Opening the door with a dead battery

Ford_orr

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I think the issue there is the key detection. Not sure how much power that consumes.
That makes sense. Then, along w/the rechargeable lithium doorframe battery, add a remote FOB frequency transmitter that's synced to the vehicle's system so when the LVB dies, the lithium battery wakes up and simultaneously powers the door button actuator and transmitter so it recognizes the key FOB. It won't matter whether the door was locked or not prior to the LVB dying as it'll function just as if the LVB were live. And have it also power the pillar soft keys so if the FOB is unavailable for whatever reason, one could enter the passcode and open the door that way.
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wholesome

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Or maybe this little battery could power the keypad on the door, so you can open the door with the code if lvb failed
 

Sikkun

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That makes sense. Then, along w/the rechargeable lithium doorframe battery, add a remote FOB frequency transmitter that's synced to the vehicle's system so when the LVB dies, the lithium battery wakes up and simultaneously powers the door button actuator and transmitter so it recognizes the key FOB. It won't matter whether the door was locked or not prior to the LVB dying as it'll function just as if the LVB were live. And have it also power the pillar soft keys so if the FOB is unavailable for whatever reason, one could enter the passcode and open the door that way.
And then if that battery or the transmitter dies?

We all know what the actual most fail safe method would have beenā€¦a mechanical key.

But I also assume most of us bought said vehicle knowing that there wasnā€™t one.
 

spicy_taco

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I suspect the issue with making this work with a locked door is that there are quite a lot of systems involved. Those are separate from the door latch mechanism and the capacitors are not enough to keep these systems alive. I'm hoping someone with datasheet access could pull up the system diagram here to show which modules are actually involved in the two scenarios:

1) using key fob (some RFA module, the network has to be up too?)
2) using the key pad
 

Mache_Nor

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No need to reinvent the wheel; Do some small changes to the key we have now (it can be split into a piece that looks like a flat physical key), then some place it can be inserted into the car to unlock at least one door. My Nissan Leaf 1 gen had it, and it worked wonders when the car had a dead 12V. As of now, I canā€™t even think of a good use for the physical keyfob when the car is dead, or, maybe you could use it as buttplug to forget for a second what a pain in the ass the current solution is :) (ā€œis the car dead-dead and need the normal emergency rutine, or is it just somewhat dead and you need the alternative emergency rutine OR maybe you was lucky and door was not locked so maybe it works and the SssSssssupercapacitor will let you open the doors?ā€)
 
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Teslaeata

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Have I not seen because itā€™s not listed here or that I just missed any reports than froot was opened with the jumper wires for access to 12V battery under bonnet, 12V battery or external power source applied to 12V system to enable doors to become unlocked, opened etc!
 

Guss-E 2021

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Or maybe just leave one physical key hole on the driver's side. No electricity required šŸ˜.
 

Guss-E 2021

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No need to reinvent the wheel; Do some small changes to the key we have now (it can be split into a piece that looks like a flat physical key), then some place it can be inserted into the car to unlock at least one door. My Nissan Leaf 1 gen had it, and it worked wonders when the car had a dead 12V. As of now, I canā€™t even think of a good use for the physical keyfob when the car is dead, or, maybe you could use it as buttplug to forget for a second what a pain in the ass the current solution is :) (ā€œis the car dead-dead and need the normal emergency rutine, or is it just somewhat dead and you need the alternative emergency rutine OR maybe you was lucky and door was not locked so maybe it works and the SssSssssupercapacitor will let you open the doors?ā€)
Damn should have read all the posts before commenting šŸ˜‚
 

Old_Norm

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That worked because the doors were UNLOCKED when you disconnected the 12V battery. Repeat the experiment with the doors LOCKED before disconnection and you'll see the issue.
Post #4
 

bigredx86

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So question, why are we trying to ā€œreset the car?ā€ What is the original problem?
 

bigredx86

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Or maybe just leave one physical key hole on the driver's side. No electricity required šŸ˜.
But everyone wants their cars more like an Tesla and/or iPhone, šŸ¤¦ā€ā™‚ļø.
 

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This thread about a dead battery and inability to enter the vehicle and all the " fixes" reminds me of the space race between the Russians and the United States. The USA spent millions developing an ink pen that could write upside down in no gravity and the USSR just used a pencil.
 

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These threads are ridiculous. This should never have been an issue from day one. LVB dies, you should still be able open the damn door! I predict in 10 years (hopefully less), these stories will come up in "remember when" references as there's no way this can be a sustainable fact-of-life part of EV ownership. They should install a small lithium rechargeable battery in the door frame of the driver-side door that kicks in when the LVB dies. It's a joke this happens with these vehicles and we keep hearing these stories.
Folks after almost 4 years of running around happily with my MME, I experienced a LVB failure. My wife managed to drive for 45 min to one of hers hiking trails only to experience the Dead battery issue. The phone rank, her voice a bit concerned that she did something wrong. All was working until she parked the Mach E. I told her that I was on my way with a new battery.
My issue and complaint to Ford is why canā€™t we all have the way to check the health of our LVB??
Yesā€¦.I know, an OBDII reader will be able to help you with the health of the 12V battery. No warning, no notification and no alerts of any impending failure.
It took an hour and a half to gather my tools, a new battery and drive to her hiking spot to change the depleted battery. To my wife, I was a hero. For me was few hours of lost revenue since I took off from work.
Now that this issue is resolved, I wonder if Ford will work on some code to monitor and check the health of that small and pricey AGM battery.
Has to be a way for some of us who can tell when that battery is near the end of its service life.
It feels like rolling the dice every day after the 36 months duration of service life of the battery. Another thing that I learned is that the same battery resides in my Lightning truck. Iā€™m going to have to change the battery in the next 7 months because I donā€™t want to find out while I am stranded 100-200 miles from home.
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