Car locked itself with key in the ignition

[jimoreno]

So this past Saturday I decided to look into the fuel smell after filling my tank and open a couple of doors of my car and get to work. After finding the source of the smell (o-ring on the level I sender on the left side), I decided to work with Navcoder to improve my display (switched from 4:3 to widescreen). Windows 10 wouldn't see my Rensler device port (but it made a sound when plugged/unplugged) I go inside the house to do some research.
Gave up and went to the garage to close doors and trunk BUT left keys in ignition (forgot about them). Come Sunday morning I'm looking for my weeks and when I go out the car locked itself and of course the battery had drained. Locate my other key (remote is not programmed to the car) and open the trunk and connect my trickle charger. Go inside and 5 minutes later realized that I left the other key INSIDE the trunk!!! So, go back in and read about the drilling to get to open the trunk. Found two different dimensions so ended up with 2 holes. None are correct as I had to enlarge the leftish hole (used with the 3" to the right and 3" FROM the bottom of the trunk) to be able to see and realize the horizontal dimension is correct (3" to the left of the bottom left plate hole) but is about 2.5" from the bottom. I could see the cable hooked on the mechanism so I used one my picks to push to the right and Voila! I was rewarded with the sound on an opening trunk.
So after securing the key now I still can't unlock the driver's door with neither key. The battery is still kind of low (it was up to 9.8 volts this morning) so I left the charger hooked until I returun in the afternoon.
So I have two questions:

1. Should the car unlock with the key from the driver's door once the battery is fully charged?
2. Why did it locked itself? Is it a function of the diminishing voltage?

[purplecty]

Never leave your key in the ignition as it can cause strange things to happen when the voltage drops too low. If the voltage gets low enough when leaving the key in the ignition, the dme and ews will lose sync and the car will not start without syncing the ews and dme as well...

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[jclausen]

Or as any tech will tell you always have the drivers door window rolled down

[jimoreno]

My Grandfather use to say "If you lost but learned something then you didn't lose at all" Part of getting to know this car and it's somewhat odd behaviors.
So, should I have any issues when I try to unlock the car this afternoon when the battery is fully charged? The key that I have doesn't have the remote programmed but it will turn the key cylinder.

[purplecty]

My Grandfather use to say "If you lost but learned something then you didn't lose at all" Part of getting to know this car and it's somewhat odd behaviors.
So, should I have any issues when I try to unlock the car this afternoon when the battery is fully charged? The key that I have doesn't have the remote programmed but it will turn the key cylinder.

Only 1 way to find out... If you need to, try and resync them just follow this procedure for all temote keys at the same time...

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[jimoreno]

That will be me next step once I get it unlocked!

[Grady in Texas]

For years the only way to lock a Ford driver's door was with the key. You couldn't push the lock button down and shut the door. Henry Ford said it was to keep folks form locking their keys in their car.

[purplecty]

Wont unlock manually using the door cylinder?

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[jimoreno]

Not with the battery discharged which is why I'm asking. I was thinking that there is a micro switch in the latch that tells the alarm system to unlock and disarm the alarm system?

[purplecty]

Not with the battery discharged which is why I'm asking. I was thinking that there is a micro switch in the latch that tells the alarm system to unlock and disarm the alarm system?

When my door lock actuator was acting up I was able to manually unlock it. Maybe you did not turn the key enough? It should open manually in my experience...

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[jimoreno]

I turn the key all the way left until it's horizontal again and nothing happened. I feel it moving ok for about the first 45 degrees and then it "feels" different in some way but it goes all the way to horizontal (90 degrees).

[purplecty]

I turn the key all the way left until it's horizontal again and nothing happened. I feel it moving ok for about the first 45 degrees and then it "feels" different in some way but it goes all the way to horizontal (90 degrees).

Try unlocking the trunk. IIRC you can also unlock all doors from the trunk as well...

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[purplecty]

https://youtu.be/GXVcFMCTt1A

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[jimoreno]

That's definitely not happening when I turn the key to the left! I'll try again when I get back home this afternoon and report back.

[Narlift]

Never leave your key in the ignition as it can cause strange things to happen when the voltage drops too low. If the voltage gets low enough when leaving the key in the ignition, the dme and ews will lose sync and the car will not start without syncing the ews and dme as well...

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Yeah not everytime though.

[jimoreno]

UPDATE: Not only did I leave the key in the ignition but I left it in pos. 1 (accessory) as I was trying to do the Navcoder thing. I realized when I looked at the screen from the trunk and it had the radio frequency on it. Anyway, nothing happens when I rotate the key left or from the trunk (only unlocks the trunk) so I think the car is double locked. I had a pick-a-part trip planned to get a rear door outside latch mechanism so I'll get the passenger's door glass (I'll smash it once I have the replacement on my hands!). I do have to change the window regulator anyway so having the glass out helps (but cleaning the million pieces won't!)

