Opening the boot of the E89 when you have no battery

M

Maria1

Member
This subject has been a perennial favourite - how to get into the boot when the z4 has no power. I have tried this and have the definitive answer. It does not require dismantling the car.

If your E89 has a failed battery or you have disconnected the leads and you shut the boot then the first thing to do is to open the driver’s door (manually with the key if necessary) and open the bonnet. With the bonnet open connect the two terminals to an outboard good condition battery with jump leads. Press the fob. The boot opens.

I tried this with the boot open first of all with the dead battery connected and then disconnected. In both instances the boot actuators worked. I then tried it with the boot shut - in all cases it popped open. Some people have tried this before and failed. It seems as though this might be because the positive lead in the battery compartment is lying on the (negative) chassis. This might cause a short circuit.

In essence as long as you have a spare decent battery and jump leads and can get into the drivers door this is a satisfactory solution. Just remember to regularly use the drivers door key to ensure that it hasn’t seized
 
I did this a few years ago shut the boot accidentally when changing over the seats (negative on battery had been disconnected to prevent airbag warning) I attached the jump leads from the connections in the engine bay to one of my other cars and it just allowed enough power to operate the boot lock
 
Good point on the positive lead lying on the boot floor shorting out if careless…could be v nasty.. :thumbsdown:

Of course if you are dumb enough ‘ careless to shut the boot without a battery accidentally you won’t have protected the positive lead.. :tumbleweed:
 
Obviously I would like to keep the battery in the car with a charger attached but this isn’t feasible. So I had to check that it would all open again when I attached the battery with jump leads again when I return in three months time
 
I have a NOCO Boost device that I'm sure would do the trick if hooked up to the undwerbonnet terminals. Until now though, I've kept it in the boot :oops: ...perhaps time to remedy that.
 
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