locked out and nowhere to go

by **Martin Farley** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:36 pm

Now then heres a good one, finally drove my car back home from "Clee" who has done an outstanding job on my car, only had the car almost two years and Lee is the only one who sorted it out and wow

. Can finally see the grab these cars have.

Anyway got the car home thought I would be a clever bod by disconnecting battery locking down bonnett and manually locking the doors and now cant get the fecking doors open manually, is there a quick solution to get the doors opening or do I pick a window, surely theres a way of getting 12v into the system to get the doors open or maybe manually. :idea:

by **stephendell** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:01 pm

Put 12V into the system via the starter motor live terminal and earth anywhere on the rear chassis / engine. You've got to get underneath but it's fairly accessible. A common problem. Next time leave the bonnet unlocked!

by **Martin Farley** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:25 pm

Mr D, You are a star :wink:

will do it in the morning, only locked it up this way because its on the drive tonight and not in its normal bed the garage :lol:

by **clee** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:39 pm

You can always rely on Dellboy to break into an ALP :shock:

by **Martin Farley** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:17 pm

Oh yes, and if you want your ALP serviced or repaired, then your the man :wink:

by **Stunned Monkey** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 12:24 am

You can always rely on Dellboy to break into an ALP

To be fair, you still need the key....... :wink:

by **pgoldsmith** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:46 am

disconnecting battery locking down bonnett and manually locking the doors and now cant get the fecking doors open manually

Explain please?

I often have the battery disconnected and lock the doors. Then simply use the key in the drivers side to open the car

by **clee** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:53 am

I think it depends .....I've just tried on mine ,the drivers door wouldn't open but the passenger side will

It must be down to the condition of the mechanism ? But both mine are good and strong so I dunno ......

by **BIG_MVS** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:54 am

Mine did this (only just got it open after alot of messing about - I never locked the bonnet again!), it will be a stiff mechanism, they probably need a clean up.

by **JohnC** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:28 am

Yes, I can confirm that the key will lock/unlock each door with battery disconnected. I always understood this to be the case, but after reading the above comments I checked it out on my Alp. You can also see the internal plunger moving between lock & unlock. As Martin suggests the mechanism behind the key lock most probably needs a good lubricating, most of these Alps are 20 or so years old, and like mine, the manual key locking has rearly been used, if at all, so they are likely to be stiff. mine is a bit stiff but it all works. It is just a pity that this part of the mechanism is so time consuming to get to, but now its been flagged up......job for next year when it gets warmer :lol:

by **phildini** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:39 am

Guys I think it's got to do with age, if it's an early one like my D reg then you got to be careful and leave the bonnet open. But anything past that age like my previous E reg then it should be fine to disconnect and open it manually.

That's what i did anyway.

by **JohnC** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 10:49 am

Guys I think it's got to do with age, if it's an early one like my D reg then you got to be careful and leave the bonnet open. But anything past that age like my previous E reg then it should be fine to disconnect and open it manually.

According to the manuals for the early and later Alps, the Lock/Unlock mechanisms are identical, the only thing to point out is the older the car, the mechanism behind the key lock is more likely to be very stiff or siezed.
Having just been out to recheck the operation, What I can say is that without the battery, they will lock/unlock with the key if the mechanism is in reasonable condition, however with the battery connected, there does appear to be a slight servo effect on the lock you are operating which is due to the central locking sending the pluse to the opposite lock, and as that pulse comes from the same contact on the relay, it is sent to both off and nearside doors, hence the servo effect on the door you are operating.
So if the lock you are operating is very stiff and cant operate the lock/unlock process with the battery disconnected, then by reconnecting the battery the slight servo effect might just be enough to overcome the stiffness, however this does not negate the basic fault, which if left is likely to get to a stage where even the servo effect will not overcome the stiffness.
I feel that once you get to the stage where the key by its self will not operate the mechanism eaisly and every time, it is time to do a bit of maintenance on the mechanism, if left it could get to a point where even with the servo effect, the key will not operate the lock, however it will still operate from the fob, as that is not directly connected to the stiff part of the lock.
Hope this all makes sense to you :wink:

by **clee** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 10:56 am

Yeh ...mechanism is stiff ,free it up :lol:

Are you in yet Martin ??

by **si21** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:20 pm

clee wrote:I think it depends .....I've just tried on mine ,the drivers door wouldn't open but the passenger side will
It must be down to the condition of the mechanism ? But both mine are good and strong so I dunno ......

is the same mechanical key works on the passenger side only :roll: