Hi fellow Boxster owners - I have a 2000 Porsche Boxster that I've had for nearly its whole life. Recently I got off track and didn't drive the car for too long and now the battery is dead and I can't even open the front hood (as appears to be some electronics needed for that - not just a direct cable as I would have thought before this happened).

I have read online about some models having a spot that can be used in the fuse box by the driver's footwell - to hook up a good battery too basically - just enough that I should be able to pop the front lid. However, in my car, I have searched far and wide in that fuse box and don't seem to see the same spot. I also scanned thru my owner's manual and don't see mention there of this.

Can anyone confirm if the 2000 model year base Boxster really has this? And if so - a picture of exactly where it is would help greatly. And if it doesn't I also have read some things about possibly finding the cable under the car but couldn't really find clear instructions. Hoping I don't have to go down that path as the jump option would be much easier for me where the car is parked now (tight confines).

I called my Porsche dealer - and after looking it up they said some, but not all the 2000's have the thing in the fuse box by the driver's footwell that allows you to charge there enough to open the hood. Mine unfortunately is not one of these. So they said the mechanism to manually unlock the front truck is under the driver's side somewhere up under the front driver side's wheel well and/or headlight. So that's where I'm at now. Any help is appreciated. Car is in a tight confines where it is now (not much room around front half of the car) - so I might have to put in neutral and push it out of the garage it's in to get at it.

... the direct-to-the-battery lug wasn't introduced until 2001 for model year 2002, so you can't find it because you don't have it.
The emergency cable is not in the driver's wheel well, that's for the 987s, not 986s.
The emergency cable in your car was installed by the factory to end near the right (passenger) headlight.
But the easiest way is to feed 12 volts through the 12 volt socket. It won't pass much current, so don't try to charge it in a few minutes.
Put it in trickle mode and let it charge overnight. In the morning you should be able to open the trunk.
If not, you'll have to find the end of the emergency cable close to the headlight from underneath.
You'll have to undo the bottom screws of the bumper skin so that you can pull the bottom forward and sneak a peek up into the bumper.
Use a flashlight. You're looking for a thin (1/8") braided stainless cable with a loop at the end.
Grab the end with a hook fashioned from a coat hanger or similar and bring it down to your hand.
Once you have it firmly tug the cable towards the right side in one jerk. This should pop the hood.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Hi Pedro - thanks for the time to answer.

It would really help me if you can give a link or specific product I can go out and buy for this - I don't have one now and since this is a Porsche - everything I do to it - needs to have some caution:

"feed 12 volts through the 12 volt socket. It won't pass much current, so don't try to charge it in a few minutes.
Put it in trickle mode and let it charge overnight."

Also - maybe there is a way to pull a release cable from either side?? - this video was supposedly a 2000 Boxster and the guy on it opens the trunk by pulling a cable found on the left hand side and then another where I see a guy pulling an emergency cable from the right like you mentioned


[www.youtube.com] <-from the left
[www.youtube.com] <-from the right (2001 Boxster S - but still a 986 like mine)

but it wasn't the trunk. The cable is connected directly to the latch. The clunk is the sound of the latch pushing the hood up. When it's already up, as in the linked video, it doesn't make that sound. So he found some cable and it clunked when he pulled it, but it's not the frunk cable.

What he pulled there was the actual shrouded bowden cable that goes from the pull on the driver's threshold to the hood latch itself.
Doing that is really not advisable because it will damage the shroud and its mounting points.
This would be a last resort if, for instance the actual emergency cable on the right headlight is broken or missing and your ice cream is melting in the frunk!.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

... is correct.
The cable comes from the factory tucked the way he shows, next to the right headlight.
That loop is what I mentioned you should try to hook from underneath.
Any small battery maintainer/trickle charger with a 12 volt connector should do the trick.
If you want a good one to connect to the battery, then a Schumacher, CTEK or similar will work (even one from Harbor Freight Tools).
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

and I have the terminal in the fusebox.
I bought my car in February, so appx. halfway in the MY cycle.

I have had the battery mostly flat on two occassions. One time I was able to bump start. Problem solved.
The second time, I used the terminal.

Note to self, I need to fish out the cable.

If you have a trickle charger that plugs into the cig lighter, you should be able to power the battery enough to get the car to start. Even before it can start, it should get enough juice to the battery to allow you to pull the release handle.

Andrew

Follow this link to see how to move the plate that is blocking the release lever:
[rainydaymagazine.com]

This solution is moving the plate which is blocking the lever with a thin screwdriver, thus enabling the lever to be pulled...it will ALWAYS work once you understand it.
It does not depend on the cable or charging the battery.

However, it is tricky and you kind of have to do it by feel...so it can be frustrating if you don't have an idea of what you are trying to achieve.

I've drawn the diagram the best I could, but it could be clearer...good luck!!!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2021 09:42PM by RainyDayGarage. (view changes)

First - thanks all for the feedback - it's been said before and all of you probably heard it - but it's appreciated

Thanks to the info here I opted to try just the 12v trickle charge option first - and decided to just buy the brand name charger - so got this Porsche Battery Maintainer 958-044-901-71. Heh, what's another $200 on this car anyway - no one's counting anymore....

And it worked like a charm. Within 30 min or so I tried to pop the hood and was able to. It's a good sound to hear. I left the hood popped and am letting it "try" to charge overnight. It error coded out once already - I'm guessing the battery is too far gone to really be charged up.

Do you have a charger or a maintainer? Often a maintainer demands that the battery be charged to a certain point before it will work. A combination charger/maintainer withh not.

Hello Mikefocke
It looks like what I bought is a maintainer, not a charger. I plan to remove the battery and take it somewhere to see if they can charge it still (I don't have a charger of my own) - and if not, buy a new battery. The battery was pretty new (1yr old) but I'm not sure if it can still be charged up and used.

why not buy a charger yourself? they are very inexpensive. i got a low power one on sale and it was probably less than a garage would ask to charge a battery.

--
MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010