996 Engine compartment lid release help

Hello, I have a 2002 996 Carrera. The engine-lid switch is not working. The emergency release cable has come lose. I used it a few times to open the lid, went to try it again and it did not open the lid, just kept coming out about a foot more than usually. The alarm box was replaced (got wet) just prior to me purchasing the car. I tried a new switch, no luck. Any suggestion on how to open the rear lid? Access the latch? Jump the switch? anything that will open the rear lid? Does anyone know if the rear switch is programmed or tied to the alarm box? I suspect the Alarm box may have issues? will not go into why. Thanks!

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Rear lid is tied into the alarm box and the horn will sound once if you lock the car and leave it open. I'd suggest scanning with a PIWIS at the dealership or independent it might give you an error code. To your knowledge was the lid working before the alarm module was replaced? The emergency cables on the 996 aren't in great locations IMO. ​​​​​​

Battery have a full charge?

Thanks for the replies. Dealer was no help, incidentally the same-one that swapped the alarm box; wanted carte blanche to start work. possibly rewire the alarm box and lid switches, etc... didn't know how many hours to manual open the lid etc...$$$ said it was not programing but wont not try. Yes, the battery is charged. I do not know if it worked prior to alarm box swap. I suspect it did BUT the actuator may be bad I do not know. More to the puzzle. The wire connector plug for the rear lid activates the front truck lid when I connect the front truck switch. New rear switch does nothing. Front lid works 100% Thanks Again.

Sound silly but have you tried opening it while someone else actuates the switch? When mine wasn't quite aligned I needed someone to help. In saying that if you can't hear the release then maybe it has a problem. ​

I will try that but i dont hear anything. How do you jump it from the fuse box? I know the Front lid has the tab in the fuse box. Thanks

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Sorry, brain fade... You're correct you can only jump the front. If you have the emergency cable, pull on it while someone else pulls up on the lid.

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Dealer was no help? What do you mean by this? Did you actually leave it with the dealer and allow him to try to fix it and he gave it back to you saying this can't be fixed? Incidentally the same-one that swapped the alarm box; wanted carte blanche to start work. possibly rewire the alarm box and lid switches, etc... didn't know how many hours to manual open the lid etc. Well how is he supposed to know how long this would take to fix? It sounds like there are a lot of problems and it could require quite a bit of work to make it right. Opening the lid is not enough, you also need to make it work consistently all the time. More to the puzzle. The wire connector plug for the rear lid activates the front truck lid when I connect the front truck switch. New rear switch does nothing. Front lid works 100% Let me understand this right, the wire connector plug for the rear lid somehow opens the front lid....well this sounds like the wiring is all screwed and you wonder why the dealer wants carte blanche to start work. The emergency release cable has come lose. Do you mean its no longer connected to anything at the other end and it has completely come out? I used it a few times to open the lid, (and why didn't you fix the problem wihen you had it open?) went to try it again and it did not open the lid, just kept coming out about a foot more than usually. And what happens when it is completely stretched and you pull it?

So the actuator for the engine bay lid does not work...and the emergency release cable has come undone. That is going to be some serious problem. First thing I would try is to hot-wire the switch with 12V and have someone pull up on the lid. If that doesn't work, then someone will probably have to pull the exhaust system out so you can reach a hand or tool up inside the engine bay to try to pop the latch. Not fun at all.

That is one of my greatest 996 fears... Even with the exhaust removed it will be extremely difficult

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The dealer would not accept the car without me authorizing an open invoice just to open the lid. I tried myself to troubleshot and I did replaced the switch prior to the wire cable failing; hindsight I would have inspected the wire cable release. At the time I believed the alarm box was the RC hence seeking the dealer to troubleshot or reprogram the alarm box they installed, they said "the lid is not tied to the alarm system".

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In some way it is tied to the alarm that's why the alarm beeps if the rear lid is left open. This is a difficult situation, what were they going to do if you had signed the invoice? ​​​​

I know your problem is getting the engine lid open. Does the key work to start the car? That right there will tell you if something is wrong with the alarm/immobilizer system. Also, does the key work to lock/unlock the car? When locking the car, are you getting a horn beep that indicates an open zone? What happens when you manually lock/unlock the car with the console button? Does everything lock/unlock correctly? I know on my lowly 99 C2 with cable pulls, the alarm system will lock down the cable pulls next to the drivers seat and will not allow them to be pulled open when the alarm system is set. I actually don't know how it works with the electric openers/switches, but it could be similar. If the alarm system is activated, it may not allow the switches to operate. Thus my earlier comment to hot wire the engine lid actuator wires, bypassing the engine lid switch altogether, and the security system. I'm getting what it is that you have tried...I think. You replaced the engine lid switch and it doesn't work. So you tested it by connecting it to the front lid switch/wiring and it works 100% of the time to open the front lid. Is that right? So it is not the switch. It is probably the engine lid actuator that has failed. If the hot wire jump to the actuator wires for the engine lid does not work, and the cable pull has become disconnected, the only way to get the engine lid open is to start removing stuff from under the engine, i.e., the exhaust system to begin with.

