997 ... dead battery, fuse pop out doesn't work ...

[James44]

... and can't get to emergency cable behind front wheel as its parked in garage.

Its the perfect storm ...

plus the locking wheel nut is in the boot.

need to change the battery, it won't charge through cigarette lighter either.

any ideas ??????

[Chlorothalonil]

I couldn't get mine to open off the sill switch but it did off the fob, just.

[Oso]

As above, worth trying the fob as well as the sill switch for the front lid.

Also worth experimenting with where you connect the negative terminal of the booster battery - make sure it is to somewhere with no paint on it, ideally the fixing on the B pillar onto which the door locks.

If you need to use the emergency release cable you don't need to take the wheel off to remove the wheel arch trim.

You could try pushing the car out the garage too.

You have my sympathy, I have been there

[Polome]

Try connecting your slave battery via pop out connection on fuse box, leave connected for 10 minutes and then use key fob to open bonnet....sounds like you may have tried this already but in my experience leaving. the connection for 10 mins before pressing fob worked ....good luck.

[James44]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I have left the spare battery connected to the fuse box boot release for some time and have tried different earths just in case, all to no avail. Also used the key fob rather than the switch. as its very, very dead I think the keys are redundant.

There is a further complication ... one of the keys is stuck in the ignition and the steering wheel lock is on and o cant release it. makes pushing out of the garage a little trickier. Plus as soon as it out of the garage its onto thick gravel, not ideal for pushing a car along.

I think there is a way to get the ignition key out. This all started when the alarm went off as the battery was on its last legs.

Can i just ask what side the cable release is on? I believe its the passenger side for UK cars? Rennlist says on 'drivers' side which will be a US view, but i guess the cable could be located on the drivers side for RH drive cars? Would make my life much, much easier if it was as its too close to the wall on the passenger side to get a jack under. I can barely fit in the gap anyway.

[Oso]

There is a mechanical key release - you see the little cover on the ignition at about 8 o'clock? If you push that in and turn key it should come out.

[Oso]

It is interesting that even after connecting the booster battery the steering lock is still on and you can't get the key out.

Even when I've not had enough juice to open the front lid with the booster battery connected to the fuse box, it has provided enough to unlock the steering.

[Oso]

The cable release for my car was in the front of the LEFT hand side wheel arch, behind the liner. I must admit (since I was lucky enough to have Porsche Assist) I got the AA to come out and help me on the advice of my OPC and the AA man said he had seen cars with the cable on the drivers side as well. I had phoned my OPC to confirm with them which side it was on my car.

You don't need to jack the car up or take the wheel off it is possible to get all of the wheel arch liner retainer screws out with the wheel on and the car on the floor.

Edited by Oso on Monday 9th April 20:07

[James44]

yeah, the battery is really goosed.

It was flat and I put it on charge last week. A couple of days later the charger hadn't got passed second stage and car would still alarm/not respond. I worked out the battery was truly dead. For some unknown reason I shut the bonnet ... duh

[AW10]

And you're sure the spare battery has a decent charge??

[James44]

Fixed it ... thanks for all the help.

Firstly, got the key out easily enough.

OSO and AW10 got me thinking ...

The battery pack I was using on the fuseboard connector wasn't enough. It's a large one, had it about 10 years, its always on charge and starts my three old cars well enough in an emergency. I wondered whether it was powerful enough.

So I used the new battery which arrived today instead (incidentally, the bosch S4 one currently on offer from eurocarparts @£117) which as the silver line is supposed to be fully charged. With that I got a couple of relay type noises but no boot lid release.

So I connected my battery pack in parallel to the new battery and bingo on first try.

Makes you wonder how much juice that boot release solenoid needs ...

Anyway a few lessons learned along the way.

Thanks again for the help

[Oso]

Excellent news, pleased to hear that and well done for persevering.

That is a really interesting tip on the double battery in parallel, thanks for sharing that, I learned something there from your experience - which is maybe only a small consolation for all the stress - but still, appreciated!

Hope you get a nice weekend now to enjoy the car now!!

[tr7v8]

If the old battery is really knackered it will drag down the voltage of whatever you're using. Hence the jump pack wasn't man enough.

[LPAK]

Thought I'd bump this thread in case useful for anyone after a long spell stuck at home.

My battery was so dead that a battery pack couldn't pop the hood. As soon as I connected it to my other car with jumper leads, I could pop the hood again (and then used my battery pack to jump start the car).

[Keith12345]

Here's a question that extends the discussion.

I have disconnected my battery on my Cayman GT4 and shut the bonnet. The car is now stored. Can I pop the bonnet using the Porsche described method (battery pole in fuse box and door hinge) ?

[CherryYogurts]

Have you tried to get the bonnet open that way?

I'm thinking of doing the same to store my car over the winter as I can't power up a CTek as there's no 240v supply

[Pope]

Keith12345 said:

Here's a question that extends the discussion.

I have disconnected my battery on my Cayman GT4 and shut the bonnet. The car is now stored. Can I pop the bonnet using the Porsche described method (battery pole in fuse box and door hinge) ?

Yes

[CherryYogurts]

I'm thinking of fitting one of these battery brain remote cut off's
For £150 they offer quite a good way to save the battery over winter when parked up
are there any issues with long term dissconection of the battery in a 997.2?

https://www.batterybrain.co.uk/about/

[Chubbyross]

CherryYogurts said:

I'm thinking of fitting one of these battery brain remote cut off's
For £150 they offer quite a good way to save the battery over winter when parked up
are there any issues with long term dissconection of the battery in a 997.2?

https://www.batterybrain.co.uk/about/

I’m rather a dullard when it comes to anything mechanical or electrical so I’m rather confused by this. Won’t the battery simply lose its charge over time anyway if it’s not being charged by the alternator?

[CherryYogurts]

Chubbyross said:

I’m rather a dullard when it comes to anything mechanical or electrical so I’m rather confused by this. Won’t the battery simply lose its charge over time anyway if it’s not being charged by the alternator?

Once disconnected from the car the battery can maintain near full charge ie above 12v for many months
I always disconnect one of the battery terminals if I'm not going to use one of my cars for more that 3 weeks

most modern cars have a continuous battery drain from the alarm system locking system and location devices

it's a real problem if you don't have a 240v supply available to connect a battery maintainer / charger

disconnection is the best option