Keyfob dead, can't get in!

[DaveL-tob]

Hi, I've not used the car for about a month (have another) and assume the system''s gone to sleep as I get no response from the keyfob when trying to unlock the car. Problem is that the key doesn't manually open the drivers door either (key won't turn or open), and there are no other locks (not even on boot), so I can't get in! I can open the bonnet, and the alarm sounds. I tried disconnecting the battery for a couple of hours, and had a look in the fuse box beside but doesn't seem to be any fuse/relay for the c-locking. Have changed fob battery as well, btw.

It''s a Focus Estate Ghia 2006 (petrol).

Has anyone any bright ideas please?? 

Cheers, Dave

[TomsFocus]

Try some WD40 in the door lock barrel to get that moving.  

Do you have a spare key to try?

[DaveL-tob]

Hey Tom.

Tried a squirt of magic spray, I've also got a spare key - same thing, no response from buttons, and it won't turn in the door either, and no sound of central locking solenoids. The key does go in fully, so doesn't sound like anything stuck in there. Interestingly the 2 fobs are different, one is the style where the key folds back in and the other is fixed in place (probably a cheap replacement).

It locked me out almost a year back, and for some reason I found one of the back doors was unlocked so I could get in. I guess in it's 12 year history someone's changed the door lock.

I'm now pondering which is the least cost window :(

Dave

 

 

[Stoney871]

The doors should still unlock manually.
The alarm has it's own back up battery so it's possible that your main battery is flat.
Have you tried boosting up the battery?

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

[DaveL-tob]

Thanks Clive, will give that a go tomorrow and update the convo. (too dark to see out there now!)

[TomsFocus]

The door barrels seize up on modern cars as they're never used thanks to remote locking!  

Believe it or not you have the original keys, that's all they came with from new, one remote flip fob and one solid key.

 

[DaveL-tob]

No joy 😞  😞

Gave it a jump from another car today but still no response from either fob, and with the key directly in the lock nothing either. I see there's different colour paintwork behind the handle, so am sure someone's changed the drivers door in the past and not bothered to change the lock barrel, and they've relied on the remote locking as the only way to get in! 

I hear that other makes do go to sleep, and that you then need to use the actual key in the door/ignition to wake them up, and so now I'm only grasping at hope that someone knows how to wake up the system. I've pulled and re-inserted every fuse + relay in sight in hope that I could make it "reboot".

Off to find a large rock..........

  

[TomsFocus]

I think you'll need to use the key in the ignition if you can't use it in the door.

No idea on prices but a locksmith is probably the only way to get in now.  Do you have any breakdown cover btw?  Might be worth asking them if they can get in?

[isetta]

if you have to break in and the choice is between breaking window or the lock, I might be tempted to hammer a large screwdriver into lock and then turn it with some mole grips.

But I do not know if you have deadlocks. If you do and the deadlocks are on then maybe this would not work.

There is a lesson here, everyone who is only using remote fob should check that their mechanical locks do actually work with the key so they don't end up in same boat.  Actually I don't think I have ever checked mine in the 2 years I have owned the car.

 

[Lenny]

3 hours ago, isetta said:

if you have to break in and the choice is between breaking window or the lock, I might be tempted to hammer a large screwdriver into lock and then turn it with some mole grips.

But I do not know if you have deadlocks. If you do and the deadlocks are on then maybe this would not work.

There is a lesson here, everyone who is only using remote fob should check that their mechanical locks do actually work with the key so they don't end up in same boat.  Actually I don't think I have ever checked mine in the 2 years I have owned the car.

 

Personally id smash the passenger window instead of the lock, 

Because a replacement lock with be a special order to get it to match the rest of the existing locks, 

The window can be purchased from a breakers or dealers and there very easy to replace yourself only the mess is the difficult part.

[DaveL-tob]

Hi guys I found the reason (and the solution) -

At some time in the past somebody had changed the driver's door - they'd done an excellent job with the spraying as I had to look really closely before seeing different colour paint underneath. So they've obviously swapped the door and not bothered to swap around the locks, they've just reconnected the wiring and of course the central locking isn't affected - UNLESS there's a problem like mine where the CL goes to sleep!!!!

A local garage managed to get me into the car where I could put the key into the ignition and wake up the CL again. All is well 🙂 but I can't say how they got in - suffice to say that you wouldn't want it done on a new car!

To avoid the sleeping problem again, as I sometimes don't use the car for weeks on end, I took out the lock barrel. I found a small pin at the back about 2mm dia, just near the spring and circlip. By taking that pin out, then ANY key will turn the lock, and so it can turn to activate the microswitches of the CL electrics. I appreciate that obviously causes me a security problem should anyone bad come along and try a different Ford key, but I suspect unlikely on a £1000 car and it'll save me a huge amount of grief again in the future when it sleeps!!!

Thanks for all the feedbacks and suggestions!

[TomsFocus]

3 hours ago, DaveL-tob said:

I appreciate that obviously causes me a security problem should anyone bad come along and try a different Ford key, but I suspect unlikely on a £1000 car and it'll save me a huge amount of grief again in the future when it sleeps!!!

I've seen plenty of videos of Mk2 Focus' being stolen and not seen a single one try a key in the door first!  

 

[mozz]

Anyone with any sense going to the trouble of changing the door, electrics,respray etc. would transfer barrels, wouldn't they? obviously not in this case.

[iantt]

You can get the lock rebuilt to suit your key easy enough at a locksmith. As you well know now it takes seconds to get the lock out. He shouldn't charge much to sort it out.