Locked in car due to failed battery- what happened?

[pugbas]

Yesterday I returned to my car and unlocked it with the plip key and then opened the boot manually to put bags etc in. Got in and turned the key in the ignition - nothing. Mileage on dash came up and radio screen lit up, but showed 0000's. No attempt to start at all. Guessed at a battery issue and, being away from home at the time, called the RAC. While on the phone to them the car door "clicked", as if locked and I tried the door handle. Couldn't open the door. The windows were closed so I was unable to try to unlock it or turn the handle from the outside. A few minutes of trying everything I could think of, in every combination, with added suggestions from the RAC chap on the phone, including key in the ignition and turning it while trying door, key out of lock, pulling door lock button up, down, pushing in etc and nothing worked. I was stuck in the car for an hour until the RAC came and opened the bonnet and tried some things with the battery, while talking to me through the closed window. He also tried opening the door from the outside while I pulled up the door lock etc and locking/unlocking with the plip key to no avail. Eventually the charge from the test replacement battery he put in worked and the car door clicked and then handle worked so I could get out. He said it had deadlocked but why did this happen - why did the dead lock activate and why couldn't I override it from the inside to get out?
RAC man said he's been called to BMW's before with trapped drivers but never a Peugeot. Could it happen again? I love my 206cc, best car ever, but last night's experience was actually quite scary.

[IanL]

It may have deadlocked because you inadvertently pressed the lock button on the key. Otherwise, it was a "glitch", i.e. a malfunction for which there is no explanation Perhaps, when the battery volts are way down the deadlocking engages (it certainly does not do that by design, but it may just be the particular chip in your BSI which reacts that way).

When the car is deadlocked, there is absolutely no way to unlock it without the remote, as there is NO mechanical override on the inside, so if the battery was run down too far to obey the remote, you were unable to unlock. This is explained in the Owner's Handbook. Never deadlock with anyone inside the car.

Wisdom after the event - if you ever see the low battery symptoms again, open the door immediately

[pugbas]

Thanks for speedy response. It definitely deadlocked and, despite everyone around me telling me it can't happen, it did and I was stuck! Keeping the door open is only one of the lessons learned yesterday........ I have a whole list of others. The battery was completely dead so didn't obey the remote and only when the new battery was inserted did it react and let me out. Good job the RAC carry spares as I could have been in there an awful long time. Hopefully my experience will inform others.

[IanL]

If there was no replacement battery, you would have to get someone to smash a window so that you could hand them the key, which they could use to unlock from the outside. Or maybe if you unhooked the roof and pushed upwards, you could get it open enough to pass the key out.

[Slo]

Whats even more unusual is the deadlock is a separate function to the lock, you have to press the remote twice to activate it.

[IanL]

That is the case on most cars, but ours is different. In our case, the first press applies the deadlock, and the second releases it.

From the 206cc Handbook:

Using the remote control
Deadlocking, press button A once
to deadlock the vehicle.
This is confirmed by fixed lighting
of the direction indicators for
approximately two seconds.
Press button A again within
5 seconds of deadlocking; this
changes deadlocking to normal
locking.
This is confirmed by fixed lighting
of the direction indicators for
approximately two seconds.

[Slo]

I always thought it was the other way round ive just been out to sit in mine and its the same, what a ridiculous idea it is to deadlock the doors on first click. Imagine if the car was on fire and it locked itself, doesn't bare thinking about.

[IanL]

Perhaps we should all get one of those little hammers to smash glass, like you see in some coaches.

[scallybert]

By a strange coincidence, we were close to having this happen, a week back.

Tried to start; dead-battery; power goes low; driver locked inside. We're not entirely sure of the sequence of events - it may be a [mistaken] second starting attempt triggered the lock-down.

Fortunately, a door was open.

This is quite a scary prospect..!

One thing that did occur, if you were trapped; you might be able to power the electrics via the cigarette lighter socket, enough to unlock things - if you had something to hand.

Interesting that the first fob press is the deadlock. I was under the impression it was the second.