Car shut down and shut me out. Need help

[Heavydee]

Hi --

I'm a new owner of a 1999 Boxster. The battery drained completely down, and it seems like the security system completely locked down the car. I cannot open either trunk with the levers, as they will basically not lift up. I tried using the emergency front trunk release, but it will not budge. I can get in the car, but I need to raise the lid so that I can charge it. Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

[Zky Captain]

There is a red item on the fuse box that will pull out slightly. Pull it out and attach the positive side of a jumper cable to it. Then attach the negative cable to the door latch. You then have enough power to pop the front trunk. 

[Heavydee]

Thanks for the advice. I will have to try it during daylight tomorrow.

[Heavydee]

My car does not have this terminal feature. I have found that I have to put power to the C3 fuse. Does this sound right for a 1999?

[crwarren11]

This is not something I’ve ever run into, so take this with a grain of salt, but you could try one of those battery chargers that run through the cigarette lighter receptacle. 

[Heavydee]

I tried one of those chargers as well. Left it charging for 3-4 hours and got nothing. Plus, the car was making funny noises, so I decided it was not good to leave it. There is a process I found on line where you put 12V DC power to fuse C3, which is the alarm system. I haven't had time try this, but I will report on it as soon as I do.

[mikefocke]

Try pulling on the emergency trunk release cable with someone pushing down slightly on the hood (front trunk cover, not the top (got to account for the UK folks and their descriptive terms))

[Heavydee]

So, I tired putting power to the C3 fuse using a battery charger, and this did not work. I cannot open the hood. Any other ideas? I am very frustrated and desperate.

[wizard]

The following is copied from another forum, but relates to the same car as yours -

 

Since it is an '00 or older, the release levers for the trunks are manual and there is a 'lock out' plate to prevent them from being release when the car is locked or the driver's door is closed. However, you can use a small flat headed screwdriverto slide between the two levers on the driver's door sill to manually unlock them. Here's how:

With a flashlight and skinny 3-4" long flat screwdriver (like one of those electrician promo ones handed out at trade shows...) slide it down between the front and rear levers. Under the front trunk lever, you'll see a U shaped cut out that will have a white plate under it. The white plate, when the vehicle is locked or doors are closed, slides over the U shaped cutout to prevent the levers from being raised. Using the screwdriver, slide the white plate from the outside of the car towards the center. Once it's clear, just pull up on the lever to release either trunk.
 

You might care to give it a try.

[Heavydee]

Wizard --

That worked for me. I thought that I had posted it. Thanks for posting it though. It did the trick for me.

 

Heavydee

 

[mikefocke]

A handy reference is here. It lists 5 possible ways to get in the front trunk.