jaspeardura

Hello everybody, am new to this board, looks like a great resource!

Does anybody know if the fuse box "jump" method works when the battery has been disconnected? I went on long assignment overseas and thought disconnecting the battery would preserve it, but now I am unable to open the hood. Any input would be appreciated.

Ahsai

Yes it should. Use a portable jumper or hook it up to another car's battery. Use the lock latch on the door jam as the ground point.

jaspeardura

Thank you Ahsai! I figured as much. My car jump isn't working so I think I'll have to call AAA.

Ahsai

Um, that should have worked. Did the interior lights turn on with the jumper cables connected?

jaspeardura

No, the interior lights did not, but again, there is no battery. That jump fuse, I believe, I only for the hood latch. Funny thing though, I can hear the slight "clicking" when I connect the ground.

Ahsai

I checked my owner's manual (996). It says to leave the key on the door lock. Not sure if that is critical or not.

jhbrennan

And assuming you have an electrical trunk release, use your remote to unlock the hood, not the switch/lever in the car. But then again that may not work since there is no battery in the car.

jaspeardura

Well, Ahsai and jhbrennan I just wanted to update you, the trunk did open via the key remote. I called the AAA guy early this morning and he came out and connected his cable to the fuse connector but the trunk failed to release. I mean complete silence. He was bewildered like I was and on a whim he pressed the release button on the key and it released instantly. I was very surprised (and felt really dumb) by this as I did not think the key would work without the battery connected, but it did just fine. We then connected the battery and it started right up, very strong. I think it has sat for about nine months. So, this can be a lesson for anybody that experiences a similar situation.

Thank you both for the help!

Ahsai

Glad you got it sorted. I think the reason was the alarm was armed so only the remote could open the trunk.

jaspeardura

No, it doesn't have an alarm.

996365

FYI
I had this problem today. I fished forever for that release cable, small metallic braided wire, with the skirt partially removed and couldn't find it (i later found it just for fun by removing the passenger headlight but it's hard to get to! it's towards the center of the car at the back left corner of the tray the headlight rests on)

I used a booster pack on the + terminal (passenger side about 2/3 over covered by a black plastic cover) and on a airbox bolt (ground) next to the latch and this gave me the power i needed.

funny, I did this to myself by turning off the battery with a kill switch the po installed after I'd locked the car. stupid. but good to know you can energize the solenoid without a closed circuit at the battery using this method.

hope this helps someone in Google!