[purplecty]

UPDATE: Not only did I leave the key in the ignition but I left it in pos. 1 (accessory) as I was trying to do the Navcoder thing. I realized when I looked at the screen from the trunk and it had the radio frequency on it. Anyway, nothing happens when I rotate the key left or from the trunk (only unlocks the trunk) so I think the car is double locked. I had a pick-a-part trip planned to get a rear door outside latch mechanism so I'll get the passenger's door glass (I'll smash it once I have the replacement on my hands!). I do have to change the window regulator anyway so having the glass out helps (but cleaning the million pieces won't!)

Disconnect the battery and try the drivers door lock manually maybe?

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[jimoreno]

Done, nothing works

[Timm]

The problem is quite likely to be that your charger does not have sufficient power to charge the battery as the ignition switch is in the accessories position (where the car will demand quite a heft of current). The best way is to remove the negative terminal of the battery and then try to charge - or better, fit a fully charged battery. The trunk lock barrel should unlock all the doors - but it is possible that the key being in the ignition inhibits that action - difficult to say. However, try turning the drivers door lock fully to the right:

Manual operation(in the event of an electrical failure)Turn the key all the way to the extremeleft or right to unlock/lock the door.

[jimoreno]

Timm: As usual you are right. I had to disconnect the battery from the car to let the charger do it's job. The battery is now almost fully charged and I also tried by hooking up jumper cables from my E28 (while running) and turning the key all the way to the left does nothing. I'm guessing because of the ignition being in Pos.1 it block everything. So I have resigned to breaking the front passenger side glass (after I grab one at the junkyard) and do the regulator replacement (and speaker replacement too!). I'm driving the E28 to work this week!

[lvudric]

For years the only way to lock a Ford driver's door was with the key. You couldn't push the lock button down and shut the door. Henry Ford said it was to keep folks form locking their keys in their car.

And not only Ford, at VW golf I, and Passat also couldn't lock driver door pushing the button, only with key.


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[racer2086]

Timm: As usual you are right. I had to disconnect the battery from the car to let the charger do it's job. The battery is now almost fully charged and I also tried by hooking up jumper cables from my E28 (while running) and turning the key all the way to the left does nothing. I'm guessing because of the ignition being in Pos.1 it block everything. So I have resigned to breaking the front passenger side glass (after I grab one at the junkyard) and do the regulator replacement (and speaker replacement too!). I'm driving the E28 to work this week!

Turning the key left 90 degrees in the door should mechanically unlock the door. There's nothing electrical about it. It has to unlock? Just make sure you're turning all the way.

And instead of breaking the window, hook Navcoder up to the CD changer i-bus plug in the trunk and unlock the doors with the software and a good battery. Done.

[Qsilver7]

If you can get power to the battery (from under the hood or directly to the battery)...try activating the convenience open feature to roll the windows down...then reach inside the car to turn the ignition off and pull the key out of the ignition. You activate the convenient open feature by turning & holding the driver's door lock cylinder 45° COUNTER CLOCKWISE until the windows roll down (see CONVENIENCE OPERATING MODE in pic below from owners manual)

If turning the key in the driver's exterior door lock to the UNLOCK position (90° counter clockwise) and it does NOT unlock the door...try spraying some lubricant into the lock cylinder and let it "marinate" a few minutes...then try another attempt. Turning the driver's door lock cylinder 45° only electrically actuates the locks...so if the battery is dead...the car won't unlock or lock...you have to continue turning the lock cylinder further until you manually release the locking mechanism. Again, lubrication may be required if lock hasn't been maintained or used manually for years.

BTW, BMW changed the central locking operating parameters mid-production...the trunk lock cylinder used to be able to unlock the entire car...but BMW changed this central locking feature starting with the 2000 model year. (see info below)

And similar to Ford...BMW has used a driver's door lock-out feature for decades as well...if the driver's door is open, it can't be locked (manually, with the remote, nor with the central lock/unlock button on the center console).

[jimoreno]

QSilver7: Something is not working properly in the lock mechanism because after I get the 45º position it feels like something is supposed to move but nothing does. I sprayed some silicone lubricant in it a couple of days ago but back then it made no difference. I've done nothing to it this past few days so I'll re-connect the battery tonight and give it another go. I'd be great if I don't have to break a window! (i'm just dreading cleaning up all those little pieces of glass!)

Racer2086: So I could use Navcoder to unlock the doors? Now that's an interesting proposition!

[racer2086]

You can't turn it 90* to the left to manual unlock position? It's stiff sometimes (but don't break your key!)