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      08-06-2014, 01:01 AM   #23
aznoo1
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well push from the top there are 2 tabs there.
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      08-06-2014, 01:03 AM   #24
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i think the only thing that would break would be #4. Push really hard from the top you either break it, or it pops off.
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      08-06-2014, 03:13 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aznoo1 View Post
i think the only thing that would break would be #4. Push really hard from the top you either break it, or it pops off.
Thank you so much. Finally got it done.
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      08-06-2014, 03:46 AM   #26
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To everyone who helped out, thanks a bunch.

So after trying everything that was posted on this thread, I went on to punch in the center compartment. Broke some clips but what the hell, who really cares at this point. Sure beats towing the car to the stealership right?

Was finally able to access the trunk. Here's where the fun begins.



So here's what i'm looking at. All I had to do was somehow connect the loop to the battery. Easier said than done, you see, I've got a wingspan of roughly 6'2 and yet I needed another 6 inches (that's what she said) just to reach the red. To be safe, when I disconnected it in the first place, I decided to loop it under another set of wires just to make sure they wont touch when I'm gone.


So I attempted to unloop it with my little hand friend.


Oh no, where did you go? Further investigation shows that it has nestled quite comfortably in a position that is even harder to reach (even with my hand friend)


After about another 45mins of fiddling around, my hand friend broke and it felt like losing Wilson. I then fished it out with the coat hanger that I was using to fish for the emergency latch.

Left hand with the key, right hand surgically placing the loop as close as possible to the red on the battery. Spark, press trunk button on key and presto. Never been happier about opening a trunk.


Mind you this was done outdoor, 36c degrees, humid Hong Kong weather.

So your question is, why go through all that trouble NKC? why not just get an extension and reach for the emergency latch dumbass? Well, turns out I ain't got one, well at least not one that can be found especially in an emergency situation.


So once again, thanks a lot for the help everyone, especially aznoo1 my fellow Canadian and Eltee for the latch pics and detail.

Moral of the story: NEVER REMOVE THE BATTERY CONNECTION AND CLOSE THE TRUNK.

TL;DR Read sentence above.
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      08-06-2014, 05:51 AM   #27
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I think you could have also popped the engine hood, and connected jumper cables to the car's pos and neg - under the hood. Then used the key fob to open the trunk.
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      08-06-2014, 10:32 AM   #28
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This is a guess but would it be possible after grounding the car, to run a wire to the fuse panel to power the top (roof)?
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      08-06-2014, 10:56 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
I think you could have also popped the engine hood, and connected jumper cables to the car's pos and neg - under the hood. Then used the key fob to open the trunk.
Read the first couple posts.....


I bet there is somewhere under the hood or at the main fuse panel to add 12V and power up the system to use the trunk.
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      08-06-2014, 11:10 AM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bhschluter View Post
This is a guess but would it be possible after grounding the car, to run a wire to the fuse panel to power the top (roof)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kessler35is View Post
Read the first couple posts.....


I bet there is somewhere under the hood or at the main fuse panel to add 12V and power up the system to use the trunk.
You guys are probably right about that. I've pondered the option of attacking the fuse panel if my attempt to enter from the center compartment fails. I've never opened that panel from the trunk so I always thought it was fixed and not removable.

I'll try the fuse option next time lol.
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      08-06-2014, 11:45 AM   #31
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Excellent thread...very entertaining!
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      08-06-2014, 12:38 PM   #32
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well done!! 36C + humid is a tough environment to work in (move to San Diego... j/k)

Did you ever get your hands on the "old school" charger? Good to know if that isn't a viable approach
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      08-06-2014, 12:49 PM   #33
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well done!! 36C + humid is a tough environment to work in (move to San Diego... j/k)

Did you ever get your hands on the "old school" charger? Good to know if that isn't a viable approach
The closest I've lived to San Diego is probably Ojai Valley and I've never complained about the weather there. You lucky bastxxx.

I didn't get to try the old school charger as my many attempts + phone calls from BMW confirmed that nothing in the front would pass to the rear to give even a speck of power. Please give it a try and let me know though. Just try it without closing the trunk
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      08-06-2014, 12:56 PM   #34
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Just curious, why did you unplug the battery? ...and why does your car not have that emergency trunk latch?
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      08-06-2014, 01:10 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tranquility View Post
Just curious, why did you unplug the battery? ...and why does your car not have that emergency trunk latch?
I don't drive the E89 as often now since I have a kid and another redundant car (MZ3). I've racked up 10k kms in the last 3 years for the E89 as I drive two other redundant SUV's for work and errand runs. The battery has already been acting up lately and I had to go to Vancouver for a month vacation. I'm 100% certain the car won't start if I left it connected and sitting for a month. It has happened several times before.

Regarding the emergency latch, I have no freaking idea why they wouldn't have it here.
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      08-06-2014, 02:01 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nkc View Post
I didn't get to try the old school charger as my many attempts + phone calls from BMW confirmed that nothing in the front would pass to the rear to give even a speck of power. Please give it a try and let me know though. Just try it without closing the trunk
I wonder if that was a difference between 1er and Z series wiring.

The 135 owner whose post I linked also disconnected his battery, then powered up the car using the old school charger to the front terminals under the hood.

I gave away my old school charger when I sold my motorcycle many years ago so I can't test, sorry.

For what it is worth, maybe next time you can put in a tickle charger, or just let the battery run down but connected so you can jump start it...
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      08-06-2014, 06:05 PM   #37
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great to see problem solved

Last edited by Eltee; 08-06-2014 at 09:26 PM..
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      08-07-2014, 08:33 AM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tranquility View Post
Just curious, why did you unplug the battery? ...and why does your car not have that emergency trunk latch?
Those latches may not be required in other countries, or the previous owner took it out so he could kidnap little Chinese girls???

If it was bought used, my guess someone thought, humm whats this do? Grabbed it and pulled too hard and snapped the cable, then was too embarrassed to take it and get it fixed.
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      08-07-2014, 02:12 PM   #39
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I know BMW can open the thing when the trunk wont open due to sensor failure. so there has to be a way to do it from in the car even if there is no power to the vehicle. Afterall if the battery dies completely and wont take a charge there would be no way to change it and the car would just rot away.
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      08-07-2014, 07:35 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rking117 View Post
I know BMW can open the thing when the trunk wont open due to sensor failure. so there has to be a way to do it from in the car even if there is no power to the vehicle. Afterall if the battery dies completely and wont take a charge there would be no way to change it and the car would just rot away.
I'm sure they can but they won't teach me how. Even if the battery won't take a charge, as long as you connect some juice in the front, you can have enough to at least pop open the trunk. Problem I had was I didn't even have a connection to the battery as I disconnected the +.
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      01-01-2016, 08:43 AM   #41
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Old post but I'm in the lovely same situation as you were. Disconnected the + and, by a circumstance of events, the trunk got closed. Despite the towel I laid down to prevent this from happening, it got in it's 'premature closed position'. Towel is still stuck in between. Still pretty pissed of I got myself in this situation

I've read a lot and people suggest basically 3 things:
- connecting an 'old school charger'. Not sure if jump cables connected to another car do the same thing?
- move with controlled violence the trunk lid 5mm to the left till it unhooks on the right side and then again 5mm to the right so it unhooks on the lefst side. This will off course put a lot of strain on the hinges etc.
- break into the trunk through the center storage compartment thingy, like you did.

I was really hoping that jumpstarter cables would do the trick but you say that, since we disconnected the +, we're basically out of luck for that. I still don't really understand why that would be different than disconnecting the - or having a completely broken battery?

Trying to open the trunk with controlled force/violence is said to work fairly well. However, I think I'll pass this one cause if I f*ck things up, the damage looks really significant since the trunk lid is such an complicated piece of engineering with the folding roof and such.

So I'm afraid that I'll have to break the middle compartment. Did you ever replace the broken latches etc?

