Help Locked Car...... Ugggh!

JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Thought I would throw out this situation here ...Trying to help my son!

He got a Buick Regal up in a parking lot by the Mall . He took the battery out to get it check but he locked the car afterwards.
Apparently the computers backup system isn't working so he can not get the car open ( key fob is chipped and the onboard system isn't recognizing it)
Also the only manual lock is on the driver's door and that to isn't working or is seized up since it is never used.
All he needs to do is get the hood open to put a new battery in it.
Anyone have any ideas?
 
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Dusty Bannister

Well-Known Member
for usually less than $100.00, a lock smith can open the door for you.

Often a knowledgeable body shop worker has replaced enough hood latches he can crawl under and find the release cable and open the hood in that manner.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Buick has made the Regal for almost 50 years and they're all different.

Sounds like he was chasing the problem before and the main battery wasn't it. More story please.

If there's a big enough ski pole hole through the back seat he can get in through the trunk, he's small-statured, right? Problem is the car may not start if it doesn't recognize the fob. Opening it manually will set off the alarm system and lock out the fuel pump. Disarming it is accomplished with the fob or turning the correct chipped key in the ignition (depending in year).
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Ian said:
Buick has made the Regal for almost 50 years and they're all different.
Sounds like he was chasing the problem before and the main battery wasn't it. More story please.

If there's a big enough ski pole hole through the back seat he can get in through the trunk, he's small-statured, right? Problem is the car may not start if it doesn't recognize the fob. Opening it manually will set off the alarm system and lock out the fuel pump. Disarming it is accomplished with the fob or turning the correct chipped key in the ignition (depending in year).
Click to expand...
Well The battery died...He jump started it and after removing the cables he put the car in drive and it died
We tracked the issue to the positive (side) terminal the screw was stripped. I made a new screw for him and he got the cable tight and jumped it again and the same thing happened when he put it in drive. So he took out the battery and had it tested and it was good so he went to put the battery in it and that starts this story
 
358156 hp

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
Unless you can reach the battery cable ends from the outside and connect them to a battery with jumper cables or something to power up the chassis electrical system. The door won't unlock because they have no power to do so.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
The battery died, but the battery tested good. Hmm. I assume it was charged and then load tested. So the real problem is alternator, short causing a draw, bad connection somewhere, fuel pump going out, or about a hundred other things.

Does it idle ok?

Does it die in reverse, or only in drive?

How did he get the doir and hood open with a dead battery in the first place?

The information does not add up.
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Ian,
I know! I'm puzzled myself!
I do know when he took the battery out it was late so he put it on a charger all night before he had it tested!
My son is a Paradox to me! I have know idea how he thinks
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
A lot of the remote hood latches can be defeated if you can reach the cable that operates the latch. If that's out of the question, I would attack the door locks with a slim jim (flat spring steel tool inserted between tbe door glass and weather strip).
If you can jack the car up you can use jumper cables to attach the battery to the positive cable on the starter and the frame. That will give you 12 volts to the system long enough for the electric door locks to work. The starter on a GM car has direct power from the battery all the time because the solenoid on the starter handles the switching at the starter.
And there's always the option of just breaking a damn window, sometimes a window is cheaper than a locksmith :(
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Oh, and as for the manual door lock being inoperative; I would explore that a little more.

Is it seized or does he have the wrong key?
If the door or the door handle/lock was swapped out sometime during the car's life, it may simply be a different lock cylinder than the rest of the car. Or if the car was stolen during its life, the lock in the steering column may have been replaced and no longer matches the door lock. The trunk lock is often different than the door locks, so that's no clue.
I would really work on the door lock cylinder, some penetrating oil and effort with the key. If that doesn't work, move on to another attack because he may not have the correct key even if he thinks he does.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
car should run without a battery.
I'm going with he needs a new alternator or he has a relay somewhere that's causing him all sorts of grief.

not knowing the vehicle.
about all he has is the old standby's of coat hanger and door handle, or reaching up and pulling the cable that unlocks the hood with some pliers.
he might be able to poke a big screw driver through the grill and release the hood latch too.
 
harm

harm

Member
Road salt and grit interact with the pot metal, fine springs, and brass wafers in the lock mechanism, even with the dust flap intact. If he can get some cleaner and lube in there, and it isn't seized solid, he may be able to get the key to turn after 'working' it a bit. Can't force it too hard or the key will bend.

Factory grease only holds up so long, and the lock doesn't get used often when people rely on the fob. This is pretty common. Corrosion can get pretty bad in there.

If it comes down to prying the top of a door open and trying to catch the lock/handle with a coat hanger, I recommend the passenger side. Wind noise from the minor bends incurred in the attempt are lessened that way.

Hopefully he's got it figured by now, but if not, a clean and lube on the lock is worth a try.
 
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Tomme boy

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
Hope it is not electric door handles like my old ladies equinox. You have to use the plastic wedges to bend the frame of the door a little Then use a hardened steel wire that is bent to get to the actual lock flipper in the handle and twist the wire just right to pop it to the open position.

I will also tell you from working at a body shop supply house. DO NOT BREAK THE SMALLEST PIECE OF GLASS. If you have to go that route. The smaller the glass the more expensive it is. The drivers or passenger glass used to be the cheapest. Trucks you break the rear glass and then put in a slider. Thats what you used to do. But not sure about new trucks anymore.

If you have AAA they can send someone out to unlock the car. Heck I unlocked a guys car at the range with a piece of paracord one time. Just have to know how to tie a slip knot. Used to get called out all the time when I drove wreckers for unlocks. Back in the 90s the more expensive the car the easier it was to get into. Ford's were the worst. They started the anti theft bars around the lock and door handles. All the Asian cars were the easiest to get into. And steal.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
fiver said:
car should run without a battery.
I'm going with he needs a new alternator or he has a relay somewhere that's causing him all sorts of grief.

not knowing the vehicle.
about all he has is the old standby's of coat hanger and door handle, or reaching up and pulling the cable that unlocks the hood with some pliers.
he might be able to poke a big screw driver through the grill and release the hood latch too.
Click to expand...
If you run the car without a battery you WILL be buying a new alternator!

We used to be able to unlocked doors with "Slim Jims". About the time year 2000 models came out that ceased because you can do more damage with a Slim Jim than the cost of getting a locksmith out, or so we were told.
 
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