Hi all,

 

Possibly have a dead battery, and the car will not unlock with the key

I called a locksmith and they said they couldn't help

I'd like to know if there are anyways to gain access to either the internal door handles so it can be opened or to unlatch the bonnet so I can charge the battery and unlock the car

Could I use an air wedge and hook the interior handle to open?

 

Cheers

Doesn't make sense the key should manually open drivers door regardless of battery state. Have you tried lubricating it in case its sticking through lack of use. Also if car was double locked then you wont open via internal handles.

On 1/18/2020 at 6:27 PM, Sunil237 said:

Hi all,

 

Possibly have a dead battery, and the car will not unlock with the key

I called a locksmith and they said they couldn't help

I'd like to know if there are anyways to gain access to either the internal door handles so it can be opened or to unlatch the bonnet so I can charge the battery and unlock the car

Could I use an air wedge and hook the interior handle to open?

 

Cheers

Have you tried the emergency key in the door lock? Turn it anti-clockwise to unlock. 

The OP has obviously gained access days ago, and driven off, never to be heard from again LOL

Or maybe he locked himself in and starved to death.

I have a very similar problem:  Ford Focus 2005, parked unlocked, overnight rain got in to the electrics somewhere and completely drained the battery.  Now the door release mechanisms of the bonnet and boot won't work.

Let's be clear about this: Both mechanisms were working the day before and now there's not enough juice to operate the courtesy light, and nothing happens when turning the key to position (1) of the bonnet lock.

Hope you can help.

TC in the far North.

 

 

I have a 2005 focus where I have just had to replace the Bowden cable for the bonnet release as it broke. This is a mechanical release operated by the key (twist anti clockwise to initially release, then clockwise to lift bonnet). I have no idea why a drained battery would cease operation? I also 2 weeks ago had to replace the boot lock switch as it ceased to work. With you having both fail on you at exactly the same time is an amazing co-incidence!

 

Also, how do you know the courtesy light doesn't work without opening the door?

The boot is operated by an electronic solenoid, so that won't work without battery power.

The bonnet should still work fine without power, sounds like the cable has broken/separated coincidentally, albeit at the worst possible time...

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

The boot is operated by an electronic solenoid, so that won't work without battery power.

..

WTF, never knew that LOL

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

WTF, never knew that LOL

Lol, if you listen carefully you can hear the 'suck' of the solenoid operating when you press the button.  Most modern stuff is the same, the old mechanical systems with key barrels and physical handles stopped in the early 2000s.

Doesn't make any difference 99.9% of the time, but does mean you have to lower the rear seats and crawl through if the battery dies and you keep jump leads in the boot!  

 

5 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Lol, if you listen carefully you can hear the 'suck' of the solenoid operating when you press the button.  Most modern stuff is the same, the old mechanical systems with key barrels and physical handles stopped in the early 2000s.

Doesn't make any difference 99.9% of the time, but does mean you have to lower the rear seats and crawl through if the battery dies and you keep jump leads in the boot!  

 

Tom, was too embarrassed to admit it, but I will now. Of course I knew it was solenoid operated, I have just replaced the boot switch a couple of weeks ago. I got confused (old age) and thought it was the 'bonnet' release you said was solenoid operated! I know it has en electrical connection, but still don't know what for. I'm away for a lie down now LOL

Oh, I wonder if the poster would have any luck if he double clicked his boot release on the key if it would pop open having some capacitance in the solenoid still remaining in it?

38 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

 

 

Also, how do you know the courtesy light doesn't work without opening the door?

Like I said, I left the car unlocked - hence I can get into the car, just not the boot or the bonnet.

Even though the bonnet catch has no electrical component, I still have to find a way to open it to recharge the battery.  The latch mechanism did fail a year or two back, but back then I was able to take it to mechanic to be fixed.

I need to open the bonnet to be able to start the car to move it, whether or not I then wait until I can take it into a town to a mechanic.  (I have jump leads but just can't get to the battery)

14 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Tom, was too embarrassed to admit it, but I will now. Of course I knew it was solenoid operated, I have just replaced the boot switch a couple of weeks ago. I got confused (old age) and thought it was the 'bonnet' release you said was solenoid operated! I know it has en electrical connection, but still don't know what for. I'm away for a lie down now LOL

Oh, I wonder if the poster would have any luck if he double clicked his boot release on the key if it would pop open having some capacitance in the solenoid still remaining in it?

Lol, nevermind!  

The electrical connection on the bonnet release is just for a simple contact switch, it's for the alarm and 'bonnet open' dash warning.  

I doubt the fob release will be any more likely to work than the button tbh...but it's the bonnet he needs to open to get the battery sorted.

 

3 minutes ago, TeeCee said:

 hence I can get into the car, just not the boot or the bonnet.

 

This is one of the most popular DIY ways to access the bonnet when cable is broken. It has to be said though that when I was able to drive my car to 'my guy', he never went near the grill, accessing the broken cable from beneath when he put the car on the ramp. From driving in to driving out with new cable fitted took 15 minutes, but you seem to be a bit snookered if the car is currently immobile. Unless Tom can suggest something else for you...

 

 

Thanks Stephen....  Let's hope someone can unsnooker me.

3 minutes ago, TeeCee said:

Like I said, I left the car unlocked - hence I can get into the car, just not the boot or the bonnet.

Even though the bonnet catch has no electrical component, I still have to find a way to open it to recharge the battery.  The latch mechanism did fail a year or two back, but back then I was able to take it to mechanic to be fixed.

