A few after the fact thoughts ...

1. I was testing the sheath's ability to safely reset by using a screw driver to reset the latch. This affect the top linkage without pushing down on the lower linkage. It may be that the sheath to coupler will safely reset but my test procedure failed to do so.

2. The solenoid end slides freely between large and small sheaths. Opening the frunk by pulling directly at the solenoid requires very little force, does no carpet damage, mechanically resets safely, and makes more sense IMHO. I'm still tempted to modify the cable or the frunk to allow enough motion to do this ... And route the cable through the frunk with a straight pull over to the side light.

3. At some time during all of this playing the front computer seems to have developed another failure. The first computer was replaced when the hazard lights started operating without control. The second computer immediately could not sense the frunk was open to turn on the frunk light (the light would turn on with a Durametric). I rewired the frunk light to bypass the computer. But today the computer decided to always activate the lower solenoid the escape lever. In other words, the computer decided to make it impossible to keep the frunk lid down. This would be a bad thing driving at speed (I once watched a hood open on a Toyota at freeway speed and was most impressed that the lady got off the road successfully with only shattered glass in her lap). So I removed the cable ... I'm not especially concerned about locking myself into the frunk. At some point I will need to yank the bumper to get to the solenoid. But that was not a job for today.

In other words ... I'm still not happy.

 

following (next job)

 

First off I must commend Wayne on his diligence and detailed investigation to correct what seems to be an engineering F***up on behalf of Porsche.

While delving through Wayne's research and the challenges to find a viable solution, a different alternative came to me. The reason why we would need to use this emergency release cable is because of some electrical problem and most probably because of a dead battery.

So what if we could wire a parallel power feed directly to the solenoid and whose access would be strategically placed to allow a 12V connection to activate the solenoid?

I realize that there's an alternative to connect a battery or a charger to a lug in the fuse panel but I've also read of instances where that doesn't work, specially if the car battery is completely dead. Hence, my idea would require not only the wiring of something with like this ( ) but also the use of a diode in the splice so that you don't "back feed" power to the car when you hook up a power source to the spliced connection. Based on this type of connection you could use any 12VDC source or most battery tenders since these already have this type of connector.

Obviously, this is just an idea based on the assumption that the solenoid itself is not defective! But should that not be a problem, then what I propose would require more refinement as well as placing the power feed connection in a strategic location with easy access.

Just a thought...

 

A low battery can be charged via either cigarette lighter. Or you can connect to the lug on the fuse box. So a battery problem has a solution.

The worry is regarding other failure modes ...

1. Connections. There is no such thing as a good connection. Some are better than others. But they are all just looking for an excise to fail. Adding a diode is adding a connection. But the second source idea would be useful in this failure mode.

2. The connection problem can be extended to mechanical connections. The only solution here would be to add a cable to the latch itself. That overcomes the electrical connecting as well. There is not a good place to add a second cable. Maybe that works by sliding the eyelet to the latch and running it entirely outside the frunk.

3. Electrical failure. Solenoids can burn out. You could claim this creates a connection problem in the coil. I had to help a grocery delivery girl driving a Honda Accord when this happened to her. Yep, Honda Accord and a burnt solenoid to open the trunk. Solution 1 above wouldn't help. Honda opted for solution 2 which was fine.

And so ... Writing this gave me an alternative idea. Thanks!!!

BTW ... For Astur's idea there is a hole above the brake pedal that makes routing wires into the frunk area a breeze.

 

That is true but what if you have a totally dead battery? Also by connecting a battery charger via the cigarette lighter and/or fuse box lug you're basically energizing the whole car and all its loads... which may not be desirable or even keep the solenoid from receiving adequate power. I've read posts wherein these two types of connections did not work and which is what I want to circumvent via the connection I proposed.

Anyway, all possible solutions are on the table and hopefully our vast member base can keep adding alternatives or permutations.

 

Wayne, take a look at CayenneS2083's post regarding a dead battery problem and the use of the fuse box lug. https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...-disaster.html

This is exactly what I'm trying to circumvent!

