locked out of e32 735i

[e30kev]

hi folks, a mate of mine has a 1988 e32 735i and his battery is completely dead and buried and the keys dont open the locks, i thought about telling him to remove the grill and then release the bonnet and charge or replace the battery, am i right or is it under the rear seat like on the e34?
any other ideas?

[666JSB]

I think it's the same story as the E34 - battery is under the back seat on most except very early models.
Here's a plan - open the boot with the key, that should be no problem. Then open either the clip for the boot interior light or the centre brake light (if it has one) which is located in the boot. Remove the lamp itself. Check polarity of the cables on the light fitting with a multimeter (even if theres only mV it should show you +ve and -ve) You can now attach 12V DC power with correct polarity to each side of the light fitting and after waiting a short while there should be enough power to open up your central locking to access the car to get at the battery under the back seat or under the bonnet if it's located there.

[666JSB]

Bump!! somehow

[pacerpete]

I think it's the same story as the E34 - battery is under the back seat on most except very early models.
Here's a plan - open the boot with the key, that should be no problem. Then open either the clip for the boot interior light or the centre brake light (if it has one) which is located in the boot. Remove the lamp itself. Check polarity of the cables on the light fitting with a multimeter (even if theres only mV it should show you +ve and -ve) You can now attach 12V DC power with correct polarity to each side of the light fitting and after waiting a short while there should be enough power to open up your central locking to access the car to get at the battery under the back seat or under the bonnet if it's located there.

+1


Pulling furiously at the handle while turning the key is supposed to work but 20 years on seldom does

[e30kev]

thanks for the help, i'll pass on the info to my mate

[Baurluvva]

I had this problem...

Drivers door - key in lock - turn key whilst holding up the handle - voila door unlocked

[MJJ_ZX6RR]

Drivers door - key in lock - turn key whilst holding up the handle - voila door unlocked

This worked perfectly a few times on my 1990 735i too.

Martin.