Possible dead battery, fob doesn't open car and manual locks don't work

[TheViper]

I personally have had a "dead" battery issue twice, and hooking up a parallel source works every time.
Cheers,
Michael

Originally Posted by Kaliuzhkin

I don't know why but I was unable to get a connection using my jump starter cables. So I just replaced the dead battery and in the process, may have gone deaf. The advantage of this method is no screaming alarm. The disadvantage, as you noted, is a lower level of security.

(It's possible the jumpstart cables are defective.)

(Its also possible the alarm has a problem.)

[vyuen]

I just tried to jump my exige from another car to open the doors but it was unsuccessful. The alarm sounded and I couldn't open the doors using the fob. I also have to be cautious as I'm using one of those Li-Ion batteries from Voltphreaks, and starting the car providing the power jump could damage if not blow up the Volthphreaks battery.

Any other ideas?

[TheViper]

If you apply 12V from a secondary source to the battery terminals, the alarm should respond to the remote if the fuses are OK.
If the battery you have must not be "jumped" then I would put it on a charger.

[vyuen]

Originally Posted by TheViper

If you apply 12V from a secondary source to the battery terminals, the alarm should respond to the remote if the fuses are OK.
If the battery you have must not be "jumped" then I would put it on a charger.

As in charge the battery via the external terminals?

But maybe I should check the fuses first. How do I find out which fuse is the one that is linked to the alarm system? I have a feeling its not a fusing issue as when I attempted to jump last night I could see the faint glow of the alarm light in the dash, which wasn't the case before I jumped it. So I'm only guessing the power wasn't sufficient to activate the doors?

[Mark Kiger]

Help! I have a full battery in both the car & keyfob. I can enable & disable the alarm but
the car wont unlock. You can hear the solenoids work when locking with keyfob but nothing when opening. Frazzled

[glb]

Originally Posted by Mark Kiger

Help! I have a full battery in both the car & keyfob. I can enable & disable the alarm but
the car wont unlock. You can hear the solenoids work when locking with keyfob but nothing when opening. Frazzled

Perhaps car was locked with key last, in which case must be unlocked w/key.

How do you know car battery is fully charged?

[TheViper]

I agree with both.
Michael

Originally Posted by glb

Perhaps car was locked with key last, in which case must be unlocked w/key.

How do you know car battery is fully charged?

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by Mark Kiger

Help! I have a full battery in both the car & keyfob. I can enable & disable the alarm but
the car wont unlock. You can hear the solenoids work when locking with keyfob but nothing when opening. Frazzled

Have you tried using the door locking switch on the interior console? If it won't work there, then it's certainly not the alarm.
I am in the process of replacing my central door locking unit (waiting for the part). A number of other people with your problem have reported bad CDL units.

[TheViper]

However he can't enter the car to attempt that . Taking the white inertia switch wire to a positive supply will trip the doors open if it is not a fault in the CDL.
Michael

Originally Posted by Tyger

Have you tried using the door locking switch on the interior console? If it won't work there, then it's certainly not the alarm.
I am in the process of replacing my central door locking unit (waiting for the part). A number of other people with your problem have reported bad CDL units.

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by TheViper

However he can't enter the car to attempt that . Taking the white inertia switch wire to a positive supply will trip the doors open if it is not a fault in the CDL.
Michael

He didn't actually say he couldn't enter the car, so I didn't assume. If that's the case and the problem is with the CDL unit (sounds most likely), jumping the inertia switch isn't going to do anything.
What I did was make a slipknot with some picture-hanging wire and guide it onto one of the lock posts with a length of hanger wire. Slowly tightening this noose allowed me to securely grip the groove in the lock post and pull it up, unlocking the door.

[TheViper]

I find that many times the true symptoms are not reported fully or correctly, making it difficult to fault find. The first step is to try the key, if that does not work, as you say, it probably is the CDL if neither the interior or inertia switch will work. There seems to be contact closure within the CDL, as the solenoids are trying to work, which indicates a high resistance within the CDL.
Michael

Originally Posted by Tyger

He didn't actually say he couldn't enter the car, so I didn't assume. If that's the case and the problem is with the CDL unit (sounds most likely), jumping the inertia switch isn't going to do anything.
What I did was make a slipknot with some picture-hanging wire and guide it onto one of the lock posts with a length of hanger wire. Slowly tightening this noose allowed me to securely grip the groove in the lock post and pull it up, unlocking the door.

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by TheViper

I find that many times the true symptoms are not reported fully or correctly, making it difficult to fault find. The first step is to try the key, if that does not work, as you say, it probably is the CDL if neither the interior or inertia switch will work. There seems to be contact closure within the CDL, as the solenoids are trying to work, which indicates a high resistance within the CDL.
Michael

You are right about people not mentioning all the details at once. However, I inferred from what he said about the solenoids that the door posts were not going back up, only making a noise to go back down, and thus that his problem had nothing to do with the key lock, which does not involve the door posts. This is exactly what happened to me.
In my case, the CDL (via fob and console switch) had no problem locking the doors, just unlocking them (of course I first had to manually unlock them to prove this). This is consistent with what others have reported, who then successfully solved the problem by replacing the CDL unit. I suspect that one of the two relays in the unit has gone bad. Since other people have reported the opposite problem (they could unlock, but not lock the doors), it seems that one relay is likely to go bad before the whole unit does. Just bad luck if the "unlock" relay fails before the "lock" one does.

[TheViper]

Good luck with the CDL install, let us know how it goes.
Michael

Originally Posted by Tyger

You are right about people not mentioning all the details at once. However, I inferred from what he said about the solenoids that the door posts were not going back up, only making a noise to go back down, and thus that his problem had nothing to do with the key lock, which does not involve the door posts. This is exactly what happened to me.
In my case, the CDL (via fob and console switch) had no problem locking the doors, just unlocking them (of course I first had to manually unlock them to prove this). This is consistent with what others have reported, who then successfully solved the problem by replacing the CDL unit. I suspect that one of the two relays in the unit has gone bad. Since other people have reported the opposite problem (they could unlock, but not lock the doors), it seems that one relay is likely to go bad before the whole unit does. Just bad luck if the "unlock" relay fails before the "lock" one does.

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by TheViper

Good luck with the CDL install, let us know how it goes.
Michael

Installed, and in the same location as the old one. Door locks now work properly. The hardest part was the two weeks it took getting the thing shipped from the dealer to upstate NY (but it was 25% less than on Lotus Garage)