Discharged battery

As I approached my 2005 Carrera with key in hand I realized the remote door opener was not opening the door. I used the key manually to get the door opened and noticed the interior courtesy lights were not illuminating. The obvious conclusion was that the battery was dead (after only sitting two days) but I tried to start the car anyway. The key turned in the ignition in the usual manner, but no starter motor response. That's when I discovered that the key wouldn't release from the ignition switch. I was able to find the positive jumping contact in the fuse panel to hook up the cables to open the front trunk and expose the battery. My Porsche is parked in a tight one car garage and I had to run two sets of jumper cables to reach the fuse panel area. I also jumped the trunk lid open from a car that was not running and everything worked out fine. The question I have is if I could use a battery trickle charger to jump the lid open. That would be easier since the distance to make the contacts would be shorter. I have a 2/10 amp charger that also has a boost feature. I am concerned that the trickle charger could damage the electrical system if used on the higher settings. Would the 2 amp setting provide enough current to get the trunk lid open without causing any damage or should I try the 10 amp setting. After hooking up the jumper cables to a running at idle 2004 Honda Accord, my car started about 20 minutes later. I was hoping it would start sooner, but apparently my battery was totally discharged. The ignition key did release once the jumper cables were connected to the running vehicle battery. I was hoping that the Honda had a compatible electrical system and the voltage ratings were also compatible. Upon starting my car, I drove five minutes to the closest mechanic shop. They checked the battery and alternator output and said eveything was normal and gave me a print out of their findings. I am certainly apprehensive at this point to drive the car at all, but the past three days I've had no problems. Any advice would be much appreciated regarding the use of the trickle charger to open the front trunk lid. Thank you, JK

Can't answer whether a trickle charger would help you open the lid, but you should avoid letting the battery go dead. It's hard on the alternator when it has to charge a jumped battery, and the engine computer loses all its operating parameters and has to relearn them. It's better to connect a battery maintainer (NOT a trickle charger) to the battery if the car is going to sit more than a few days. A battery maintainer reads the battery state and delivers just enough current to keep it charged, whereas a trickle charger just feeds constant current and can cause a battery to overcharge and boil over.

If it gets stuck facing into the garage again jump it from the + point in the engine compartment and the bolt that attaches the air cleaner housing to the frame. You can get the rear lid open by fishing the release cable out from under the left tail light assy and the fender. It sounds like your ign switch might be going bad. One of the symptons is that the switch does not turn every thing off when you remove key from the switch. Next thing it won't turn everything on or it wil stick in the slot or... Do a search for ignition switch problems or replacement. Ignition lock repair question - Rennlist Discussion Forums Ignition switch - RennTech.org Forums

Rrrockhound and FPB111: Thanks for the advice and the information. I certainly don't want to make jumping the battery a habit. The battery maintainer is a good idea. Is there a test to determine if the ignition switch is going bad? It seems to be functioning fine and feels tight. Looks like I have a lot more research to do.

Another resource Replace Ignition Switch