locked E39 with a dead battery

Connecting to the battery is fine.

Lifting the handle and then turning the key all the way clockwise works on mine; I've just tried it. Yours must be stuck. Mine is also a 98, and was a little sticky. Mine is RHD, so if your drivers door is on the left, yours might need to go anticlockwise.

Nevermind. I just had to exert a little bit more force than wanted to. I'm all set now.

Thanks.

The jump point under the hood is simply at the other end of the battery cable. The bit about connecting to the battery tends to be a safety thing

- under certain conditions a spark could cause an explosion. But you're safe enough with a flat battery which can't be gassing.

Why would it be a bad thing to connect to the battery? 99.99% of cars require such a connection, only BMW and a very few others do not put the battery in the engine bay where it is easy to connect the jumper cables.

I see you have gotten the doors open now, but for next time:

Over the years grit and grime gets into the keyhole and you may want to use some WD40 or similar on the key and into the keyhole to get the grit and grime loose. Let it work for a while then try again. The lock should turn without exerting excessive force.

Remember to lube up the locks after using the WD40 as it not only removes grit and grime...

Also - only using the remote opener will make the same thing happene again in the future. Use the key once in a while and it wont happen again.

Cheers,

WD40 is perhaps the worst product to use for this application. I like the idea, but not the product.

WD40 is an attractant, it collects the very dirt and grime that caused the problem in the first place. It also dries out and turns to goo, so even if it does not collect dirt and grime, it'll make the lock so sticky on the inside that it will become difficult to operate.

Agreed. Although its penetrating and lubricating properties - plus its wide availability - might make it a reasonable choice. But after the lock has freed, it should be cleaned with a pure solvent and lubricated with graphite powder.

I agree with both of you. Maybe I didn't explain myself good enough. The usage of WD40 or similar product was to free the stuck luck rather than risk breaking the key in the lock because of exerting too much force or perhaps even have to resort to breaking a window to get into the car.

It's an emergency procedure to get into the car. Hence I wrote "Remember to lube up the locks after using the WD40 as it not only removes grit and grime..."

Exactly. I tend to forget that I write on a group where certain things have to be spoonfed. ;-) No offence.

I'll buy that. Use WD40 to make the lock operable again, then flush the WD40 out and put in some good stuff -- that works ...