Help! Need to open front trunk

[ajboston]

OK...This I'm sure qualifies as the idiot award for the day but here is my problem:

Battery was dead on my 03 996 Coupe. I decided to remove and fully charge overnight. I was able to get enough juice to the car (via fuse panel jumper and door latch) to open my front trunk and remove battery. I then made sure to only partially close trunk (not latched) so that I could get back in there. Well, yesterday someone (I'm sure with the best intentions) decided to close my trunk fully for me. Thanks a lot! So here I am w/ no battery in the car and I just tried to power and open trunk using an external charger connected to fuse panel jumper and door latch...nothing. I'm thinking no battery in the car means the circuit is left open and power is not circulating through the electrical system.

Anyway, my question is: can I somehow manually open the front trunk? is there a release cable hidden somewhere (maybe inside the wheel well?) that could open the front trunk. Someone please tell me there is a way to get out of this mess that is not too painful/expensive.

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

AJ

[Loren]

You will need to reach behind the passenger side wheel well liner and local the emergency hood release cable. Then pull it.

[LVDell]

I am stumped on this one. Why would the trunk release not work without power. I thought the trunk release was a cable system not electrical.

By the way, if you remove the side parking lamp housing from the bumper you may be able to see the cable and pull it. That is where I saw mine when I changed form orange to clear markers.

[Loren]

I am stumped on this one.  Why would the trunk release not work without power.  I thought the trunk release was a cable system not electrical. 

By the way, if you remove the side parking lamp housing from the bumper you may be able to see the cable and pull it. That is where I saw mine when I changed form orange to clear markers.

As of MY01 all Carrera's, TT's, etc. have electric releases. The emergency cable still exists though.

[Tool Pants]

This is funny, because when the electrical trunk releases came out 3 years ago I asked a mechanic at my dealer if the spare battery jumper positive cable to the red/orange thing in the fuse box and the negative jumper to the door striker would work, when a battery had been removed from the car.

As a former history major, it seemed you would need something to complete the circuit, like the battery, even a dead battery. I was told the battery could be removed and it would still work, as the trunk release had it's own circuit. Guess not.......

Time for the emergency mechanical release cable so you can put your battery back in.

[LVDell]

Good to know, thanks Loren.

[Tool Pants]

Here are 2 pictures of the cable on a Boxster. The location is the same for a pre and post 2002 996. Removing the wheel makes it easier, but that is not an option for you. But at least you can turn the wheel for more clearance.

On a Boxster you remove a plastic rivet and I think maybe a nut so you can get your hand under the plastic wheel liner and up to the headlight area. This is done by feel. It is a thin stranded metal cable with a loop in the end - so so not pull on the headlight wires by mistake. The yellow line is too the loop, but it is not always exactly in the same location.

[spider]

Thanks Loren

spider

Edited June 8, 2004 by spider

[navin in KC]

I found my cable and used it to open my trunk. When I connected the power to my car, the alarm continued to go off and the trunk release wouldn't work. I decided to use the quick release and here is how I did it.

I jacked up the car right behind the right front wheel. I removed one hex bolt and two torx screws from the plastic wheelwell liner. I reached up behind the liner as far as I could reach and found the cable that is pictured above. I pulled, but couldn't get it to release. I took a rather stout piece of wire and fished it up next to my hand and felt it hook on the loop and then I pulled on it and the trunk un-latched. Kind of tricky, but it worked.

thanks

[Q-Ship986]

This is funny, because when the electrical trunk releases came out 3 years ago I asked a mechanic at my dealer if the spare battery jumper positive cable to the red/orange thing in the fuse box and the negative jumper to the door striker would work, when a battery had been removed from the car.

As a former history major, it seemed you would need something to complete the circuit, like the battery, even a dead battery. I was told the battery could be removed and it would still work, as the trunk release had it's own circuit. Guess not.......

Time for the emergency mechanical release cable so you can put your battery back in.

FWIW, when I store my car for the winter, I remove the battery and fully shut the trunk.

In the spring, I follow the instructions in the vehicle owner's manual to open it back up, using my freshly charged battery.

--Brian

P.S. The manual states that "If the battery is discharged, the lids can be opened only with the aid of a donor battery." Not precisely, because my car also has the emergency release wire pull, at least for the front trunk. My car is a USA '03 986S.

Edited November 1, 2007 by Q-Ship986

[Tool Pants]

My message is 3 years old. Since then I have asked 2 other mechanics if you can use the jumper thing in the fuse box when the battery is disconnected or removed. They also said yes. The trunk release has its own circuit.

Once in a while an owner will say it does not work. Once in a while an owner will say it does not work even if the battery is hooked up.

I suspect the owners are not getting a good ground on the door striker.

[mr2by4]

Will the emergency jumper panel work for the rear compartment as well?

What if the wiring harness is disconnected?

I was in mid engine drop when the motion of the car stopping on the lift caused the rear to slam shut with battery disconnected up front and wiring harness loose in trunk.

Am I in big trouble? Will reconnecting the battery allow me to pop the rear? Will it be illa dvised with the ecu disconnected and ungrounded?

[mr2by4]

In answer to these an other questions,

With the ECU unhoked from the harness, but the battery connected, you can:

Open front hatch

Open rear hatch

operate the top

All of these things were very welcome reveleations to me since I had to tow the car home in the rain with no motor etc.