Flat vehicle battery, how do I charge up wwhen I cant open passenger door to open bonnet? (1 Viewer)

[ChrisHeap]

Hey there,
I've a 2008 Elddis Autoquest 130 on a Peugeot 2.2HDi Base. I've left it standing and for personal issues, forgot to disconnect the battery, so now its deader than the proverbial dodo.

As a result, the central locking doesnt work. I can get in the driver side or via the habitation door but I need to be able to open the passenger door to access the bonnet release. As there is no key hole on the drivers door, I'm a bit stuck.

Does anyone have any experience/ advice for me that may be able to help please?

Many thanks in advance

Chris

 

[Jev88]

Use another door, sit in passenger seat and open door with handle?

 

[ChrisHeap]

Doesnt work unfortunately, the door lock doesnt disengage when trying to open from inside. Thanks anyway.

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[jezport]

Connect the EHU lead to charge the battery

 

[pappajohn]

Is the battery definitely under the bonnet?
Many are under either passenger or driver's seat or under passenger side floor.

 

[Jev88]

Doesnt work unfortunately, the door lock doesnt disengage when trying to open from inside. Thanks anyway.

I might be wrong but that sounds wrong. Door should be releasable in event of accident. When the doors operate properly isn't there a button/switch to lock and unlock manually.

Alternatively you can rig a 12v cig socket plug and connect to a spare 12v battery and plug in dashboard. Will give power to unlock door electrically.

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[ChrisHeap]

The EHU lead is attached, the leisure battery is fine, but it must be configured so that it doesnt charge the vehicle battery. Im going to look into buying a "vanbitz battery master" so that it monitors the main battery and charges from the leisure battery/ ehu as required, but ideally I'm wanting an electrical specialist to do that just to safe.

 

[Jev88]

The EHU lead is attached, the leisure battery is fine, but it must be configured so that it doesnt charge the vehicle battery. Im going to look into buying a "vanbitz battery master" so that it monitors the main battery and charges from the leisure battery/ ehu as required, but ideally I'm wanting an electrical specialist to do that just to safe.

Vanbitz widget couldn't be simpler. Two wires, one to each positive in batteries

 

[ChrisHeap]

pappajohn, the battery is definitely under the bonnet. There is a removable panel as on the Fiat Ducato, but there is a blanking plate beneath and nothing underneath.

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[Landy Andy]

Isn’t the starter battery under the passenger seat feat? Remove cover then charge.

 

[ChrisHeap]

Jev88 I agree with you about the door should be able to open. I have 2 buttons on the dash for the central locking and nothing on the door just the release handle. I've put a trickle charger solar panel in one of the 2 cigarette lighter sockets, but I've been reading elsewhere that the sockets may not be "live" without the ignition on. If that's the case, would I still get some degree of charge into the system. I have a tacklife T8 battery pack/ car booster. I have a cigarette socket (female) for that. I had wondered if I bought/ made up a male-male cigarette lighter plug, whether that would give a similar result - (trickle charge at 12v, not battery boost obviously), but having read about the "live" sockets, I'm not sure whether to waste my time?

 

[houdini]

Hiya - just looked at a handover video for your vehicle and it shows locking/unlocking door buttons on dash. Are these on your vehicle?

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[Swifter]

I’ve had this happen in one of my cars before . I left a 12v fridge on and it completely flattened the battery . It’s a silly design .
What you need to do is get into the foot well( I had to get upmost upside down ) and remove the handle , then you can pull the bonnet release wire release with a pair of pliers .

 

[Swifter]

Hiya - just looked at a handover video for your vehicle and it shows locking/unlocking door buttons on dash. Are these on your vehicle?

View attachment 629888

But his battery is dead so how will that switch have power ?

 

[L' Hobo]

Unless there is some sort of child lock on the passenger door, you should be able to open it by pulling the release handle?

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[Swifter]

Unless there is some sort of child lock on the passenger door, you should be able to open it by pulling the release handle?

