Volvo Glove Box Lock Tip

During my years as a locksmith technician I encountered many vehicle models that seem to have repeating issues. Few of the vehicles I remember had this type of recurring problems are some of the late 80's Volvo models. The glove box lock on these Volvo models seem to always cause issues and ultimately fail. Failure of the lock require its replacement which is a tough task in its own. However, during the years I had to replace these locks, I came up with a process that will make it a lot easier to remove the lock from the glove box.

These locks can be recognized by the turn knob that is around the key-way. This particular knob has a rubber coat on it in which is recommended to be removed first. The glove box compartment door on these models has a plastic housing which holds the lock in place. Using a large vice grip pliers is recommended to be used in order to clamp on the lock's turn knob and use it to force the lock to open. It must be done gently otherwise, the plastic housing might break and you will be looking at an extra expense.Once forcing the lock to the 90 degree position, the glove box should open and the lock can be replaced.

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BMW Lockout Tip

I got a job the other day from a locksmith technician I am working with to unlock a 97 BMW M3. Thinking to myself it was strange for me that he sent the job instead of doing it himself, he informed me that there is a problem with the job. Apparently, the customer left the lights on and it drained the battery. Once he came back to the vehicle, he could not open it. The problem with BMW's in this situation is that you can use the key to mechanically unlock the door by lifting the handle while turning the key, but without any batter power, there is a part that will break in the handle mechanism.

My fellow technician knew I had better experience and knowledge servicing these types of vehicles, so he sent the job to me and I accepted it. I knew there was a special tool called the Lock-master's Flip Pick for BMW models which was meant to use in these types of situations, but I did not have that tool in my possession. Once I got to the job site I came up with an idea that will help resolve the situation. Although using the key to unlock the door would not be an option in this situation, opening the trunk was possible without causing any damage.

I opened the trunk of the vehicle first. Then I looked for the trunk light under the rear deck. I popped the light out using a small screwdriver. I then hooked up some wires from my service vehicle to the light terminals in order to apply some power. This in return supplied enough power to the vehicle, so we were able to use the key to open the door without causing any damage to the handle mechanism. Once the job was complete, I jumped start the customer's vehicle and send him on his way.

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Commercial Key-Less Entry Lock System

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Lexus Trunk Lockout

I had a customer recently called for a locksmith service claiming she accidentally locked the keys inside of her Lexus vehicle's trunk. Usually in a trunk lockout situation, i always ask the customer if the vehicle has a trunk release lever inside it. When I asked the customer, she confirmed that it did have the trunk release lever. As I was heading to the job site, I figured it won't take to long to get the keys out of the trunk using the release lever. Once I got to the place where the car parked, I proceeded to unlock the door and use the trunk release lever. However, it seem like nothing was happening as I was pulling the lever. I suspected that the reason for that would be the alarm which was still armed and apparently was disabling the use of the lever.  

At that point, I figured my only option would be to access the trunk through the back seat of the vehicle., but I could not find any way to lower it like most models I encountered in the past. Right then I realize I might have to drill the lock (even though I did not want to), but when I saw that the cylinder was located inside the tail light housing, i gave up the idea since I didn't want to cause damage to the tail light. At that moment I figured my only option would be to "trick" the alarm to think there is a key turning the lock.

To do the procedure, I had to remove the door panel and locate the back to back cylinder while trying to follow the wiring harness coming out of it towards the bottom of the door. Once I located the connector, I disconnected it, jumped it, and unlocked the door. The second the doors were unlocked, the alarm was disabled and i was able to use the trunk release lever in order to open the trunk.

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GM Models Ignition Tip

With a little patience and practice, any locksmith technician, beginner or not, can remove a mid 90's GM ignition cylinders without investing in some of the drill rigs or pick sets that are offered by many vendors in order to get the job done. In order to do so, I have composed a simple process involve few easy steps. First, the trim ring or bezel would have to be removed from around the ignition cylinder. This ring should come off fairly easy with just a little praying. Next step would be to remove the Torx screws that hold the bottom of the shroud on and then swing it off of the rear clips. At the 9 o'clock position when looking at the key-way there will be a small gap visible. Using an old pick or piece of spring steel, slide it into the gap. This will be used as a tension tool in order to put pressure of the lock's sidebar.

Now rake the wafers with a pick while putting tension on the sidebar. It is something that can be felt once the sidebar is depresses all the way. Now use a small screw driver in the key-way to begin turning the switch to the "On" position. While this is done the "tension" tool would have to be removed. Finally, either the upper shroud can be removed in order to depress the retainer and free the lock for making a key, or a tool such as Tech Train's cylinder retainer depressing tool can be used to do that as well. The code is stamped on the lock cylinder and should be visible. Once the first key is made, replace everything back and snap the trim ring as well over the face of the ignition. With a little practice, this job can be done in 15- 20 minutes.

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Automotive Broken Key Extraction in Portland, OR

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Finding The Right Solution

I remember a time once I was a terribly embarrassed while I was facing with a technical locksmith dilemma. There was a deadbolt lock on a school supply room and key-in-knob lock, as well. The school engineer, with a large set of keys, and the school custodian were trying to open the supply room door for materials that were needed immediately. The principal was out of the building at the time, but she did left them with her set of  keys of the school to open the door. They were able to open the key-in-the knob lock, but could not find the key for the deadbolt.

Since I was a teacher at the school, they called me, knowing I was a professional locksmith as well. When I got there, the engineer and custodian filled me in on the situation and the fact that they had tried every key on both sets (the principal's and the school engineer) several times, but without any luck, except for the bottom key-in-knob lock they opened successfully. The engineer showed me that he tried removing the molding, but could not access the lock itself. He consulted me about drilling through the deadbolt cylinder. Due to the nature of the situation, it seemed reasonable to do so.

So, I showed him the point at which to drill. He got his drill out and he was about to begin drilling when the principal suddenly showed up earlier than expected. The engineer and custodian approached her and explained to her the situation and the fact that they couldn't find the key for the other lock. Her response was that "The same key opens both locks." Apparently, it might have been a good idea to try that same key on both locks to avoid all the hassle and unnecessary embarrassment.

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Schlage Wafer Lock

The Schlage wafer lock works somewhat in a different way than other locks some of you locksmith

technicians have experienced in the past. The wafer lock by Schlage concept is nothing new. The Schlage began developing and marketing this design in 1927. Most of the wafer locks some of you locksmith technicians have seen up to now were limited by the number of possible key changes and the methods that had to be used in order to accomplish master and grand master keying.

The Schlage Wafer design is capable of  1120 key changes, and can be master and grand master keyed. A master key can control a maximum 480 key changes. These locks can be found in apartment buildings and private homes across the country. Because of their heavy duty design, it is most likely these locks would need to be services by a professional locksmith from time to time.

The most common service for this type of lock is a simple re-key, or changing the lock cylinder so that the old key will no longer work with the lock. The other type of service might be to make a key for the lock since the older key was probably lost. Very rarely, customers will call to get these lock recombined to be part of a master-key system. However, master-key system require high skills and experience to implement, and the principle of it would have to be learned carefully.

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