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Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: GMC on September 13, 2013, 10:20:17 am

Title: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: GMC on September 13, 2013, 10:20:17 am
Welcome, strangers, to the show
I'm the one who should be lying low

Our VE commodore has suffered a few flat batteries of late but I couldn’t be sure if the battery was on its way out or if there is an electrical drainage of some sort.
Frustrated with not knowing when I would have to jump start it next I lashed out on a new battery to at least rule this out before I start paying out heaps to an auto elec.

I was in the middle of changing the battery last night, disconnected the leads and the holding bracket and I was just sorting out how to lift it out of its little tight squeeze cavity when the wife yells out that it was time to go pick up the pizza.

So I decide to finish it the next day and stupidly I shut the boot
( never do today what you can put off till tomorrow ;D)

Thing is you see, the battery is in the boot,
and the only way to open the boot is with the electric solenoid,
which doesn’t work because I have disconnected the battery.
No big deal,
I will just connect the jumper leads to the terminals under the bonnet,
except both my sets of jumper leads are locked in the boot,
along with the new battery.

I’m now looking for the battery charger to try to get some power into the system so I can unlock the boot.

Doh
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Viper79 on September 13, 2013, 10:31:19 am
You should be able to get to the boot lock if you remove the back seat.
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Tony T on September 13, 2013, 10:37:42 am
never do today what you can put off till tomorrow ;D

Never put off till tomorrow what you can get out of doing altogether!  ;D

Surely the back seat folds down on those? 
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: FourstrokeForever on September 13, 2013, 10:38:35 am
Yep! sounds as though you will have to be negotiating your way through the back seat Goeff. Make sure you have yourself one of those "confined space tickets" or you will never be allowed in!
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: John Orchard on September 13, 2013, 10:47:44 am
What pizza did you get?
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: GMC on September 13, 2013, 10:49:17 am
You should be able to get to the boot lock if you remove the back seat.

Nuh uh, the car is on gas
We got in with the battery charger so all is good

Wasted 20 min's looking for a keyhole that doesn't exist.
Wonder how they go with some of the more modern cars that don't have keys at all.
No power would mean you can't unlock the doors to lift the bonnet to apply jumper leads??
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: GMC on September 13, 2013, 10:51:58 am
What pizza did you get?

I only have to order a house special with no onion + garlic bread and the Pizza shop know it will be for me.
I can't be too far from having a pizza named after me now.
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: bishboy on September 13, 2013, 11:05:29 am
I ahd a VE crewman and the battery went flat and the same problem, couldn't unlock the doors, even with the key as in an electronic solenoid.  Had to put my hand up behind the grill and pull on the cable to open the bonnet  ::)
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Simo63 on September 13, 2013, 11:12:47 am
Wasted 20 min's looking for a keyhole that doesn't exist.
Wonder how they go with some of the more modern cars that don't have keys at all.

Might have to resort to the old fashioned brick or hammer method  :)

What pizza did you get?

I only have to order a house special with no onion + garlic bread and the Pizza shop know it will be for me.
I can't be too far from having a pizza named after me now.

Should have paid the $8 and had it delivered ya tight arse  :P (yeah I know .. I've been to your place ... they probably don't deliver out there so it's a cheap shot  ;))
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: firko on September 13, 2013, 11:24:48 am
We were at CD1 back in 2000, staying at the Kyneton Boy Scouts camp and about to leave for the pub when I had a problem with the battery terminals in my NC Fairlane. In one of my usual tizzies I popped the bonnet, jiggled the battery terminals and dropped the bonnet in one fluid movement before realising that 1: the car was locked, 2:I'd left my keys sitting on top of the engine rocker cover and 3: there is no external bonnet latch on the Fairlane. We had no joy at all breaking into the car using gizmos fashioned from coat hangers and strips of lino so with Magoo, Bazza and the rest of Klub Kevlar giving me no end of shit stirring grief I had to call the RAC who managed after a fair bit of effort, to break into the car, pop the bonnet and retrieve the keys. We got to the pub 90 minutes late where I became the whipping boy for Magoo's merciless shit stirring for the rest of the evening........... ;D
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: FourstrokeForever on September 13, 2013, 11:25:15 am
You should be able to get to the boot lock if you remove the back seat.