 

The fuse box trick works fine with a dead battery IF you follow the directions in the manual. My question is about the wiring diagram. When you pull the contact all the way out in the fuse box (like is says to) is that making a special connection to the latch solenoid and remote sensor only? Or is it just an inconvenient- convenient place to inject power to the whole + 12 side? I agree that a full dead battery would hinder the use of attaching a small auxiliary battery to the full 12 system at least until the big battery accepts some charge.
Or stated another way, - When pulled out ,is the fuse box contact making connection to the full +12 volt side of the car? My reason for questioning this that it appears the only successful method to open the frunk is with the fuse box trick done exactly as stated.
A good project for those experimenting or someone with the full detail wiring diagram .

 

Per Triple A (CSAA in my case) fully pulling on the lug offers power to only the latch. But that doesn't really answer the question of why the key FOB works (requiring computer intervention) but the button by the seat does not (direct connection).

So I remain skeptical regarding AAA.

My feeling is a direct secondary cable to the latch is the most direct and fool proof method, although not necessarily the only option.

I'm wondering now if I can drill an extra hole into the latch lever for direct connection ... And then route the cable in front of the headlight and over to the side light. There is a hole there. Guess I'll be digging into it again!!!

 

I fully agree. Of course being a mechanical engineer, I am partial to fool-proof mechanical systems when something really needs to work. I am learning all kind of stuff here. Being a 40+ year member of AAA ( SCAA here in Ventura), I did not know they have a knowledge base. Anyway, I think their description of the circuit agrees with my theory that the fusebox contact only goes to something- like the latch solenoid and it has to also connect to the wireless sensor that picks up the signal from the key fob. This must be true as it gets around the issue of a really dead battery or no battery defeating the emergency procedure . Also for those that have problems with the fuse box method usually find that they did it wrong, i.e. not using the fob, etc. Therefore for an electrical method to open the frunk in emergency, the described method by Porsche seems to be excellent/ close to fool-proof IF the method is followed that is in the owners manual and included in the fuse box cover. It also proves that using the cigar lighter or accessory plug will never work with a dead-dead or removed battery.
Back to the mechanical belt and suspenders method. Porsche has provided us the pull wire option as a last ditch way to get into the frunk. We need to see why it is so hard to get to work. The other post going on is for a 997.1 car I believe and it shows different (maybe?) cable connections to the latch. This is from the pics/video by "b3freak" on the "locked trunk thread".
Is a solution possible that grabs the cable used for the "inside the frunk emergency handle"?
Is the 997.1 system same or different than 997.2? if different, how so?
Keep working on this, the fan club is growing by the hour.

 

OK, a closer (yet) inspection. I am attaching 4 photos. The black surfaced photo (3) shows the 997.2 latch from the front. A similar photo in silver (4) shows it from the back. Another photo (1) shows it from the top right where the solenoid cable attaches. And the last photo (2) is the key ... A close up of the cable attachment to the lever. The top end (away from the wiring) is the solenoid attachment. The bottom end can have a cable attached as well. This cable can exit to the right of the car and route over the radiators and (per Pete's suggestion) store in the side light housing. But now on the right side of the car rather than the left. There should be no need to drill holes or do any machining. For easiest routing I suspect the bumper will need to some off. And then some kind of hanger will be needed to secure the release cable. But this seems doable 8)

The more I look at this the more I believe the latch designer intended it to be this way. There was effort done in the brackets to enable this. It appears there was a communication gap between engineers.

Then again, given that the stamping on the latch is the Czech Republic, and this part seems to be designed to work from either side, perhaps the part was universal rather than Porsche specific and Porsche merely missed an opportunity to use the symmetry to their advantage.

 

So the simple setup ...

 

Now you just need to locate that yellow pull wire behind one of the front signal lights where it has a nice straight pull path and you're golden. The best news is that once you've done this, it means you will never have to use it because you're prepared - like carrying an umbrella when there is a chance of rain.

Nice job Wayne !

 

Wayne, kudos to you for the fantastic research and a very viable solution. It's simple and best of all, completely reliable.

I don't want to steal you thunder and it's probably a rhetorical question but shouldn't have one of those fantastic Porsche engineers have designed it like that from the beginning?

 

Two different frunk threads going on. I cross posted. Sorry. Please refer to both for my full results. Bottom line ... It works!!!