Also, have you tried having soeone else lift the lid while you push the switch (mention earlier)? If the lid strut is shot it won't pop up off the latch if I recall with mine. If all else fails, use a narrow flat bar (I/4" wide) and bend it to form an L with about 6" on the short side. If you can get it up in there on center, the latch move towards the driver side to release (direction of the cable pull) You may need to remove the bumper cover at minimum. The cable is pretty long, have you pulled it all the way out?

That's the thing. Cannot remove bumper cover with the engine lid closed. There are the 3 or 4 screws and metal flat bar just under the engine lid that have to be removed in order to remove the bumper cover. This is really a conundrum.

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Duh, I over looked that...

Hello, Is anyone familiar with this part: Traction lid-release cable Part Number: 99651201700 What does it do? Is this on all 996's Thanks

http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=803-05 Yes... Is yours broken? Are you 100% sure your emergency cable came undone?

Hello, Yes I am very certain the emergency cable has come lose, it pulls out twice as far as it did when it worked, but will not come out completely. My thought is that the cable came lose and did not break. Thanks,

I'm at a loss, You might have to drill a hole through the lid.

Jumping the *switch* on the door sill won't get you anywhere. That switch connects to the alarm module. There is a way to bypass EVERYTHING and operate the "tailgate latch" as it's called electrically. I do not have the wiring diagrams for the NA cars. I have only the Turbo wiring diagrams. If someone wants to send me the NA wiring diagrams I can verify. Assuming the alarm is the same on the Turbo and the NA cars, which I believe is a valid assumption, you can do this: 1) Remove driver's seat to get access to the alarm module. 2) Unplug the "A" connector at the alarm module. There are two connectors, "A" and "B". It's very unlikely they are labeled. The "A" connector has over 38 pins, the B connector has many fewer. You may wish to unplug the "B" connector, too, especially is the alarm is going off. 3) Ignore the alarm module box from now on. On the unplugged connector, the one with the wiring. Determine the A34 pin of the A connector. The connector may be labeled with numbers to guide you. If not the A34 pin has a blue/black tracer 0.5mm wire (medium sized, about 20 gauge). 4) Get a tiny stiff wire to stick into the A34 socket that you have identified. A paperclip will probably be too big. One strand of wire from a piece of lamp cord etc. might be the right size. 5) Stick your wire into the A34 socket. Ground the wire. Engine lid latch solenoid should be activated. The power to operate the engine lid solenoid comes from fuse D7, which should be hot all the time. Obviously if the battery is dead you would need to charge it first. I don't know what you're going to do once the engine lid is open; this should get the lid open at least.

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Have you checked fuse D7? Could have short it out and blown the fuse.

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Hello, I will try that, thank you! I suspect the acuatore has failed but absolutely worth a try before I start going through the lid. Thanks again.

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Fuses are good. Thanks

Number 11 has come loose. I don't know anything about #10 other than the part number and name. Thanks,

Wow... this is one of the major pains with cars and electronic lock actuators. If the actuator is malfunctioning, then the only practical solution is pulling the manual release cable, but if that's broken, then you're kind of SOL. I guess the only solution beyond theprf's recommendation is to hire a lock smith? Believe it or not, many of those guys have very many specialized tools that can noodle between the gaps of the trunk and bumper and into the lock mechanism and manually pull the locking arm to open the trunk. They may even try using a borescope type camera to get a better visual to fish it open.

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Fuses are all good.

Maybe find an Indy that will be a little more receptive than the dealer asking you to sign a blank check?

Had a similar problem. As luck had it, replacement switch was bad which was discovered when I accidentally jumped the 2 center connector conductors shown in the attached. Mine is a 2002 Carrera Cab. Hope it's that simple!

I hope jumping the actuator works. Had one more thought - instead of drilling through the decklid, I would take a chance on busting out the left tail light (pry it out and break the plastic holder). Tail light is cheaper than a new deck lid. In doing so, you can actually see what is happening with the emergency release cable and there is a pretty good size hole in the fender where the cable goes through. With some luck, or maybe a good locksmith, you might be able to stick something through the hole and spring the latch. Maybe even a coat hangar with a hook on the end, latch onto something in there and pull towards you just like the cable does..

You can see the size of the elongated hole in this shot where the cable comes through

Hello, Update... I got lucky using a coat hanger and a bore scope, was able to open the lid. Seems like the actuator is dead. Secured the emergency cable with a new clip AND tie wraps. Thank you all for your suggestions.

Awesome!

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Thank you for your tip. It works on my 2004 996 to open the engine lid. My alarm module is flooded so the switch on the diver door stil doesn�t work. Is there another A pin that can be used to open the frunk? I am a new 996 owner and a new member to the forum. Any advice is greatly appreciated.