jacksyee

Hi all, (************ SOLVED. ************)

I have a right hand drive 2006 997 Turbo. A month ago the car wouldn’t start and I needed to jump the car. No issues, there was enough charge to open the hood and access the battery. Later that week I drove the car, removed the key and I noticed the internal lights were still on and there was a message that said something like “ignition key not removed”. I thought this was weird, put the key back in, removed it and everything seemed fine.

2 days ago (a few weeks later and several drives later) I had the same issue so I asked my mechanic to come and take a look at the car and check it out.

He came the next morning and he could not get the hood open, the battery was completely dead and the normal jump start process with the fusebox under the steering column would not work. The key was actually unable to be removed normally. I removed it with the paperclip method I found on the Rennlist here:

https://rennlist.com/how-tos/a/porsc...battery-376086

Steps 3-4 to be clear did not work (Mechanic did this)

I cannot get the hood open. If you read the protip in the link above it says there may be a manual emergency release cable that requires the removal of the driver’s side front wheel.

My Mechanic says he cannot get the front wheel off because the tires have a tire lock (I admit, I did not know this) and the key to the tire lock is in the front trunk. I recognize this sounds ridiculous.

My Mechanic thinks there may be a master tire key so they can get the wheel off if they have this key. So a few questions and a plea for advice.

1). Would my model (2006 997 Turbo) have a manual release cable?
2). Can I get a tire lock master key, would the local Porsche dealer have this?
3). Anything else I can try?
4). Do I really need to get the wheel off to get at the manual release cable (of course I’m going to give it a go when I get home but I thought someone may know)

My strong preference is to somehow get the car jumped so I can then take it to the dealer to have it analyzed. The car is in a very awkward place that may make towing impossible, although should there be no other option I’ll have to try that.

When I previously successfully jumped the car I did it with the hood open directly to the battery, not via the fusebox so I am hopeful that I can jump it if I can get the trunk open

I live in Hong Kong if that matters related to the model I have.

Wayne Smith

Many battery charges will not work. They need to see the battery to supply current. The battery is not in the circuit when you pull out the tab. Use a battery.

Make sure you have good jumpers and a good ground connection free of paint.

The switch next to the driver's seat will not work. You must use the button on the key.

The emergency release cable is on the left side. You must remove the wheel to remove the fender liners to get to the cable that's toward the front. But it doesn't work due to what I consider to be a poor design. There are, at this point, many videos and write ups for attaching a proper cable to the bottom part of the frunk latch and running it to behind the right side sidelight. But you can't do this until the frunk is open.

Also look at the motor lid release that is hidden behind the left taillight. This can be routed to behind the license plate in case that solenoid (to open the lid) fails.

sandwedge

Trying to jump it from the fuse box, did you use the right fuse? Not just any one will work. Has to be the red one. Doesn't always work based on other similar stories but I've also read about success stories using the red fuse. Maybe some of the failed attempts had something to do with not grounding the jumper cable properly.

As for the manual release cable, I can't imagine your -06 Turbo wouldn't have one inside the driver's side front wheel well. My -06 C4S had one. How I know is a story for another day but I had to use it. I think accessing it without removing the driver's side front wheel would be a challenge but some mechanics out there manage to do things we wouldn't think possible so who knows.

jacksyee

Thanks very much, my mechanic did the actual jump attempt via the fuse box but I’ll give it a go myself this weekend with a battery. I will need to go buy one.

I suspect my mechanic has done it many times before but I will confirm

Wayne Smith

His is a right side drive. So left and right works for instructions better than driver's side.

His wheel lock socket is in the frunk so getting to the pretty useless cable will be extremely hampered.

If the Owner's Manual is available there are pretty clear instructions in that.

jacksyee

thanks will check.

jacksyee

Thanks - it appears that i need to get the wheel off so I’ll see if Porsche has a tire key I can use or if I can get another one.

Stupid question - are the tire keys standard, like every 06 turbo has the same one? Like can I borrow one? Or is like a housekey, different for each car?

Wayne Smith

The lug keys will not be the same. A Porsche dealer will have a master but you'll need to get the car to them. Meanwhile, I would not put much faith in that cable helping you out.

Get a battery with jumpers to attach to the correct lug (that you will pull out from the fuse panel) and a solid ground location (the brake pedal linkage for instance). Then use the button on your key.

Note 1: Batteries don't like being discharged. You sound like you're due for a new one. Buy it and use that to jump the lug at the fuse panel.

Or ...

Note 2: Plug a battery tender into the center console cigarette lighter and wait over night.

jacksyee

Thank you

Fullyield

Good point Wayne……which is why I move the key for the lug nut lock to the glove box. This also allows immediate access to it following a front end collision.

frybear

I was going to recommend getting a jump pack, as I think they're called. It's an actual portable jumper, not just jumper cables and give you a lot more power than just jumping from another car. But if you're getting a new battery anyway, that's a good route as well. jumper pack is still good for emergencies. good luck! and yes, my wheel lock is...guess where? frunk...

jacksyee

hah. Good lesson on where the lock is. I think I’ll get a jump pack.

tinroof

When you get the frunk opened, go read this thread and wire up an emergency release cable to allow you to open the frunk manually when the battery is dead. Easy to do and incredibly good to have if you need it. BTW, when I got locked out of my frunk (about a week after I bought my 997!) I removed the left front wheel and wheel well and cover to release the frunk with the emergency wire stashed there. I found the emergency wire but no amount of pulling on it would release the frunk. The emergency release shown in the referenced thread actually works.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...ption-diy.html

CAVU

OP,

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...isaster-3.html

go to post 34. It will Open using the method in the owner's manual. Use a charged healthy 12v battery...not a charger, not some weaka$$ jumper pack.

speedracerf4i

I keep a battery tender cable screwed on to the battery terminals at all time. The cable has a quick-release accessible from the outside of the hood right below the wiper. I figure, if the battery goes dead, I can attach a clamp cable to the existing quick-release point, connect it to another 12V source via clamps to open the hood. This is a good preventive measure against this terrible occurrence. I hope.