Remote won't open doors?

Tried to get into my 360 for the first time in about 4 months; car was stored in a garage with the trickle charger on. Battery says good (based on trickle) and the remote will chime twice, I hear a click of the door as it unlocks and then it seems to lock back again?

This happens on both driver and passenger side, identical behavior.

WTF?

 

I should also mention that using the key in either the driver or the passenger side door has the same result -- when I turn the key I hear the unlocking noise, which is followed immediately by the locking noise.

 

This is the closest I was able to find to the problem:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430/269238-ok-wtf-doors-wont-unlock-360-a.html

However it's not much help as it has redressed itself. I would reset the battery but the front trunk is locked. I do have the windows cracked about 2 inches on each side so I figured I could try to get a hanger and see if I can unlock the door from the inside...

I just find it weird that the door also does not unlock if the key is used (on either side).

 

OK so here's an update. Still no resolution and it worries me slightly. I have not tried the tender off, but have noticed that the remote does disarm the car, ie the double beep does correspond to the alarm led staying off and the single beep matches the alarm being activated.

What I've noticed is that the lock buttons in the inside handles fail to activate up and down for the unlock/lock activity, respectively. So when pressing the remote and unlocking activity happens, the buttons barely move up as I hear the unlock and then the immediate lock back from the door mechanism.

I am able to use a hook and trying the inside door handles presents resistance in same way as the outside door handle does -- and does not unlock the doors on either side.

Separately trying to pull up on the lock buttons with the hook presents resistance and they do not go up on either side.

So -- I'm thinking that either a computer issue happened which would be remedied with a battery reset OR a mechanical problem in one of the doors. I would find it hard to believe that both doors have the same mechanical issue as their behavior is identical.

However here's a question that I think is relevant -- are both doors independent when it comes to mechanical problems influencing their behavior? Are there any circumstances when a mechanical issue in one door can result in the entire system being fooled?

 

Is this alarm manual available as a PDF anywhere? Maybe it has a few other options.

I would doubt it's the battery as the lock and unlock happens very rapidly along with the inside alarm led going off (unlock) and blinking on (lock). I would assume if the battery was low I would notice some slugishness over the 30 cycles I've tried.

 

Thanks -- just went through the reset procedure - still no go.

The mystery here is whether both doors present the same fault if one of them has an issue. The car was stored in an unheated garage for the last 4 months where the temperatures were as low as the 20s. Currently at 40F I'm thinking that there may be some low-temperature gremlins affecting the system?

 

No the windows are open about 2 in on each side and the tender is actually sitting inside the passenger foot area, I can see the status lights through the window but I don't have access to the charger or the plug in connection as it's inside the cabin. The only wire coming out is the 110V charger wire plugged into an extension cord outside the car.

My thought now is to make a hanger-type contraption to open up the front trunk through the open driver side window (through the backup handle that's under the dash) and then reset the battery, then try to get into the car via the key. I would find it extremely surprising that with the battery off and turning the key on the driver and passenger side door locks independently that both locks would go off and then on.

 

Ok then that is definitely my issue. About a year ago I had the passenger side door having difficulty with opening from the outside. I then removed the internal panel and adjusted the cables in the door lock. Worked fine for months all the way through the winter storage. Maybe the cable had another issue and it's not allowing the door to open at the passenger side.

If the driver side it's synced up to try to correct the right side issue then this is exactly why it's not opening on both sides.

Does it make sense that the central lock system is also active when using the key in the doors one at a time?

Also with the battery off I assume the central lick system is inactive and I can use the key in the door without having both doors in sync?

 

Yes these are the instructions I've used and they worked great - well I guess not that great since I am having that issue now:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430/175604-360-spider-door-locking-closing-problem.html

 

Ok, so an update for the posters here.

Turns out the passenger side cable that goes between the outer handle and the door lock mechanism inside the door has seized, but through a cascaded effect this has triggered both sides inoperable due to the central lock mechanism.

This has definitely been the weirdest and most frustrating somewhat mechanical problem that I've ever head to deal in my entire life.

With the central locking mechanism refusing to open either of the doors, and the key not working on either side, I was lucky enough to have the windows open about ~3 inches on both sides for airing out the car while in storage over the winter.

I manufactured a contraption extension with a semi-rigid joint, and I was able to get the key inside the ignition through the passenger side window! . Furthermore, I turned the key on, then with another extension I pressed the windows down buttons to get the windows all the way down. This was an exercise in patience.

With the windows down, I reached over and popped the front trunk, used the battery kill switch to disable the central locking mechanism. At this point the key still did not open either of the doors which is puzzling. Nor did the inside handle open either door but most likely because of the lock tab being down (doors were locked).

Next step was to start disassembly of the passenger door from the inside of the car, not too bad of a job but it cannot be taken apart fully because there are screws underneath the door which cannot be reached because of the door sill is in the way.

However, I was able to remove the window trim which is on the inside of the door (now both glass windows are retracted inside the door), and look down at the lock mechanism through the narrow slit. What a contraption that thing is.

On the passenger side, where the issue is, I can activate and deactivate the lock mechanism (so the lock tab goes to unlocked or locked) with a thin rod or modified coat hanger. However, because the cable to the external door handle is seized on the inside, neither pulling on the door handle nor on the internal door handle does anything.

On the driver side, I just pulled up the window trim without taking apart the door at all and I was able to unlock the door so the lock tab points up, and then pulling on the external door handle opens the door.

So the next step was to manufacture an extension spray straw that goes into a nozzle of a WD40/PB Blaster/Silicone Lube aerosol can, and point that inside the door that was still giving me trouble, and lubricate both sides of the lock mechanism, including the seized cable which is way down in the door. This is a PITA and makes a mess on the window because you have to do it on both sides of the glass; when retracted the glass goes in between the lock mechanism so there are parts on both sides.

Now, everything is soaking nicely and next step is to tug away at the cable and the door lock mechanism with the lock disabled through the top of the door, until it gives and pops out. Once it does I'll be cleaning and lubricating everything; the cable that is seized is already on order.