Cannot unlock Freelander 1 / 1.8 with a flat battery

[goffretus]

I have a 1998 Freelander 1 / 1.8 with a flat battery (no flashing red light on the dashboard). I have the key and put a new battery in the fob but I cannot unlock the car so cannot access the engine compartment to change the main battery. Surely this must happen with some frequency so presumably there is a simple solution short of breaking a window, which may not resolve much! Is there some way to hook up a spare charged battery to reactivate the central locking?
Thanks

 

[disco_mikey]

If you have twin electrics on a towbar, you can shove 12v up that, and unlock it that way.
Lets assume you have tried the key in the drivers door lock, and tried to unlock manually...

Otherwise, you may have to get underneath with some wire, and attached it to the main battery cable at the starter motor, and give it 12v from your new battery, to get it unlocked...

 

[teddywood1]

just do it with the key

 

[illy]

just do it with the key

lol

illy

 

[Singvogel]

New fob battery & new main battery at the same time??

He'll be back with more probs pretty soon I think.

What will he be asking first?

Singvogel.

Sorry - illy - didn't necessarily mean you.

 

[DD3]

No wonder we get grief from the tratterers!

 

[Skynet]

Does this child not have a elder male family member to ask such questions of???

 

[illy]

illy will be back with more probs pretty soon I think.
Singvogel.

To true mate Im as thick as a brick really

illy

 

[Hippo]

Will the key in the door still work if it's superlocked with the remote prior to battery going flat? Superlock disables handles.

Find a pic of yer engine bay online or know where your battery is located.
Take the engine sump tray oft.
Put (go-gadget) arm up side of engine and connect croc clip from battery charger to battery.
Turn on battery charger.
Wait for battery to charge for a bit.
Try unlocking.

Make sure you get the polarity correct.

 

[Freelaner]

shirley Teddy is right, the key will open the door

 

[schultz]

hi, you can try and get a good battery and run the live (with a jump leed) to the positive on the starter motor and the negative on to the engine in a good spot this will be easyer to do.

 

[Hippo]

shirley Teddy is right, the key will open the door

I thought he has no power at all. So superlock thing won't un-superlock and allow door handles to work again.

 

[Freelaner]

I thought he has no power at all. So superlock thing won't un-superlock and allow door handles to work again.

You would've thought that the original key in the lock would override it and allow access to drivers door.
I've not tried it but would like to think that would be the case.

 

[Freelaner]

Update
I've just done a search and the favorite method is to put a jump lead from a good battery to the starter or alternator and a good earth.
That sucks!

This involves dropping the sump tray

 

[teddywood1]

just turn the key twice and it will unlock believe me

 

[goffretus]

Well, Teddy was wrong, the key did not open the door which must be rather obvious from the question. Perhaps he did not take account of it being a series 1, the series 2 apparently corrected the issue with some kind of additional keylock, hidden maybe? Thank you Disco_Mikey and Hippo for your sensible responses, there is, however, a brilliantly easy way into the engine compartment that I was unaware of when I asked the question.... I'm really much too old to be messing around under a vehicle parked in a very narrow and busy street with irresponsible French youngsters ready to run over my legs.... all at minus 3 centigrade.

 

[WLJayne]

He'll be back with more probs pretty soon I think.

What will he be asking first?

No doubt . Ready and willing here hehe.

 

[Singvogel]

I don't have a 1999 manual - but the 2001 manual tells me that the key can be used to unlock - whether superlocked or not.

Is the vehicle LHD?

Does it have a key-slot on both front doors - if so I would try all the locks - not just the driver's door.

If this is correct and the OP's vehicle has no faults - then this lock-out situation is a major f**k up on the part of LR. This a new one!

And we need to stop taking the p*ss from the OP.

Singvogel.

 

[Hippo]

So what does superlocking do and how is it done? I thought it was something which disables the handles by disconnecting them somehow physically. That’s internal and external handles disconnected. When pressing the remote to lock it it also superlocks all doors so the superlocking must use electricity to work. The only way for the key to un-superlock would be if there was a mechanical "thing" option on the driver’s door key lock so the key could physically un-superlock the driver’s door if the battery was totally dead or disconnected. Freelander 1’s do have a small T shaped key for emergency use but I int got one for mine so I can’t test it to see what it does.

 

[englishbullterrier]

I had a 5 series (E34) once locked with a totally flay battery. Method to unlock was to hold the handle in the unlock position with one hand and to turn the key, multiple times until it unlocked. Just sayin'.....