Locked Out!
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Joined: Oct 2013
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From: Fair Oaks, CA
Locked Out!
I'm new here, but read some older threads on door locks and various ways to lock your truck. However I did not see a post about locking yourself out with the keys not in the truck.
My truck has exterior key locks on both doors, but I suppose the same thing could happen with only the passenger side key lock. As you know, when inside the truck you can lock the doors with the remote handle by (in my case) lifting it upward while the door is closed. Also, you can be outside the truck with the door open and Lift the inside remote handle to the same lock position and close the door, thus locking the door (no key required). When I did this with both doors, I was locked out and the key would not unlocked either door. The wing vents were locked shut, so I had to call AAA. I remember doing the same thing to this truck about 30 years ago, but forgot that I had to lock at least one door from the outside with the key (and the interior handle not in the locked position).
Why in the world would Ford engineer a locking system like this?
My truck has exterior key locks on both doors, but I suppose the same thing could happen with only the passenger side key lock. As you know, when inside the truck you can lock the doors with the remote handle by (in my case) lifting it upward while the door is closed. Also, you can be outside the truck with the door open and Lift the inside remote handle to the same lock position and close the door, thus locking the door (no key required). When I did this with both doors, I was locked out and the key would not unlocked either door. The wing vents were locked shut, so I had to call AAA. I remember doing the same thing to this truck about 30 years ago, but forgot that I had to lock at least one door from the outside with the key (and the interior handle not in the locked position).
Why in the world would Ford engineer a locking system like this?
Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Hot AZ (Phoenix Valley)
LOL... been there... done that... They weren't suppose to lock when you pull up and close the door... over the years they now lock when you close the door. They engineered things like they built things before... think about how many cars didn't have any locks... @ one time they didn't even have ignition switches...
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: East KY
LOL... been there... done that... They weren't suppose to lock when you pull up and close the door... over the years they now lock when you close the door. They engineered things like they built things before... think about how many cars didn't have any locks... @ one time they didn't even have ignition switches...
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2004
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From: San Jose, CA
Doc, the driver's side door is locked by pulling the inside handle up, then exiting from the passenger side and locking the passenger door by using the lock cylinder. Otherwise, if the user pulls up on the inside door handle on the passenger side and closes the door, the user will indeed be locked out becasue the lock cylinder works independently of the inner handle door latch. Same goes for the driver's side door lock cylinder, if equipped.
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From: Fair Oaks, CA
That's a good idea Jolly Roger Joe. I hadn't thought about your approach.
Bill
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: East KY
Doc, the driver's side door is locked by pulling the inside handle up, then exiting from the passenger side and locking the passenger door by using the lock cylinder. Otherwise, if the user pulls up on the inside door handle on the passenger side and closes the door, the user will indeed be locked out becasue the lock cylinder works independently of the inner handle door latch. Same goes for the driver's side door lock cylinder, if equipped.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2011
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From: Rockingham, VA
Well, actually, it's a simple matter of locking the driver's side door with the door open, standing dangerously in the middle of the street, and closing the door. It will be locked. You do not have to exit from the passenger side. That's what I did to lock myself out. I locked both doors by pushing up the handle, closed the doors, and THEN discovered that the key wouldn't unlock the door. DUH! 
Don't try this at home. Your mileage may vary. Has been known to cause cancer in laboratory rats.
Don't try this at home. Your mileage may vary. Has been known to cause cancer in laboratory rats.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: East KY
Another "weakness"/opportunity that I noticed when I was dismantling my 50 is the rear window. It pushes into the cab in order to be removed. Unless you've got a ton of glue on the seal, it's pretty amazing how quickly (and without damage) that glass can be pushed into the cab of the truck and out of its seal. Then a person could use a broom stick or something to knock the handle down, and then re-install their glass when they got home.
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2004
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From: San Jose, CA
I knoy that you know, but do others???
I think Moe is talking about the doors locking themselves once the inner handle lock retaining spring has worn or broke. However, in order to lock the door, one must pull up on the handle. The natural position of the inner door handle is in the down (angled) position. One can still lock the door by pulling up on the handle even if the lock spring is broken or worn, but eventually the handle can work its way down (from gravity) and render the door unlocked.
I have this condition in my 51 Panel. When the door is locked from the inside, I can gently tap the door with palm of my hande on the outside a few times to make the handle drop down to unlock the door.
old and in the way
Joined: Jul 1997
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From: Lovely Hueytown Alabama
this all reminds me of the Auburn college student that locked himself out of his car and called his dad to bring his spare keys... he told his dad that the doors were locked and it was getting ready to rain and his convertible top was down...
or the one about the blond who after locking her doors found that the remote unlock hicky had a dead battery. She flagged down a man and begged him to help her get in her car... He inserted the key into the door lock and opened the door...
not that this is the situation here... but made me think of the stories.... sorry for the hijack
j
or the one about the blond who after locking her doors found that the remote unlock hicky had a dead battery. She flagged down a man and begged him to help her get in her car... He inserted the key into the door lock and opened the door...
not that this is the situation here... but made me think of the stories.... sorry for the hijack
j
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From: Fair Oaks, CA
So, if this lock-out situation is not the result of the mechanism wear over the years, then my original question remains, "why would Ford engineer a Locking system like this?"
Do you think it is an engineering blunder?
Do other 50s Fords (both trucks and passenger cars) have this same issue?
Did the problem only exist in 1951, or other years?
Still wondering,
Bill
Do you think it is an engineering blunder?
Do other 50s Fords (both trucks and passenger cars) have this same issue?
Did the problem only exist in 1951, or other years?
Still wondering,
Bill