I need to open the bonnet to be able to start the car to move it, whether or not I then wait until I can take it into a town to a mechanic.  (I have jump leads but just can't get to the battery)

Leaving the car unlocked all night was the mistake here.  When you lock the car, all the modules go to 'sleep', leaving it unlocked kept them all awake draining battery power.  Just something to note for future so it doesn't happen again.  

As above, the boot won't open without power, if you need anything from it you can go in through the rear seats.  

If we assume the bonnet latch has broken again, you have a few options now - You can use a long screwdriver to try and push the cable back together through the grill.  Or jack the car up, remove the undertray and reach up to the bonnet lock.  Or the destructive method of snapping the grill to remove the lock barrel and then twist the release with a screwdriver.  

 

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

Leaving the car unlocked all night was the mistake here.  When you lock the car, all the modules go to 'sleep', leaving it unlocked kept them all awake draining battery power.  Just something to note for future so it doesn't happen again.  

 

Hey, every day is a school day! I never knew that, and have sometimes left my car unlocked overnight, more by accident than design. I will definitely make sure it's part of my bedtime routine, mmm... maybe a bit too much information there LOL

12 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Leaving the car unlocked all night was the mistake here.  When you lock the car, all the modules go to 'sleep', leaving it unlocked kept them all awake draining battery power.  Just something to note for future so it doesn't happen again.

Err, my experience is that when I leave my early MK 2 in my garage unlocked with the windows open and doors closed, it will start up happily even after 3 weeks standing there.

Maybe some specs are programmed differently?

ScaniaPBman.

@TomsFocus: "Leaving the car unlocked was the mistake here" - I've lived half my life in rural Scotland so I've rarely locked my car in the last twenty years... I suppose I always assumed that the modules went night-nights a few minutes a few minutes after taking the key out ....?

Thanks for the advice - I will try pushing the lock in with a screwdriver...   I really hope that it doesn't boil down to wrecking the grill and the cable/latch assembly ... or getting under the car to operate the lock from there 😕

@ScaniaPBMan - "windows open"?  ... So that you can always get into the driver's seat even if a solar storm / nuclear armagedd-ee-on kills the electrics?

"a few minutes a few minutes"  You know what I mean

Just now, ScaniaPBman said:

Err, my experience is that when I leave my early MK 2 in my garage unlocked with the windows open and doors closed, it will start up happily even after 3 weeks standing there.

Maybe some specs are programmed differently?

ScaniaPBman.

You've obviously got a decent battery!

It is a little more complicated than I put above.  Different modules stay awake for different periods of time, locking the car ensures they all sleep as soon as possible though.  Some modules, like the Bluetooth module, are well known for keeping the car awake and draining the battery...being an early car, yours may not have Bluetooth.  If you look at the dash on the Mk2, you'll see it stays illuminated for a good 10+ minutes even after locking the car.  Interestingly, not locking your car means the alarm isn't activate, so you're actually saving a little battery power on that!  

The OP's battery will have had to already be weak for it to be enough to kill it though...especially to the point that the courtesy lights don't even work!  

15 minutes ago, TeeCee said:

@TomsFocus: "Leaving the car unlocked was the mistake here" - I've lived half my life in rural Scotland so I've rarely locked my car in the last twenty years... I suppose I always assumed that the modules went night-nights a few minutes a few minutes after taking the key out ....?

Lol, I tried to make a quick summary and it seems to have backfired, as above, it's not quite as simple!

There weren't many modules on cars 20 years ago, you could leave them unlocked with no issues, it's the modern computer-type electronics that are the problem!  They all take a while to warm up like a smartphone or laptop does, but we expect everything to work instantly in cars.  The Mk3 Focus is much worse for this than the Mk2, the dash screen, audio and 'sync' system takes forever to wake up if you leave it unlocked long enough to sleep!  But you'd never normally notice as it all starts waking up when you unlock it, time you've got in, belted up and gone to start the engine, everything appears to startup instantly!

Different modules stay awake for periods of time.  The car is 'primed' for you wanting to use it if left unlocked, like leaving a TV on standby rather than turning it off properly.  If you've got a decent battery it'll be fine, but if you've got a weak battery it'll be enough to kill it.  The modules will eventually all sleep even when left unlocked, but as I said above, locking the car ensures they all sleep as soon as possible, wasting as little battery power as possible.

 

@TomsFocus - Older cars also had a little lever inside the cab to open the bonnet ...  Ahh, those were the days!

3 minutes ago, TeeCee said:

@TomsFocus - Older cars also had a little lever inside the cab to open the bonnet ...  Ahh, those were the days!

So do newer cars!  And every other manufacturer!

Even Ford gave up with the rubbish bonnet key system in 2010.

However they used poor quality cables that snapped as well on the early Mk3s!! 🤦‍♂️

 

41 minutes ago, TeeCee said:

@ScaniaPBMan - "windows open"?  ... So that you can always get into the driver's seat even if a solar storm / nuclear armagedd-ee-on kills the electrics?

I have worked on many models from many manufacturers. Not all have the electrics organised in the same way.

One example is that when a flat battery is removed and a fully charged battery is connected up the first thing that happens is all the doors immediately centrally lock. Now if you have left the keys in the ignition and doors closed with the windows up, you will not be driving off anytime soon.

I am not taking any chances!

ScaniaPBman.