Re: Battery / Access question on 2000

I'm going away for a 5 day trip and will park my 2000 at the airport with the alarm on.
*If* the battery goes dead, can I still open the door lock via the key on a 2000 with a dead battery?
*If* I can open the door, does the front trunk pull also work without any battery power?

I'm thinking of dropping a small jump start battery in the small cabinet behind the seats, but I need to know if I will still have access to both getting into the car and the battery.

Thanks all

Quote
AndyInNYC
I'm going away for a 5 day trip and will park my 2000 at the airport with the alarm on.
*If* the battery goes dead, can I still open the door lock via the key on a 2000 with a dead battery?
*If* I can open the door, does the front trunk pull also work without any battery power?

I'm thinking of dropping a small jump start battery in the small cabinet behind the seats, but I need to know if I will still have access to both getting into the car and the battery.

Thanks all

yes, the physical key works without power

yes, the front trunk latch works without power on a MY2000. it's a steel cable.

i had a MY2000 boxster and the battery would last 5 days without being driven, no problem.

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

Note: after five days of being idle, your remote entry shuts off to preserve battery, which means you will probably have to use your key anyway to access the car, but that doesn't mean that your batter is dead. Not certain if you'll be gone a full five days after locking the car at the airport. You could be on the cusp.

The key will open the door.

But in one case where my battery was completely dead, I needed to get power to the fuse box to open the trunk.

In my case, I hooked to the bar in the fuse box. Others have used a power pack off the cigarette lighter.

At least in my case, it was not a steel wire.

There is a wire backup, it is typically in the top of the US driver's side wheel well. Others have found it under the bumper. Either way, it is not a bad idea to route that backup to a point right behind the tow hook.

There are instructions around. I think Pedro posted some once upon a time.

Short version, do not assume you will not need power to the fuse box.

[sites.google.com]


This is the one I was referring to...

Third Method

Inside the top of the driver's front wheel well, just aft of the spring coil mount, is a little rectangular corner in the black plastic shroud that lines the inside of the wheel well. Reach under this, and you will feel a "wire" about 1/8" in diameter. Too thick for an electrical wire (and not in a harness anyway). Tug this cable gently out from behind the shroud and get a good grip on a loop of it. Now pull hard away from the headlight once, and prepare to hear the music of the alarm as the front hood pops open. Grab a 10mm wrench and take off one of the battery cables to silence the alarm.

Eric adds:

"If you lay down under the front bumper you will see 4 openings and you can look all the way up them to the hood. The space between the trunk and bumper.

All the way up on the passenger side you will see the piping for the AC. (at least that's what I think it is). In my case I was also able to see the 1/4" cable that runs from the trunk latch towards the passenger front wheel well.

I was able to reach up and hook that cable and pull down on it to open the trunk, I then rerouted the cable making it easier to do again if needed.

I actually used part of a plant hangar my neighbor had in his garage and a flashlight so I could see what I was doing. It would help if you could jack up that side and stabilize it to make it a bit easier to get under there."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/2021 03:13PM by JMstamford,ct. (view changes)

Here a detailed view of alternatives from Pedros board

[google]http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_5/Worst_Case_Scenario.html[/google]

I don't think any part of my latch/cable to the front trunk is electrically operated. That's part of what I'm trying to confirm (now with conflicting comments).

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AndyInNYC
I don't think any part of my latch/cable to the front trunk is electrically operated. That's part of what I'm trying to confirm (now with conflicting comments).

exactly. on the MY2000, both front and rear trunks were mechanically operated with the steel cable that i refered to. i believe this was changed in MY2001 but i don't remember if it was to two electrically operated latches or one of each.

i used to disconnect the battery on my MY2000 S for the winter and never had a problem opening the opening the door with the mechanical key and opening the front trunk using the lever release.

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

I will state that on the one occasion that my battery was totally dead, the front truck could not be opened from the latch on the driver's door.

I was surprised at the time, but using the bar in the fuse box was easy enough. It popped almost right away.

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JMstamford,ct
I will state that on the one occasion that my battery was totally dead, the front truck could not be opened from the latch on the driver's door.

I was surprised at the time, but using the bar in the fuse box was easy enough. It popped almost right away.

that's strange. i assume it was a mechanical lever and not like a power window switch since it was a MY2000.

i seem to recall that there was some kind of pin that locked the mechanical lever though. i don't remember the details. perhaps somebody else can. i remember disconnecting my battery and closing the hood and then opening it back up again 5-6 months later but perhaps that's because i didn't lock the car since it was i my secure garage. so maybe that pin didn't engage in the lever.

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

As JM has mentioned, when you arm the immobilizer on a car with manual trunk releases, the releases are mechanically locked. If your battery is dead and the alarm is on, you can open the door with the key but you cannot get into the front trunk.

I recommend you find and try using the manual front trunk release cable before your trip just in case. Many people reroute the cable to just inside the tow hook socket on the front bumper because it's easy to get at.

If I just lock the door manually (with the key) will that avoid the problem? I'm not sure what an alarm going off in the parking lot of a small, regional airport will really accomplish anyway.

Andrew

As long as the battery is connected, if you lock the door with the key the immobilizer is activated and the levers are locked.

Really, if you reroute the frunk release cable to just inside the tow hook, you can open it in about 10 seconds even if the battery is dead.

Well, the story ends well, but I had a slight scare.

I parked the car at 10AM on Thursday and returned at 6PM on Tuesday - we can all do the math.
The remote did *not* open the door. I was afraid I was doomed
I opened the car with the key and started the car - it started immediately (good news!).
I let the engine run for 5 minutes and tried the remote again and the lock on the trunk released (allowing me to load my suitcase back into the car).

So, in the end the problem was resolved.

Andrew

The automatic opening from the key gets disabled after a couple/few days. I forget how long exactly.

Once started, everything should work as normal.

glad the trip worked out.

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JMstamford,ct
The automatic opening from the key gets disabled after a couple/few days. I forget how long exactly.

i seem to recall 5 days but i could be mistaken.

tuesday evening would be just over 5 days from thursday morning.

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