All,

I've got a 991.1 out in the garage which is suffering in a completely dead state. The car drove fine just the other day when about 100 miles were put on it. On return the next day the car seems to be completely dead.

Well versed with emergency hood opening skills (the car is stored every winter), we were found to be without luck. When plugging a battery charger in via red tab fuse panel connection, the car remains dead - no lights, no ability to open the hood; just dead. Even when left for a sufficient amount of time.

We've tried a few different battery chargers and have verified they are functional with a DMM.

Couple of questions that might help us diagnose this a bit further:

1) Does anyone know if a the red tab in the fuse panel is fused?

2) What is an approximate current draw when plugging in via the red tab?

3) Are there any indications, ie. lights or features that will give us some positive feedback that the car is coming alive when we connect to the red tab?

4) Is connecting a battery charger via the cigarette lighter an option, or is that on a relay?

And just to confirm, we are connecting the positive side of the battery charger to the red tab, and the negative side to the door hinge or the latch/. Just as we have done in the past to get the car out of winter storage.

Appreciate any ideas that you may have to help troubleshoot this problem.

Thanks in advance.

 

#4 could work, but it would take a while.

 

Are u sure the ground is good u are using?

 

Have you considered removing the battery when you store the car for the winter?

 

Friend of mine had a similar situation on his 997. After hooking up to the fuse box, car would still not respond. He finally tried the button on the key fob and the frank opened.

 

It sounds like this is not the first time this battery has been allowed to go flat? Based on the "Well versed with emergency hood opening skills (the car is stored every winter)" statement. You don't mention it so I'll ask... Are you pressing the button on the fob for 2 seconds to open the frunk?

The battery may have a dead short. No amount of charging will ever bring it back. And if the battery did suddenly dead short it may have blown a fuse or fuses. Hopefully nothing important was fried.

That's my 2 cents.

The positive terminal for opening the frunk does not have a fuse incorporated but it will almost certainly be part of a fused circuit. It may require inspecting for a blown fuse.

 

I seem to caught a few of you off guard with my "Well versed with emergency hood opening skills (the car is stored every winter)" statement. Opening the hood in that way is known as "Emergency" per the manual which I get a kick out of. Anyhow when we disconnect the battery for the winter, it seems to be the logical way to get back into the frunk, as such I thought we were "well versed".

Luckily (and no help to being well versed) we were able to get into the frunk with a bit more time and current. Let me explain, when you disconnect the battery for winter storage the frunk opens easily and quickly when you hook up 12 volts to the red tab. However, if your battery is dead, then it takes time and current to get enough energy in the system to actuate the frunk. This took us by surprise because it took a lot longer than anticipated, hence my dead dead comment.

It was a bit of a curve ball with the car working fine the day before.

Thanks for the feedback, it got us rolling once again.

 

What about the emergency frunk release cable (inside the front left wheel well)? Number 16 in the diagram.

 

That would absolutely work. Only problem is that you'd have to be locked inside the frunk in order to use it.

 

Oh, that made me laugh!

 

 

I'm guessing that you do not have access to electricity when you store for the winter, is that correct? Otherwise why disconnect the battery?? Hook up a battery tender to Acc. in the passenger wheel well. I do that when I have to store car for a month. Have done it for years with 997 and my current 991. Never a problem no matter what anybody says. Just make sure you use a battery tender correct for your battery.

 

No, not the dumb kid/kidnap victim handle in the trunk. The cable I refered to has an end hidden inside the front wheel well, just for situations like this.

 

Porsche should have a physical cable to pull to open frunk when battery goes dead just like they have a physical cable to open gas tank cover when it gets stuck.

 

They do, see the post above.

See the thread below for a clearer image of the process:

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/8627...y-is-dead.html

It's a PITA but it's there.