Locked out of 96. Have fobs no keys.

[Swinson1974]

I have a 96 XLT. Keys never worked, and the battery is dead. I can't get into it. I've been told to hook my jump box to the starter + and - and I'll get the voltage to unlock with fobs or the number strip on the door... Anyone have advice or better way? Ty.

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

Call your local sheriff the will come and unlock for free. Or a locksmith or tow truck driver. Or coat hanger. To do it the before mentioned way you want to hook - to where batt is grounded on frame/block and just the + on the + on the starter and you will be basically hooking it to the battery.

 

[EB4X]

Once you get in put your door code on bottom of frame inside magnetic key lock box.... in case of future incidents / locking keys in car..once you get working keys ) etc...that's essentially what I did...

 

[toypaseo]

FYI: if you get to the point of breaking a window to get in, don't break the small glass in the back doors. They are more expensive to replace, cost-wise for new.

Although, they would not be difficult to replace with a junkyard unit. I figured that out when I replaced the belt moulding on the front and rear doors. PM me if you need me to find the posting.

 

[J_C]

Keys never worked? It seems like you need a locksmith anyway, or a big old squirt of lube into the cylinders. Did you try the liftgate/glass?

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

I had to get new keys made for my X when I got it. Original Ford key was so work you had to do the jiggle wiggle 15 minutes to get it to crank. After cleaning and lubing I realized the key was just that worn.

And now that I have said that go have a new key cut it might work!

 

[Josh P]

FYI: if you get to the point of breaking a window to get in, don't break the small glass in the back doors. They are more expensive to replace, cost-wise for new.

Although, they would not be difficult to replace with a junkyard unit. I figured that out when I replaced the belt moulding on the front and rear doors. PM me if you need me to find the posting.

Windshield is the cheapest to break.

 

[J_C]

^ I'd sooner bust out any other window and get a replacement at a junkyard, before I'd pick the windshield then pay someone to install a new one because I do bolt-on but I don't do sealing windshields. Having had my windshield replaced a year ago (debris impact, insurance covered it), it was around $250 but a junkyard small glass is around $15, door glass around $25, back hatch $33. Of course YMMV on pricing or what you want to tackle DIY.

Besides, it seems like far more of a PITA to keep hacking away at the windshield till you're through, which due to the plastic layer in windshields, will spray little shards of glass everywhere, then have to climb in while on the hood and land on that glass all over the seats, than to simply bust a side window or rear and reach in to pop the latch mechanism to open the door or rear gate.

I was under the impression that most LEOs won't unlock your vehicle for you any longer unless it's some emergency like baby or pet trapped inside. Guess it might depend on the goodwill of the officer unless they have a policy in place. Even so, a slim jim isn't terribly hard to fabricate (if not buy) and there are youtube videos demonstrating their use....

 

[JustAnotherMember7]

FYI: if you get to the point of breaking a window to get in, don't break the small glass in the back doors. They are more expensive to replace, cost-wise for new.

Although, they would not be difficult to replace with a junkyard unit. I figured that out when I replaced the belt moulding on the front and rear doors. PM me if you need me to find the posting.

Just another piece of advice, but if you do have to break a window. Tape it first. Helps keep fewer shards from going everywhere.

 

[J_C]

^ That works on all (tempered only) windows but the windshield, since the windshield has two glass layers and taping the outside doesn't keep the inside layer in place.

 

[rasouth]

I was able to use a handle from a 5 gal bucket and wiggled it through back window to unlock. Might be enough power to unlock it that way.

 

[allmyEXes]

I bought a rear side glass at the junkyard for $15-. I think the LH rear side glass would be the easiest to break and replace if you couldn't get it open any other way. The door unlock button is on the rear left side too and with power hooked to the starter as @MakinJeepsWeep! said then you could unlock it. A push button wired in to that circuit with the button installed inside the gas door would make it easier in the future to get in there.
On two of my Explorers I have a little fuel size hose clamp on the back latch lock/unlock post? that keeps the back hatch from ever locking. It makes it real easy to get in the back of it at Walmart and the beach if you want to lock the rest of the vehicle. Thieves usually go for the side doors anyway.

 

[sehaare]

I have a 96 XLT. Keys never worked, and the battery is dead. I can't get into it. I've been told to hook my jump box to the starter + and - and I'll get the voltage to unlock with fobs or the number strip on the door... Anyone have advice or better way? Ty.

Hopefully you have gotten this figured out by now, but in case anyone else comes across this thread there is a way to pop the hood from the outside and then just charge the battery until you can use the code.

How to: - Open hood without cable - Help! Hood won't open!

The hood on my 97 Ex won't open...i have tried pulling on the cable, with vise grips, having someone else push on the hood while pulling the cable, sticking a prybar between the hood and grille and applying gentle pressure, and a ridiculous amount of WD40. does anyone have any other tricks or...

www.explorerforum.com

And if you don't know the code or, as was my case, the driver side lock is broken, if your model has the lock/unlock button in the cargo area, you can snake a coat hanger in through the rear glass and push that button to unlock the SUV. No need to break any glass.

 

[Swinson1974]

Thank you everyone. In the end I took a long skinny flathead screw driver and put it through one of the holes the door handle used through the door and wiggled it for 10 minutes until it pushed the lock up.

 

[Rick]

Call your local sheriff the will come and unlock for free.

When my wife moved to AZ we traveled from IL to AZ in two vehicles. Somewhere in West Texas we stopped for fuel and my wife locked her keys in her car. The guy at the gas station said the sheriff was probably at the local diner having lunch and that I should head over there and tell them what was going on. Well I met Sheriff Buford T. Justice and I politely told him my predicament and asked if he had a slim Jim that he could use to get the door unlocked. He locked at me and said "Slim Jim, what do you know about a Slim Jim?" I told him I was from Chicago. He said, "Oh, well that explains that". LOL

Turned out that he didn't have a slim Jim, but he knew a deputy that did, and he told me where to meet up with him. Well, I was sick of meeting TX, sheriff's deputies by now so I went back to where my wife was, told her where the deputy was and had her go get the damn slim Jim.

Well, after awhile she arrived with the deputy. The deputy opened his trunk, and the first thing I noticed was that there was loose ammo scattered everywhere. Then he reached for the underside of the trunklid. He had a leather scabbard attached to the lid that held rifles, and... a slim Jim!

And that's my useless anecdote for the day!