Locked Out of 964

[Dazzler911]

I bought a 964 earlier in the year. The battery has gone flat through lack of use. As the alarm plip keyis usually used to lock/unlock the doors, I've now found out the key which starts the car does not unlock the doors. Either the key is correct and the barrels have siezed on both doors or both locks have been changed, or the ignition has been changed and I've not been given the door keys.
I know I can get to the battery using the emergency trunk release cable behind the indicator but I really want to sort the lock issue out. So, has anyone experienced lock barrels not turning ?
Also can I get a key from Porsche matched by my chassis number?
I'd prefer to be able to open the doors manually if the alarm goes kaput.

Thanks

Darren

 

[mcgc0]

That's an interesting one. You never then used the keys in the door since you've purchased the car..?

I can only think of two possibilities - indeed, barrels have been changed some point (but two doors? and then not given a second key when purchased?) or the solenoids are somehow seized or holding the lock in place(?). Charge the battery or jump lead from another battery then give it a go (maybe energising the solenoid might help) - even though you should be able to use the key with no battery at all... Post back your findings Darren.

 

[andrew_churcher]

I have found with no battery the key will only unlock the passenger door. I would check that again just to make sure

 

[Dazzler911]

I got 2 keys with car, the normal key with the crest and light on it and another with the same cut but with a stumpy head. I tried this in both doors but neither turn. It feels like the key is wrong but it could be something inside the door seized. I'm wondering if when the Cobra alarm was fitted (assuming it's an after market unit) they did something to disable the door locks.
I always use the alarm plip to open and lock the doors so I haven't needed to use the key and therefore didn't realise it didn't open the door. It could be that it's not been used for years and therefore something has siezed.
My plan is to order a new key from Porsche and see if it opens the doors, in case the ignition has been changed and I didn't receive the keys. In the mean time I will use the emergency release to open the hood and get the battery charged up. Once I'm into the car get into the door and check the lock mechanisms.
I bought the car from an auction and all the paperwork and keys were available to view before hand so the keys could have been pinched. It's got a comprehensive history and all the mot's so seems like a good car so I'm hoping it's just a lack of use thing.

I will update on forum on how I get on but this won't be until next weekend now.

 

[Dekker]

Both my 964 open with the keys, both doors.

I'd recommend WD40 and leave to soak overnight.

Then try the keys but also try inserting them at different lengths into the locks incase you are overshooting the lock with the key.

 

[Dazzler911]

I have tried WD40 in both locks. I will try again, maybe derench the inside of the lock and leave bit over night and see if it helps.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[Steve Brookes]

ORIGINAL: Dekker

Both my 964 open with the keys, both doors.

Mine is the same. With a dead battery I can unlock but it's quite a heavy turn of the key. BTW with a dead battery it's not possible to lock the car with the key.

 

[Fred Hindle]

I can easily unlock the driver's door with the key when the battery in disconnected. (Another variation on a theme).

Cheers,

 

[kevinl]

If it turns out you don't have the keys, you can do what I did when I re-keyed my door locks. I had one key that did the ignition, glove box and bonnet lock, one for the passenger door and one for the drivers door. When I did it a few years back I thought about blogging on it.

Essentially, I sourced 2 handles from a breaker in the US as these were the only ones I could find bizarrely. Strip them down and you have a set of 10 sliders and tiny springs, 5 each side of the cylindrical barrel. You must be careful when taking apart that you don't lose the springs as they are really small. The sliders are numbered and have differing sized slots in them. I took my handles out, the only difficult bit being getting the 8mm nut off one end of the handle from inside the door skin. Then just pull all the sliders out and play around with them until you have it such that when the key is in get barrel all the sliders are pulled into the barrel, i.e. the cylinder feels smooth, I have heard for someone who filed off some excess but I didn't do this.

There is an article on Pelican Parts about someone who did this on a 914, the process is very similar.

