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Locked Out!

Yahoo Message Number: 77323
My wife and I are in a hotel as we're locked out of our 2003 Lexa.
The door latch and deadbolt appear to be operating normally, both from the remote and from the manual keys. The deadbolt doesn't seem to be bound, as has happened a couple of times in the past.
I think that the air locks might be engaged, and aren't disengaging. The door is very tightly closed, and I literally can't get it to budge a mm in any area. Door latch and deadbolt both seem to be operating freely, with no binding in either direction.
I have noticed a strange behavior, after I last got the coach back from service. The air locks weren't operating at all before the service (so we'd get whistling in the door at speed). Once back from service, the air locks would latch with ignition either on or off, but would only unlatch (using air lock switch) when the ignition is turned on. This is new behavior (they used to unlatch with ignition off). Actually sent email to the shop earlier this morning mentioning this, among other issues.
So I suspect that somehow the air latches might have engages, and aren't disengaging when I hit the unlock button on the remote, and of course there's no external manual key for it. I do have access to the compartments under the coach including the fuse compartment (all compartment locks latch/unlatch fine when using the remote), but of course the wiring diagram is inside the coach. Perhaps there's a way to hotwire the air locks to unlatch, though of course the switch itself is on the dash of the coach.
I've never noticed the air locks ever engaging in the past when locking the door with the remote (which is what we normally do, as it locks the normal latch, the deadbolt, and locks the storage compartments). So if they did engage, this appears to be new behavior. It's possible I guess that someone might have accidentally hit the switch inside the coach, at some point prior to exiting and locking, but at night with only a cellphone for light, through the tinted window and mesh screen, I couldn't make anything out on the dash.
We have two slightly open side vents, but these are 6-8" high, and both my wife and I are much too large to fit through.
Any suggestions, once we get up in the morning and are ready to start another lovely day of coach ownership? J
Please reply directly to jimw@..., I'm on the daily digest of the mailing list, and would prefer not to have to wait a day to see any suggestions!

Thanks,

Jim Walsh
2003 Lexa

Re: Locked Out!

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 77324
If all else were to fail you could get a glass shop to pull the windshield and hope you can pull the cover off the door and access the locking mech.

Re: Locked Out!

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 77325
Not up on a Lexa, but on my Prevost I always leave a window slightly open just in case.

Re: Locked Out!

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 77326
Jim:

Are you able to get into the front exterior bay under your drivers seat?

Kevin Waite (Former Country Coasch Service Tech.) K&M Mobile R.V. Repair LLC
95430 Noraton Rd.

Junction City, OR. 97448
541-953-6162 (Cell)

kvn.wt.7629@...

Re: Locked Out!

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 77332
Do the locks activate with positive air pressure or release of air pressure?
If with positive air pressure, perhaps reducing the auxilary air tank pressure would release the locks? Use the bay air chucks and a hose to do so.

Dean

95 Magna 5280
 

Re: Locked Out!

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 77338
Thanks everyone, we're back in the coach. Thanks all for the suggestions.
As I suspected it was the air locks. Eric Olstrom from Premier suggested tracking down purple wire #130 and disconnecting it from its relay. I found one end of a purple wire on a 15 amp fuse in far top right of fuse bay under the driver's seat, with other end disappearing into nether regions of the bay. The wire was not labeled, no wire number. Pulled the fuse, and I could hear the hiss of air escaping. The door then opened normally.
So something funky is going on with my air locks, I'll leave that fuse removed until it's sorted, would rather have a little air noise, then get locked in the coach until I can call someone to come pull that fuse J

Jim Walsh
2003 Lexa