93 Q45 locked itself with keys in the ignition

[DeXteR]

I'm working on a beater Q45 I picked up on the cheap. It's not in terrible shape, but it's definitely got some issues. I was doing some troubleshooting last night and wanted to do a compression test. I hooked the battery up loosely and tried turning it over and got the single click followed by everything being dead - like the battery wasn't connected.

I jumped out to properly tighten the terminals and I heard another click - like you hear when the doors lock... No way! Please don't tell me... Yup, doors are closed and locked with the key in the ignition. Not only is it the only key I have for the Q, it has all my other keys too. At least I have spares for my other vehicles, but it's still inconvenient.

I tried disconnecting and reconnecting the battery a few times to try to trick it into unlocking with no luck. I pried the door a bit and tried getting the manual lock with a wire with no luck. I tried slim-jimming it with no luck. It'd be nice if I could reach the unlock button... Oh wait... I had the center console taken apart to put the wood grain back in...

I have a friend with a wrecker kit that I'm going to try. After that, my last option is to call a professional and see what they can do. Is there anything I'm missing here that might be helpful? I've searched around and didn't see anything helpful for breaking into the car. Some people are afraid that type of information might be used for nefarious purposes.

Thanks in advance.

[3Q Jay]

Q was designed to prevent slim jimming.
lock linkage is pretty convoluted
find an old guy who has done a 1st gen Q before.

[qship96]

probably cheaper to break a door window glass and replace with 1 from a junkyard yourself

[DeXteR]

Matco LT140a saved the day.

So, what the heck happened? How does this system work?

[OwnerCS]

Here's a picture of inside of a 91 model.

[Q451990]

Any chance your Q has an aftermarket alarm that triggered the door locks?

[qship96]

very common problem on 90-96Q. Close the door,it locks itself.....a sign of a failing component.Mine did that randomly for the last few years of its life......why I always carried the wallet key in my wallet!

[PetersQs]

This happens with all of my Qs. I never leave the keys in the car. If I am warming the car, I jam a glove in the latch or lower the window. Does anyone know a fix? Obviously it's a sticky relay, but where?

[sheikhnbake]

I had a '97 Q45 that did that and my '03 did that once as well. In both cases, it happened when (a) only the driver door was unlocked as I got out of the car and (b) I closed the door only halfway by mistake. Then in both cases it locked me out. The first time, with the '97, I had to have my wife drive over with the spare key. In the second case, I made the big mistake of closing the door completely hoping somehow that would unlock it again. Duh. I could have used a coat hanger or a stick of some kind to press the unlock button inside the door. I had access to neither. Even my phone was in the car, and it was freezing past midnight at an apartment complex. I was lucky some guy came along with a phone. Called a locksmith. Bummer. From now on I always make sure all four doors are unlocked when I leave the car with engine running, or else just leave the driver door all the way open.

[Skibane]

Does anyone know a fix?

I always carried the wallet key in my wallet!

Yep.

Wallet keys aren't expensive, and they take up almost no room in your wallet.

Hide a "real" spare key someplace inside your Q, and your wallet key will always give you access to it.

[HansCC]

Ouch