Battery dead and can’t get into van T6.1

[Pablo12]

Vans been on drive and not used for a while. was going for a little spin, but can’t open the doors via the key fob, nor by the key either.
What are my options? If I can’t get into van I can’t open bonnet to get to battery.

 

[B J G]

VW Assist call.

 

[Chris_BLG_Ocean]

Can you plug in the EHU and it will trickle charge the vehicle battery?


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[B J G]

Monthly mains plug in for battery top up?

 

[Chris_BLG_Ocean]

Or use the key in the door lock to manually unlock the door and access the bonnet to put a battery charger on?


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[Pablo12]

@Pablo12 , are you sure the key itself don’t unlock the driversdoor ?
That should always work mecanicly , is it cold at your place ...frozen lock ?

Yeah it doesn’t open with the key. It’s not frozen. It turns but not fully and feels heavy/soft. I turns about half way rround.

My cables for the lesuire battery are in the back of the van. As is the manual etc.

I’ll try VW Assist.

 

[WelshGas]

Hands up, how many owners check that the key works on a regular basis?

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Strange. Assume the lights do not come on when you use the fob. I.e. is it a flat battery or a more specific problem with your central locking?

 

[Pablo12]

As mentiont above plug it in 220v asap and see maybe if there is a small amount of power going to the starter bat. just enough to unlock .

My leads are in the van. Nightmare.
VW assist have arrived and they had to jack it up and get in underneath to get in.
He didn’t understand why key didn’t work. Battery is now on a trickle charger for 24 hours.

 

[Pablo12]

Hands up, how many owners check that the key works on a regular basis?

I’m not sure I have ever used the key. Why would I.

So I think it was 2 separate issues. Dead battery and key doesn’t work. Both conspired against me.

 

[Meoncoast]

VW assist have arrived and they had to jack it up and get in underneath to get in.

What did they do crawl up the wastewater pipe?

 

[Calimili]

Hands up, how many owners check that the key works on a regular basis?

One of the benefit of having ordered the "surf" key when I bought my Cali, the mechanics of the door lock are checked regularly (in summer at least!).

 

[Loz]

If its completely flat the key wont work as it operates microswitches.

As mentioned, try the hookup.
do you have a tow bar, as you could apply 12v to one of the circuits on the socket maybe to back feed the BCU and press the fob?

 

[Pablo12]

What did they do crawl up the wastewater pipe?

Ha ha ha. I dunno, took off some some stuff underneath engine bay to access ‘something’. I didn’t watch, too busy watching the football in the warmth.

 

[Pablo12]

If its completely flat the key wont work as it operates microswitches.

As mentioned, try the hookup.
do you have a tow bar, as you could apply 12v to one of the circuits on the socket maybe to back feed the BCU and press the fob?

Ahh OK. Very annoying that a flat battery can mean your locked out. As there is no way to access the battery unless you pop the bonnet.

I couldn’t use my hookup - it was in the van.

Anyway all sorted now.

 

[v-tec]

If its completely flat the key wont work as it operates microswitches.

As mentioned, try the hookup.
do you have a tow bar, as you could apply 12v to one of the circuits on the socket maybe to back feed the BCU and press the fob?

Surly the idea of a mechanical key is to undo the lock when the battery fails, or what’s the point of the key, every car I’ve owned if you undo the door with the key the door will open but the alarm will go off,
would be interesting to know how the vw idea holds up.

 

[AlisonF]

Surly the idea of a mechanical key is to undo the lock when the battery fails, or what’s the point of the key, every car I’ve owned if you undo the door with the key the door will open but the alarm will go off,
would be interesting to know how the vw idea holds up.

If the battery is dead, how will the alarm go off?

 

[v-tec]

If the battery is dead, how will the alarm go off?

Most alarm sirens have a built in rechargeable battery, just like a house alarm,

 

[WelshGas]

If its completely flat the key wont work as it operates microswitches.

As mentioned, try the hookup.
do you have a tow bar, as you could apply 12v to one of the circuits on the socket maybe to back feed the BCU and press the fob?

I may be mistaken but I thought the mechanical key would unlock the Drivers door, but not operate any of the others , which as you said depend on power etc:.

 

[Pablo12]

I may be mistaken but I thought the mechanical key would unlock the Drivers door, but not operate any of the others , which as you said depend on power etc:.

It would seem reasonable a mechanical key would open the drivers door. The AA guy was surprised as well and reckoned there was a separate issue with the lock.

I’ll phone the VW Van centre and ask.

 

[Hamish S]

I let my battery go flat the other week, it was down to 3.5 volts but I could still open the drivers door with the key. Maybe your was in a worse state.

 

[Dr-Snickers]

Ahh OK. Very annoying that a flat battery can mean your locked out. As there is no way to access the battery unless you pop the bonnet.

I couldn’t use my hookup - it was in the van.

Anyway all sorted now.

Think I might keep my EHU cable in the garage, when not on a trip, to avoid this problem in future.

I charge once a month anyway but now need to add manual lock checks to the maintenance list

Was also surprised to read that quite a few people have EHU hooked up permanently, when at home, so need to think about that too.

As always, thanks so much for all the super advice on this forum!

 

[Dr-Snickers]

It would seem reasonable a mechanical key would open the drivers door. The AA guy was surprised as well and reckoned there was a separate issue with the lock.

I’ll phone the VW Van centre and ask.

I had this problem with my old 3 series BMW after it sat on my drive for months unused. The battery was so flat, there wasn’t enough charge to allow the central locking to operate and so the mechanical lock wouldn’t function.

Having tried everything they could, the RAC were about the break a window, when I realised my bonnet catch wasn’t properly locked and we managed to get it open.

Once hooked up the the RAC van the door locks worked fine, but the battery was so flat, it wouldn’t take a charge and so a new one was fitted.

Try to keep up with trickle charging now, as with the pandemic, I’m prioritising using the van for run outs over the old car.

 

[Loz]

All the assist guy need to do is get underneath and attach a 12v supply to either the starter motor feed or the alternator feed and then you can use the fob, open the door and release the hood.

 

[Dr-Snickers]

All the assist guy need to do is get underneath and attach a 12v supply to either the starter motor feed or the alternator feed and then you can use the fob, open the door and release the hood.

I think he struggled to do this on mine as I have a gravel drive and it was parked in a way where he felt it would be unsafe to get underneath, due to a slight slope.