Doesn’t the door require power to initialise the central locking and unlock the door so he can access the bonnet release ?
I think that’s the problem here .

 

[gus-lopez]

Doesn’t the door require power to initialise the central locking and unlock the door so he can access the bonnet release ?
I think that’s the problem here .

only if it is double locked or deadlocked.

 

[houdini]

But his battery is dead so how will that switch have power ?

Oops!

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[dunnah01]

Can you charge via a battery conditioner and the cigarette lighter socket?

 

[L' Hobo]

Doesn’t the door require power to initialise the central locking and unlock the door so he can access the bonnet release ?
I think that’s the problem here .

For safety sake, I THINK, if the driver has locked the vehicle, the passenger should be able to escape in an emergency?
The OP can get in the vehicle via the habitation door he said?

 

[Swifter]

I have a feeling we will never know the outcome of this query .

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[Swifter]

For safety sake, I THINK, if the driver has locked the vehicle, the passenger should be able to escape in an emergency?

Trust me I’ve had this happen on a car . Once the battery is completely flat you cannot open the doors . This was on a Skoda Octavia. There was a manual key slot on the drivers door but not the passenger door. The only way I know is to remove the plastic pull handle and then use pliers to pull the metal cord that operates the bonnet catch . It’s extremely difficult to do this .
I guess the op could charge the battery via EHU and selecting cab battery to charge but not sure if this is an option for him .

 

[The general]

I have a feeling we will never know the outcome of this query .

It’s getting near my bedtime

 

[L' Hobo]

Trust me I’ve had this happen on a car . Once the battery is completely flat you cannot open the doors . This was on a Skoda Octavia. There was a manual key slot on the drivers door but not the passenger door. The only way I know it is to remove the plastic pull handle and then use pliers to pull the metal cord that operates the bonnet catch . It’s extremely difficult to do this .
I guess the op could charge the battery via ECU and selecting can battery to charge but not sure if this is an option for him .

So, invite the MIL in, escape by the drivers door and then disconnect the battery? The things one has to do for a quiet weekend?

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[houdini]

Dolphin have just sold an earlier model, perhaps they could give some advice?

 

[Swifter]

So, invite the MIL in, escape by the drivers door and then disconnect the battery? The things one has to do for a quiet weekend?

Leave a pair of pliers in there to give her half a chance of escape . All she needs to do then is get upside down in the footwell

 

[Swifter]

I might be wrong but that sounds wrong. Door should be releasable in event of accident. When the doors operate properly isn't there a button/switch to lock and unlock manually.

Alternatively you can rig a 12v cig socket plug and connect to a spare 12v battery and plug in dashboard. Will give power to unlock door electrically.

He’s not wrong . The central locking mechanism needs some power to operate and he has absolutely no power in his cab battery . This happened to me . The battery was so flat it might as well not have been there . Not dash lights , no clicks , literally nothing .
It’s a stupid design .

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[mofurt]

I built a rather useful cable that connects my ctek charger to the grey socket on my car's tow bar. That allows me to charge the car without getting to the battery - useful if the battery is completely flat, or it's just parked with the rear to the garage and I want to top it up because it hasn't been driven for a while without running a mains cable to it; the charger can stay in the garage and only 12v is outside.

 

[Jamesh]

I built a rather useful cable that connects my ctek charger to the grey socket on my car's tow bar. That allows me to charge the car without getting to the battery - useful if the battery is completely flat, or it's just parked with the rear to the garage and I want to top it up because it hasn't been driven for a while without running a mains cable to it; the charger can stay in the garage and only 12v is outside.

Yeap put an Anderson socket somewhere to attach a charger to the battery.

 

[maxsdad]

If you can excess the starter motor from underneath the vehicle there will be a direct live feed to the solenoid mounted on the starter.
It may be possible to attach a wire to this with a crocodile clip and then to your charger any metal for negative

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