I'm not remotely near my car now so this is something to tackle in a couple of months time probably. But when I get there, I want to be prepared and bring the equipment to tackle the situation as quick as possible and get my car back home with as little as damage as possible :/
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      01-01-2016, 11:23 PM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sjeupie View Post
Old post but I'm in the lovely same situation as you were. Disconnected the + and, by a circumstance of events, the trunk got closed. Despite the towel I laid down to prevent this from happening, it got in it's 'premature closed position'. Towel is still stuck in between. Still pretty pissed of I got myself in this situation

I've read a lot and people suggest basically 3 things:
- connecting an 'old school charger'. Not sure if jump cables connected to another car do the same thing?
- move with controlled violence the trunk lid 5mm to the left till it unhooks on the right side and then again 5mm to the right so it unhooks on the lefst side. This will off course put a lot of strain on the hinges etc.
- break into the trunk through the center storage compartment thingy, like you did.

I was really hoping that jumpstarter cables would do the trick but you say that, since we disconnected the +, we're basically out of luck for that. I still don't really understand why that would be different than disconnecting the - or having a completely broken battery?

Trying to open the trunk with controlled force/violence is said to work fairly well. However, I think I'll pass this one cause if I f*ck things up, the damage looks really significant since the trunk lid is such an complicated piece of engineering with the folding roof and such.

So I'm afraid that I'll have to break the middle compartment. Did you ever replace the broken latches etc?

I'm not remotely near my car now so this is something to tackle in a couple of months time probably. But when I get there, I want to be prepared and bring the equipment to tackle the situation as quick as possible and get my car back home with as little as damage as possible :/
I unfortunately also once closed the trunk after disconnecting the battery. In my case, I have the storage tray option installed in the pass through. I removed the shelves and gave the back of the compartment a strong, sharp blow with butt of one of the bigger Maglite flashlights (you can use anything that is heavy and rounded, so as not to damage the back of the storage tray where you strike it) - the storage compartment flew into the trunk and I was able to reach through and reconnect the positive terminal. Once I got the trunk opened I discovered that, fortunately, the storage compartment was not damaged and it snapped back into place perfectly.

I don't know if the result would be any different if you have a different model year (mine is 2014) or if you have a different pass through option installed. In any case, I wish you the best of luck!
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      01-02-2016, 05:51 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C.D.335xi View Post
I unfortunately also once closed the trunk after disconnecting the battery. In my case, I have the storage tray option installed in the pass through. I removed the shelves and gave the back of the compartment a strong, sharp blow with butt of one of the bigger Maglite flashlights (you can use anything that is heavy and rounded, so as not to damage the back of the storage tray where you strike it) - the storage compartment flew into the trunk and I was able to reach through and reconnect the positive terminal. Once I got the trunk opened I discovered that, fortunately, the storage compartment was not damaged and it snapped back into place perfectly.

I don't know if the result would be any different if you have a different model year (mine is 2014) or if you have a different pass through option installed. In any case, I wish you the best of luck!
You just smashed it somewhere in the middle or did you 'aim' for the attachment points?
I have a 2010 model with storage compartment as well. Honoustly I'm not sure if it has a ski-pass through. Only had the car for 4 days before I put it in storage and was too mesmerised by the drive I guess to notice! And I'm not near my car now to check. Would that make any difference anyway? I can imagine that the hatch could only be opened from the trunk, following BMW trunk-access logic...?

Thnx for your help. Still can't believe the stupidity of the situation.
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      01-03-2016, 03:05 AM   #44
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You just smashed it somewhere in the middle or did you 'aim' for the attachment points?
I firmly hit it in the middle.

Hopefully, the design of the storage compartment didn't change between our model years and you will have success too.

The ski pass through kit is essentially a long nylon bag with a plastic frame that fits to the same "hole" in the bulkhead as the stoarage compartment. As a result, if it was installed there would be nothing solid to push against to remove from the passenger compartment (like the storage unit, the ski pass through is installed from the trunk side). That doesn't mean that there isn't some way to push it through into the trunk from the passenger compartment. However, without actually seeing it installed I don't know how straight forward a process it would be.

The lack of an external key mechanism somewhere on the trunk of the Z4 is a design flaw in my opinion. My 2009 335 coupe had comfort access (as does my Z4) and it still had a lock on the trunk that I could open with the key if necessary.
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