Today was a bad day!

I'm posting this just in case you ever find yourself in the same position.

The sun came out so i wanted to take the old girl for a spin! Remote didn't work so assumed the key would manually, WRONG! Tried both keys and none would open the door. Obviously the Aux Battery was fully discharged.
Rang Bentley they wouldn't even speak to me and said "the door lock must be broken, so nothing we can do"! Tried many things with the help of a local locksmith, what worked in the end with my convertible was to place a small airbag between the main drivers side window and the rear quarter window which retracts back and down when dropping the roof. the locksmith made a duplicate small key (like they used to be years ago) and attached the same to a steel rod, we threaded the rod through the window and got the key into the ignition, (the theory was if we could start the car it would put voltage back into the aux system and we could open the doors etc) with the slimline key in the ignition, we turned the key and with another small steel rod pressing the brake we got lots of flashing lights but a message showing "immobiliser active" holding the original key fob as close to the ignition as possible didn't work, but what did happen was the rear window went back about half an inch, this gave us even more room, we then taped the main key to the steel rod, fed the key into the ignition, turned counterclockwise first, then clockwise, obviously with the other rod pressing the brake pedal. Hey presto, the car started and after 10-20 seconds we pressed the remote unlocking and the door opened.
I will look to change the battery ASAP as i think its the original so 9 years old now and will invest in a battery conditioner.

Lessons learned,
1. Don't trust Bentley agent to service your car correctly.
2. Check your manual locking mechanism regularly.
3. Feeding a wire into the car and pulling the door handles open doesn't work as the doors are deadlocked.
4. You can't open the bonnet (hood for you American chaps) as the front door needs to be open to be able to pull the lever.

have left it parked in the garage with the window down, just in case!

Cheers

Jim

 

5. Keep the Bentley on a CTEK battery charger, as it sucks down power even when not in use.

 

Hello Jim,


I am sorry to tell you this, but you are 100% wrong, and your dealer is correct, the key is 100% manual, you either have something wrong with your lock cylinder or broken door latch mechanism, or it could simply be that you did not turn the key far enough counter clockwise to the 9:00 position, not 10:00 or 9:30, but flat at 9:00, you should feel the resistance of the mechanism, 9:00 to unlock, 3:00 to lock, I have my GT with no batteries in it at all right now and the lock works perfect no electric needed as it is manual, this is the same setup I have worked on in 05,06 and 07 GT's, see my picture for the flat blade from lock cylinder that inserts into latch and lock mechanism.


.

 

Jonny,

Thanks for the time you have taken to respond.

I was not suggesting the Bentley call-out technician was incorrect in his "over the phone" diagnosis, on the contrary, I fully agree with him, and you for that matter, my gripe was that Bentley call-out offered no alternative, if the lock is broken how do we get into the car?
The fact that it was in for a service a couple of months ago wouldn't this of been checked, obviously not. I'm a strong believer that faults on cars are not unique to a particular car but more likely to effect a batch of vehicles, common problems with Bentley GTC?

My key did turn the full 90 to 3 o'clock position (mine is right hand drive) therefore assume is the opposite to your LHD vehicle.

I think it's likely that the barrel is turning but not the mechanical rod at the back of the barrel that turns the actual lock, only a strip-down will reveal the actual issue.

Once again, thanks for your time.

 

Hello Jim,


Sorry I misunderstood your statement, I read it as one flowing sentence, I missed the period, "Remote didn't work so assumed the key would manually, WRONG! Tried both keys and none would open the door, Obviously the Aux Battery was fully discharged." This is how I read it, so I thought you were thinking that the battery had something to do with the manual key not working.


Sorry but I have to ask, did you try the key at 9:00, I know you are RHD, but what does it do if you turn left or right full 90 degrees each way, any resistance at all, or any sounds, feeling, anything, as the rod is pretty well attached to the cylinder and the rod goes deep into the latch mechanism, so it is not so easy for it to fall out.


.

 

Hi Johnny,

Thanks again for your time. I have tried again now, obviously i now have power to the car but the lock doesn't do anything, it turns anticlockwise from 12 to 10 and clockwise 12 to 3, there is resistance turning it anticlockwise but not clockwise.

I don't really want to try disconnecting the battery again however i would of thought the lock mechanism would work to unlock the car even if the battery is full?

Bigger issues now also, the car wont accelerate normally, its fine if i press the accelerator very gradually the engine will pick-up fine and rev to 4,000 rpm, but if i press the accelerator normally either stationary or on the move the car misfires and splutters and wont go above 2,000 rpm!

Tried stopping and restarting several times, but the problem persists, sometimes the EPC and TC amber lights remain on, sometimes not. Seems every day is a new problem with this car.

Car was serviced 3,000kms ago, i really hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Cheers

Jim

 

Hello Jim,


Be sure that both batteries are 100%, any low battery will cause havoc on engine performance and all electrical systems, throwing codes and such.


As far as the door lock, yes the key should work manually with batteries or no batteries, it seems you may have a problem with the latch assembly, as it should turn freely left and right a full 90 degrees with the slightest resistance, take a look at this a pictured below and check it out, BUT BE SURE TO have windows down, I am not sure what the purpose of this is, but the rubber cap comes off and the lock mechanism is there, maybe some kind of lockout, does any one here know the purpose for this plug ?


Jim,


Also when you turn the key either way and hold it, do your windows go up or down ?

 

Hi Johnny,

Thanks again....

The windows don't go up if i use the key, but do if i press lock and hold in the button on the remote of the door. I think the physical connection between the barrel and the locking mechanism is broken or faulty.
The garage are picking it up tomorrow as it now can't be driven due to the spluttering engine. To me the new problem seems more related to a flow control valve or something. Its going to be an expensive trip this time, squealing brakes, engine lumpy, door lock mechanism calipers need re-coating and spraying, the list goes on.

My gripe is that surely with a full BSH all these issues should of been sorted / advised. There are missing screws on the cowling under the hood, under-body plastic covers also missing several screws etc, etc.
For me its not a sign of a professional service.

 

Hi Johnny,

First and foremost thanks for your help and the time taken to post the photos.

The car developed some more issues so i found a Bentley specialist here in Ireland who has done a great job for me.

The lock was, as we had come adrift from the door mechanism, resulting in the problem of the key not working, it took him 20 mins to fix the issue.

Also had a failure to pick-up when driving the car, this was a signal issue as the air intake valves were not balanced, this turned out to be a faulty connection in one of the electronic joints, again fixed. he also replaced the battery and put right some issues that had been neglected by the main Bentley dealer, (rear bumber misaligned, chrome trim, squealing brakes and the cowling on the underside of the car fixed). i bought myself a CTEK charger also. Today is a glorious day with clear blue skies, I'm hoping to enjoy a day out n it with my Daughter!

 

Hello Jim,
Glad to hear it all worked out !

 

hello GTC from San Francisco...was reading your service exploits of last year...more power to you...Johnny is an amazing asset here, have you been keeping up with his project...
Have things settled down...JimB