger cord through. It's about 1 foot forward from the rear of the door.
Just got back from the storage facility and no luck at all. 14v into the cig lighter did nothing. And even with doors closed, the alarm still was going off when the fuse panel was energized. Nothing would turn off the alarm and front or rear releases would not function.
and DBJoe, I thought removing the taillight and utilizing the manual cable release for the rear engine compartment was going to be a no brainer until I gave it a little bit of thought and realized… I need to get the engine compartment open to remove the taillight. Doh!
so it looks like I’ll be jacking it up, removing the wheel and fender liner in tight quarters tomorrow. Thank you for everyone’s suggestions. If anyone has a Hail Mary, feel free to post it.
No. Put a piece of painters tape on the fender under the rear tail light. Then use something to create a small space under the tail light, like a plastic wedge. The engine lid emergency release cable is located UNDER the tail light. You can use a hook like thing to fish it out. One pull and your in the engine bay.
I had exactly the same issue when I tried to energize my frunk latch with the posts in the fuse box.
coat hanger under the taillight was the ticket. The car took the power from the rear engine posts and opened the frunk just fine.
Not trying to rub salt in any wounds or anything but this thread alone will keep me VERY diligent about always hooking up my battery tender! Good luck OP.
Third time is the charm. Three days later, I’ve gotten my battery out.
I had my hands on the engine compartment emergency release cable and had the hatch open in less than 15 seconds. Thanks DBJoe996.
Placing the jumpers on the positive and negative terminals in the engine bay did not freak out the alarm at all and I was able to release the front hood latch electronically with no issue. Battery is now out, in my garage connected to a Battery Tender. I’m sure it’ll take several days to recharge.
2 lessons learned this week:
1. It’s much easier to energize the car from the engine compartment terminals than the post in the fuse box.
2. when planning on leaving the car for extended periods, I will NEVER CLOSE THE FRUNK FULLY
Thanks again to all who contributed and helped me out of this jam.
I swear these cars have gremlins. I had a dead battery (turned out to be a bad battery that wouldn't take a charge) and a locked frunk. Using engine positive terminal did not work. Fuse box terminal worked.
Question: Does the frunk light time out or do you need to pop the bulb?
I do lock it to conserve battery charge. Unfortunately there is no power available to keep it on a battery tender. Battery charge is going very slow. It�s raised a volt over the last 18 hours. Currently @ 9.3V
Unfortunately, it doesn't. The frunk and deck lids lights will remain on and are one of the BIGGEST causes of parasitic battery drain.
You ask... how could this be? The Porsche 996 has microswitches in the locking mechanisms that tell the DME if the frunk or deck lid is left open. This microswitch also serves to switch the frunk/decklid lights on and off. If the microswitch is defective, then in many cases, the lights will remain on and in turn, drain your battery over time. I removed my lights because these cars can be PITA when the batteries are dead with a locked car. (i.e. immobilized) Plus, those little lights are worthless in regards to illumination. Now, once the car is locked in the immobilized state and the battery is dead, it becomes more of a challenge to access and restart the car because the car is designed to thwart stealing. And, because of the cramped storage garage with little or no space to work, accessing the manual release cables can also be a major challenge.
I strongly recommend a trickle battery charger when locking a Porsche in a storage garage. If you don't have access to AC, then IMHO, it's better to keep the car and frunk open. I know that makes people wince when I say that, but after years of reading stories of immobilized cars and no way to access the battery, it makes me rethink how we store our cars when not driving. Can you imagine what happens with owners have only one key and lose it? My car stays unlocked in my garage. I recently had a dead battery because I left my radar detection on and hadn't driven for a month because of the winter weather around Christmas. Fortunately, I was able to easily open the frunk, recharge the battery and move on with life.
[QUOTE=b3freak;17270388]And, because of the cramped storage garage with little or no space to work, accessing the manual release cables can also be a major challenge.
Since you can pull on the cable to unlock, I assume it's not a sheathed cable with fixed mounting points (the kind where the metal wire slides inside a plastic tube and the tube is fixed at both ends). Is it possible to put a long cinch strap on the cable so you could easily reach under the car and pull?
My '01 is like this, the lights will stay on until the cows come home.
My '03 the lights time out and shut off after about 20 minutes.
The lights are controlled by the alarm module, not the DME. Also note the glovebox light comes on with the frunk & engine lid lights.
Your storage garage has no electricity? My son had his car in a storage unit with no outlets, but there was an overhead light. He hooked up to the light.
My frunk and engine compartment lights will eventually time-out.
But I created a "pull" for my engine compartment light so I can easily disable the light if I leave the deck lid open.
Simple safety wire and some heat shrink tubing.
One small hole drilled in the connector.
Since I'm a little **** retentive when I store the 996 in my double garage I use a maintainer, leave the doors unlocked and the frunk/engine hood unlatched!
Above the microswitch for the light. This part resides in the locking meachnism of the frunk. The rear decklid is basically identical in concept.
The next image you can clearly see how the simple mechanism works to switch on and off. The white part in the center usually breaks from opening and closing the frunk. Cheap plastic.
Here is the infamous manual emergency release cable for opening the frunk and deck lid.
The next images shows the length of the manual release cable which is about 27 inches.
From the next photo, you can see how it works to unlock the frunk. The electrically actuated cable mounts at the top left.
This is how the microswitch mounts inside the locking mechanism. This little part is the sole culprit for frunk and deck lid lights staying on and red light "hood open" warning on the dash.
Absolutely! Just make sure that it doesn't get tangled and prevent you from getting the right amount of leverage to work the locking mechanism.
I know people do all sorts of things to make the cable more accessible. Some have hidden it behind the air ducts thinking someone might steal the car only to regret it when they have a dead battery and can't access the frunk. There have been many reports that the fuse box jump technique doesn't work. That's why it's a good idea to have the rear manual release cable in an accessible place too. Backup YOUR backup!
My frunk lights would stay on and so I unplugged them to be safe. Again, don't need a little silly light. I replugged it back up when I sold the car.
Re: DME... thanks for the clarification. But doesn't the DME (or ECU) control the M535 alarm module? That's the way I interpreted the schematics and security protocols in the shop manual. Maybe I'm mistaken. Thanks again.
When I first read this post, I thought that while ingenious idea if I did it, I'd probably either scratch up the paint or crack the tail light. Looked at the location of the cable today and figured out this is what those brilliant teutonic engineers intended.
My solution in pictures below. Despite twists and turns, releases lock with no significant pull.
Ran through bracket by air pump
This is where it hangs
Tucked up cable behind heat shield
same issue with 03 C4S. Use an ODB cable with 12v cig lighter adapter. I had a battery powered jumpstart system with a 12v output. Assume you could use 12v cig lighter from another car.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
