Cayman Battery so flat that bonnet won't open...

[Ewa Woowa]

So... I didn't drive my Cayman for a month and when I come back to it the battery is sooo flat that the bonnet release on both the car and the key won't "pop" the bonnet...

Oh dear, so how do I get the bonnet open to charge the battery? (or is there another way to charge the battery - I've heard rumours that you can do it thru the cigarette lighter with a certain type of charger?)

Thanks in advance for any help / products you can recommend!

[Vixpy1]

CTEK charger will charge through lighter socket

There is small red thing that pulls out from the fusebox (drivers side, by the go faster peddle) Pull it out and attach a jump lead to it, then negative one to the door latch. then obviouslt both of them to another car/jump pack. This should enable you to pop the bonnet.

At least, thats how it works in the 996 911

[Trev450]

As above. Same system on the Cayman.

[GC8]

Have you looked in the manual? Does the car not have a charging post that you can connect a jumper cable to, to energise the motor?

[Ewa Woowa]

No, fair point, I haven't found anything like that in the manual...
and just to ask another (silly) question: what's a charging post?

[davek_964]

The charging post is what's described above - i.e. an electrical connection you can pull out by the fuse box which you can connect to a battery + with jump leads, then battery negative to door catch - and pop your bonnet open with the switch.

[GC8]

You can charge the car through it and connect another battery to get around problems such as you have, but you cant use it to jump start the car.

My particular example was on a 1990 944, which has its battery in the rear and an electronic tailgate lock, leading to a similar problem when the battery is completely discharged.

[uknick]

It's definitely in the manual. At least it was in 2008.

[Ewa Woowa]

Sorry, I was being all macho and had thrown the manual away (into the glovebox) - I'll dig it out and read it...

[GC8]

RTFM

[MrFreight]

Hi

Had a Cayman for a Couple of years but never had this problem however on My 997 (and previous 911's) if you open the drivers door and look above the top door hinge in the the gap where the wing meets the body there is a small red pull toggle which is the emergency bonnet catch - as I say I don't know if this is fitted on the Cayman and can't remember looking when I had mine to be honest.

Hope that helps

Cheers
MF

[Trev450]

No not on the Cayman, but you do have a little black pull cord to open the petrol flap

[Ewa Woowa]

Ok, as I started this topic I thought I wouldn't start another one for such a related question. Which is:

Can someone pleae recommend a good / cheapish replacement battery for a Cayman?

I make the battery measurements to be about 310 x 185 x 185, so was looking at something like a "Bosch S4 Battery 110":

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Porsche_Cayman_3...

What did the rest of you put in yours when the battery died?
(and possibly: how easy was it?)

[GC8]

You need to relate that to more commonly used battery reference sizes, such as 063 or 065.

[Ewa Woowa]

ohh... I'll give it a go, I've got the original Porsche battery still in it (after 6 years!) and I'm guessing its a '064' as the label says:

moll Kamina - 580 042 064 - 12V 80Ah 380A

[GC8]

Im not sure about that... 063 and 065 are good examples because theyre both Porsche fitments, common and cheap as a result and relatively generic in size.

If you cant find the common reference number for the battery then youll be able to find something somewhere on the internet which lists the dimensions for each battery size/reference. With this youll find it easier to find a suitable battery - looking for a particular model rather than a 'Cayman' battery.