Hi all,

Thought I'd charge the Fatty up today and get it started so I could maybe think about moving it on or getting it fixed. Unfortunately I must have left it a bit too long as the battery has gone too flat for the remote locking to work and I can't unlock the drivers door with the key either! Is there a secret to unlocking with the key? Call me old fashioned but I assumed you just turned it one way or the other and it would lock or unlock just like car doors used to do when life was simpler.

So the question is, how the heck do I get into the car? I don't really want to put a lump hammer through a window or smash the front grill but at the moment I'm running out of ideas so any thoughts would be appreciated....

Thanks in advance. Ed.

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic38460.html

Alistair, I have the keyhole but the key doesn't do anything - I thought the lock was mechanical rather than needing electrical power but for some reason it just won't unlock.

Baltic Blue, that's a great idea but I've only got ye olde fashioned 7 pin black capped socket unfortunately!

Thanks for the ideas though.


Ed.

Then get under the car, pos lead to red cable on the starter motor, neg cable to good earth, other ends to another battery?

or

Remove nearside (RHD) inner wheelarch, use long tools to pop the bonnet catches .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

NotDave wrote:

Alistair, I have the keyhole but the key doesn't do anything - I thought the lock was mechanical rather than needing electrical power but for some reason it just won't unlock.

Baltic Blue, that's a great idea but I've only got ye olde fashioned 7 pin black capped socket unfortunately!

Thanks for the ideas though.


Ed.

When locked out of my 2012 WM due to flat battery I couldn't get the key to open the passenger door either, but the LR Assist technician managed it, presumably there is a knack to it, so getting someone who is used to them to try might be worth doing before anything as drastic as breaking a window. He did say my experience was not atypical. Only Range Rovers since 1988

What annoys me is why is it the passenger door?? I know its because most markets the passenger door is the drivers door, I get that for most brands. But LR is British it should be the drivers door.

Every car I have had no matter the make or model, it has always been the passenger door, no real idea why. 2011 Vogue 4.4 TDV8
2014 Defender 110.

I'm in!

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. Had a go at prising the scuttle panel up yesterday but could only reach the negative terminal and then ran out of time. Made my mind up that I was going to start the car today no matter what. Found a few small strips of wood, maybe 1" x 1.5", and managed to wedge them in behind the scuttle adding a few more until I could see and touch the positive terminal. Luckily I have quite small hands and eventually had enough room to attach the charger to the positive. Found a good earth underneath the car and all was good. The battery must have been deader than a dead thing because it took at least 20 minutes to get enough power in the system to unlock the central locking!
Left the car charging for a few hours and then it started reasonably well, took it for a quick spin up the road just to blow the cobwebs out and now it's having an overnight trickle charge.

 .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999