Unlocking an X5 with a dead battery?
 

After reading several threads about electrical 'melt downs' of E70 X5s I began wondering....

1 - Can you unlock the driver's door of an E70 X5 that has a completely dead battery? IOW will the physical key inserted into the driver's door lock and turned, unlock the door.

2 - Has anyone with a battery problem ever been completely unable to get their X5 back running, even after attaching jumper cables in the engine compartment?

BTW this is not market research for yet another Funf Dreisig AG 'must have' X5 accessory -- the Emergency Unlock Device for Dummies (AKA a brick). Not that we didn't think about it. But we decided that even our very best customers (AKA the very biggest dummies) would not carry a brick around in their pockets, in the off chance that their battery might go dead.

Funf Dreisig

Your keyfob has a key in it, which you can use in the old-fashioned way !

I am just amazed that you can't open the glove box in a dead car...guess it locks with the doors and won't open....

I left mine sitting in my driveway for a month this summer while iw as away..no problems, but previously i had the high battery draw warining come on. hoping that my service two weeks ago resolved any issues.

FD - I can't find the online order form for the Red Handle Relocation Kit...starting to think I might want one sooner than later!

Thanks. But I was already fully aware of the key in the fob.

Perhaps I should have been more specific; The question was (and still is) whether the driver's door lock is both manual & electric or only electric.

Note: the manual key does more than just lock/unlock the driver's door. For example, it tells the car that the door has been locked/unlocked which triggers the appropriate audible and visual ques (if you have them set in the iDrive). So it is not clear to me that the driver's door key/lock is physically attached to the locking mechanism and hence would unlock the door if the battery were completely dead. Or whether the driver's door lock is merely a key operated electrical switch.

FWIW the manual key has at least one a trick up its sleeve that the fob buttons do not -- if you hold the key in the lock position it will close all the windows :)

Funf Dreisig

Not to worry, We here at Funf Dreisig AG have retained a high end consulting firm (at high cost*, I might add) that warned us about premature market penetration (or some such term). I am not at liberty to tell you their name, but they made Enron what is is today. They said we should hold back any excitingly explosive introductions as long as we possibly could, thereby enhancing the enjoyment of all concerned.

Besides its no longer called the "Red Handle Relocation Kit", its now called the "Red T Handle Holder for Dummies" you big.... err.... customer, you.

Funf Dreisig AG

* But, their really slick PowerPoint presentations that parrot back every thing we told them, but in a very well crafted way, are included in their exorbitant fees. These will surely sell well with the board, who all worked for this very pricey firm before they were put out to pasture to milk former clients.

Fun,
Make it a project: go out tomorrow and disconnect your batt, try your key
in the door, and report back.

Funf Dreisig,

As you know by now, I could not. I attached my battery charger to the engine compartment connection point (under red plastic cover). Not jumper cables, but same principle. Charger maxed out at 7-8 amps and then cut out.

7-8 Amps is a huge draw. You only need to look at the gauge of wires to see the kind of load they are expected to handle. And there are only handful of wires in an X5'w wiring loom that can handle 7-8 amps sustained load. It's hard to imagine that much of a sustained load in a vehicle other than the starter motor or an electrical short.

Thanks for the reminder --- Don't apply jumpers to a freaked out X5. Battery chargers are smart enough to cut out when they get over loaded. But a jumpered battery (the donor, not the recipient) is NOT!

Thanks - Funf Dreisig

:iagree: good suggestion, please report your results.

+2

I'm not sure if everyone knows, but the remote key can also open and close all windows. Just press and hold the "lock" button to close all windows, and the "open" button to open all windows. :thumbup:

On US models the "unlock" button will open all windows but the 'lock' button on the fob will not close them.

Supposedly this is a saftey feature to keep you from accidentally closing the windows on a hand, etc. when you are too far away to see/hear it. Presumably the reason the manual key does close the windows is that you have to be at most arms length from the car and hence could see/hear if there were a problem.

Funf Dreisig

I would normally have already done this little home work assignment, but...
* our X5 is less than a month old
* I'm betting that it would, at a minimum, require re-programing
* I'm not sure it would even start once the battery was reconnected
* we live 50 mi from the nearest dealer, and
* I'd rather this not be my first call to BMW Assist.

"Yes mam, our X5 won't start. Yes mam, I disconnected the battery on purpose because I was curious to see if the manual key would work with a dead battery. Yes mam, I did reattach the battery cables already. Yes mam, it was running perfectly before I disconnected the battery cables. No mam, I am not a complete idiot -- I was able to use the BMW Assist button to call you, wasn't I?"

Funf Dreisig

Not apples to apples, and strictly Fwiw, when our '01 went batt dead, way back
in '02, from the CD/Radio drain situ, I was able to use the key in the key hole
to manually open the door the driver door.
That was fortunate, as I need the door open to climb back, manually open the
rear hatch and dig out the tow hook for the clueless hillbilly flatbed driver.

It may be different now, on the newer E70s, and/or diesel cars...

Thanks motordavid.

At least we know that the E53s manual door locks worked with a dead battery. I'd bet that the E70's do too. But I would not bet my life on it :)

So until we know for sure I recommend only locking your X5 in areas were there are bricks handy :rolleyes:

Funf Dreisig

From the BMW Intro Document:

"Emergency Unlocking of Glovebox
An emergency unlocking mechanism is provided so that the glovebox can be opened
when the vehicle is de-energized or in the event of faulty unlocking mechanisms.
The emergency unlocking mechanism can be accessed from the front passenger's side.
Only the instrument-panel cover needs to be opened here. Behind this cover is a loop,
which, when pulled, unlocks and opens the glovebox."

I don't know how difficult it is to remove the "instrument-panel cover "

Some more from the intro manual, which implies you can mechanically unlock the door with the key:

"The lock barrel (11) in the driver's door is used for mechanically unlocking or locking the
door. The footwell module (10) evaluates the movement (status of Hall sensors) of the
lock barrel....
Driver's Door Lock Barrel
The lock barrel is connected mechanically via a linkage to the door lock. Hall sensors for
the lock barrel are integrated in the door lock.
The footwell module evaluates the signals from the Hall sensors for locking/unlocking
purposes."


It sounds like the key will physically unlock the door, and the hall sensor is in addition to the mechanical linkage only to monitor the operation of the key for automation features.

Another great find by Penguin!!!:thumbup:

The only problem now is what is Funf Dreisig AG going to do with an 18 wheeler full of 10th Anniversary Commemorative Emergency Unlock Devices for Dummies (AKA really cool bricks)?:rolleyes:

Funf Dreisig

p.s. Penguin where did you come across this "intro manual"?

> where did you come across this "intro manual"?

It's been posted a few places. In fact, xoutpost has it under "articles" and "general information," but the links seem to have died in the move.

When I saw it, I downloaded a copy to my computer.

I did a google and think I found a link to a working copy. Try this:

http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/pdf/e7...troduction.pdf

Thanks again!

I had just Googled the same link.

Funf Dreisig