Btw, the handles cost me £100 all in for the U.S. including postage and I sold them on eBay again for £40, all a bit of a bargain.

I may still have some of the photos somewhere. Will try dig them out if you are interested.

 

[vitesse]

I presume you mean that you made all the different locks so that just 1 key opened them all-by altering the lock cylinders & realigning the slotted plates to suit 1 key-I remember doing this on a car sometime ago-i think I laid out the plates with the key & then shuffled the plates around to suit the key notches so that 1 end of all the plates were in line -this then allows the barrel to rotate.[8|]

 

[Dazzler911]

Im collecting a key from Porsche on Friday which is being cut from my chassis number key code. Im hoping it will different from my ignition keys and will open the doors, this means the ignition lock had been changed and I wasnt given the door keys. If its the same as the ignition it means the ignition wasnt changed and the doors might have or they are jammed, in which case I will need to go into the doors to the lock barrels.
if it fits and I can open the doors all well and good, if not I will have to use the emergency cable to pop the hood to get to the battery and use the plip key to open it.
I will let you know how it goes.

 

[brian williams]

Just a tip. Buy a CTEK battery conditioner to stop your battery from going flat!! Lidl also sell one for about £14.99 or so, but they only have them in now and again. They are both really good at keeping a battery in tip top shape always.

 

[Dazzler911]

Yes I will do this but first I need to get power to my garage.
Alternatively I could drive it more !!

 

[Fred Hindle]

No power in the garage. Can you rig up a solar charger, one with a low wattage output should be fine.

Minor update - battery disconnected - 964 driver's door won't lock.

Cheers,

 

[colin129]

ORIGINAL: Fred Hindle

No power in the garage. Can you rig up a solar charger, one with a low wattage output should be fine.

Minor update - battery disconnected - 964 driver's door won't lock.

Cheers,

Agreed.

I use a 'Discarnect' with costs £5 or £6, which means that the battery is always charged when I want to use the car. It does mean that I leave the car unlocked, but it's not going anywhere without a battery.

 

[PMMatthews]

Might have misunderstood why you need the car unlocked to use the charger, but in case it's useful to anyone I use my CTEK battery conditioner with crocodile clips on the battery terminals, and manage to shut the bonnet lid on the cables (there's quite a thick rubber seal to absorb the thickness of the cables), leaving the 'control box' outside the car. Thus, I can keep the car locked yet still charge the battery. There's a warning about the flammable gases produced from a charging battery being trapped in a confined space, but I've been doing this now for 5 years and I'm still on the same bonnet ...

 

[Dazzler911]

Update:
I picked up a key from Porsche Hatfield on Friday which had been cut to the key number on the Porsche database against my cars VIN.
I'm very pleased to report that it unlocked the drivers door and also locks the glove box.
The Porsche dealer said that when the ignition lock barrels wore out it was cheaper to buy a new lock barrel with a new key than to get a new barrel to fit your existing key hence why my ignition key didn't fit my doors.
I suspect this is what has happened and the door keys got lost due to the alarm always being used to open the doors via the central locking.
I'm now very happy that I can get in to the car should the battery or alarm die. I'm also glad that I've reunited the car with its original key!

Thanks for all your comments on this. I can now admit that this was in fact the second time this has happened and the first time I had an absolute nightmare getting the luggage compartment open with the emergency release as my car was parked extremely close to the garage wall and I did not want to go through that again. So im really pleased to have resolved this.

Thanks all.

Darren []

 

[mcgc0]

Nice one Darren... glad it's all sorted. So I'm clear then, was it just new keys for the existing (worn?) barrels or new barrels too? What was the final cost? []

 

[Dazzler911]

The ignition barrel had been changed before I had bought the car so the two keys I had for the car were for the ignition only. When the battery went flat I then found out I couldn't open the doors. I bought another key from Porsche for £20 based on the VIN and it opened the door.
They couldn't have given me all the keys when I bought it but its all sorted now.