Nuh uh, the car is on gas
We got in with the battery charger so all is good

Wasted 20 min's looking for a keyhole that doesn't exist.
Wonder how they go with some of the more modern cars that don't have keys at all.
No power would mean you can't unlock the doors to lift the bonnet to apply jumper leads??

Itdoes make you wonder what they were thinking when they leave any manual way of entry out of the design brief. I wonder the same with some of the modern bikes as well. No kickstarter means a long walk out of a gully if the battery goes flat and there's no way to bump start the sucker.....
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Nathan S on September 13, 2013, 11:42:27 am
I always liked the old DT200 trick of hiding the toolkit behind the sidecover, so you had to remove the sidecover to get at the toolkit.
And of course, you need a screwdriver to remove the sidecover...


I can't be too far from having a pizza named after me now.

Next time I'm in your part of the world, I'm going to ring the pizza shop up and ask for a family size Procrastinator, and see how if they know what I'm talking about... :D

Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Canam370 on September 13, 2013, 01:02:27 pm
I can't be too far from having a pizza named after me now.

Will that be the Billy Bunter special?
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: frostype400 on September 13, 2013, 04:32:47 pm
My dad use to have an old truck he used to pick up fire wood and I left the light on in the back of it once.

I would have been only 5 or 6 and he thought it had just a flat battery so he got it going turned it off after it had ran for a while but it was flat the next day so he thought the battery must be stuffed got a new one and it went flat then he found the light I don't think he was to happy about it.
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: DR500 on September 13, 2013, 04:37:24 pm
To get into boot on VE with flat battery, use key to unlock drivers door, fold down centre seat and look to left and a yellow  toggle tucked behind rhr sear back , pull toggle and boot will open.
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Ted on September 13, 2013, 05:27:10 pm
Being a Holden, that should be taught in school ;D
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Davey Crocket on September 13, 2013, 07:55:38 pm
On the flash Commodores with factory GPS, all you would have had to do is ring up the Holden help line and they would have opened the car by satilite  navigation system  8)
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: the stig on September 13, 2013, 08:31:39 pm
To get into boot on VE with flat battery, use key to unlock drivers door, fold down centre seat and look to left and a yellow  toggle tucked behind rhr sear back , pull toggle and boot will open.

     Yep the old togle switch behind the seat  : ??? ??? ???
    Thats what i had to do when she who dose nothing wrong locked the keys
    in the boot but I had to drive 35kl then break into the car First.

     The Stig
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: GMC on September 13, 2013, 09:47:21 pm
To get into boot on VE with flat battery, use key to unlock drivers door, fold down centre seat and look to left and a yellow  toggle tucked behind rhr sear back , pull toggle and boot will open.

Well I’ll be danged, so there is.
That would have been a lot quicker than trying to remember where I left the battery charger and getting an extension lead out to the car.

I guess that would have been in the owner’s manual but who reads them?
No, seriously, who actually reads them?

The bank of knowledge here never ceases to amaze me.
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Rossvickicampbell on September 13, 2013, 11:47:23 pm
Young Geoff - you do realise that is a keeper  ;D
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: pancho on September 14, 2013, 10:51:54 am
 Hey GMC, very risky for the ECM (computer) to hook up a battery charger to it!.
 If it was a Magna the ECM would emit a puff of green smoke either straight away or months later.

 Commodore is a bit forgiving but will only stand minor insults.

 cheers.
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: GMC on September 14, 2013, 03:33:45 pm
Young Geoff - you do realise that is a keeper  ;D

Yeah (sigh) I know
The really dumb thing was I shut the boot so the light wouldn't flatten the battery despite the fact that I had disconnected the battery 3 minutes earlier :-[

Hey GMC, very risky for the ECM (computer) to hook up a battery charger to it!.
 If it was a Magna the ECM would emit a puff of green smoke either straight away or months later.

 Commodore is a bit forgiving but will only stand minor insults.

 cheers.

Yes that was on my mind due to the battery not being there to absorb any spikes but I did set myself up with the leads next to the button and it was only plugged in long enough to trip the solenoid
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: Tim754 on September 14, 2013, 06:28:02 pm
Now would be good time (as it is unlocked)  to peruse  the   owners/ shit no I'm still paying the turd off   handbook perhaps..... ;)
Title: Re: I’ve done all the dumb things
Post by: 80-85 husky on September 14, 2013, 10:17:01 pm
Ive read some interesting things in owners manuals over time so I always flick through the jump starting, locking and fueling (diesels) sections.... amazing stuff...