Tennis Ball Trick

[sparky961]

So, I consider myself to be pretty smart.  However, I just realized that I've spent wasted over an hour watching YouTube videos and sifting through thread after thread trying to find out if this whole "open a car door with a tennis ball" thing is actually true or not.  There's a MythBusters clip that apparently quashes the rumor, but then I see there's yet another video saying that MythBusters is full of crap!

The forums were full of people talking about why it would and wouldn't work, many of the points quite valid.  But the most valid post I saw was someone asking why these guys didn't just go out and try it!  Maybe this was started out by a tennis ball manufacturing company who's sales numbers were a bit low??

IF I actually had a tennis ball laying around, I WOULD try this.... but alas, I don't.  Please, can anyone point me to some slightly more scientific test of this?

Thanks!  Oh, and sorry for the time you're going to waste on YouTube watching the same videos..... ;)

-Sparky

[Dean W]

Well, at least give us a link to them if you want us to waste our time doing the same thing!
(Actually, if I want to open a car door, I just use the built in door handle...)

; )

[-steves-]

It has to be false otherwise why would people bother breaking locks, picking locks, smashing windows etc. Pull a lock apart and just see how accurate the pins need to be for even a key to work, remembering these days they both push and pull the pins. Total cods wappop  Might have worked on one of the old sierra's or somthing back in the day when literally any ford key would fit any other ford, well most cars 

[lordedmond]

Well I think there is something in it because a few years we had a Merc 190e from new ( what a load of junk that was it was a lemon lemon )

anyway back to the tail the locks failed took it back and the said the vacuum pump under the back seat had failed ,its this pump and pipe work that operate the door locks, so a tennis ball could move something and operate the lock


Stuart

[-steves-]

But these vacuum pumps do not turn the key, they merely move a wire inside the door that releases the locking mechanism, the same as any other type of central locking system. To put a tennis ball over the lock just can not work. Much better off with a steel rule with a notch in it down the side of the window, works a treat on older cars that dont have the new metal plate built into the door to stop it  So a mate was telling me once anyway ;)

[Divided he ad]

Might have worked on one of the old sierra's or somthing

Hey.... Stop picking on me mota! 

Anywho, most Fords had/have electrical central locking fitted. (that actually had central locking fitted in those days)


The way I heard this all those years ago was it would only work on the German stuff that was made with air actuated locking... VW, Audi etc.

If you're going to test it it'll have to be on an old audi 80,100 or something close. A lot of the smaller cars back then hadn't got central locking fitted!



Just what I heard.... Never actually tried it.




Ralph.

[Bluechip]

The way I heard this all those years ago was it would only work on the German stuff that was made with air actuated locking... VW, Audi etc.

It's not the air actuated locking that gives grief, it's the air actuated not unlocking ... having gazed at the 'Empty Tank' light on my pisspot er Passat Estate for some 20 miles I decided it would be a good strategy to refuel. ( I'm pretty bright with technical things like that  ) . In a fit of petulance the wretched car then denied me access to the filler cap... 

So, the RAC man then proceeded to oik out the panel and frig it, while I assisted by lavishing obscenities on the car, it's dealer, manufacturer, designer and anyone else  that sprung to mind ..

The car was taken in to be fixed under warranty, they refused as it had been  errr 'tampered with' ...

After a brief but intense exchange of views they decided to fix it anyway ... 


BC

[HS93]

some fords UK, had a impact sensor in the front valance that would unlock the doors on impact , so some clever scallys would kick the spoiler on Parked cars and the Central locking would un lock all the doors, this was fixed on newer models, also on some of Ralph's favorite cars there was an impact sensor in the boot if you dropped the spare wheel back in it could trigger it and cut of the fuel pump , so you fix the puncture and you where still stuck , simple reset to get it going but you had to know about it.
and yes I have heard about the tennis ball trick, was it on the Granada model in the UK the really ugly one.

Peter

[John Hill]

My stupid little truck, Australian Ford, has a 'clever' doohicky related to the central locking system.

You might unlock the thing then climb in and put the key in the lock but nothing happens, then after about 30 seconds the doors locks and all electronics go into snooze mode.

Apparently, the cunning lads who designed the thing decided that if the doors were unlocked then the doors not opened within 30 seconds everything would go back to the locked state as it must have been interference or something that had actuated the lock.  The way they test for the doors being opened is by monitoring the current to the inside light.  If that little light fails you cant start the damn thing.

Clever eh?

[WillieL]

You can use a tennis ball or you can use "the force", but both tricks work the same way.   

[DaveH]

The tennis ball trick we did as kids.

Drill a hole in it fill it with gunpowder from "penny bangers" or 3d "little Demons" if you were rich.
When it was nearly full put one of the fuses in the hole, light it and run.

Didn't go off with such a big bang but there was a huge cloud of smoke.

 
DaveH



 

[mattinker]

So, I consider myself to be pretty smart.  However, I just realized that I've spent wasted over an hour watching YouTube videos and sifting through thread after thread trying to find out if this whole "open a car door with a tennis ball" thing is actually true or not.  There's a MythBusters clip that apparently quashes the rumor, but then I see there's yet another video saying that MythBusters is full of crap!

The forums were full of people talking about why it would and wouldn't work, many of the points quite valid.  But the most valid post I saw was someone asking why these guys didn't just go out and try it!  Maybe this was started out by a tennis ball manufacturing company who's sales numbers were a bit low??

IF I actually had a tennis ball laying around, I WOULD try this.... but alas, I don't.  Please, can anyone point me to some slightly more scientific test of this?

Thanks!  Oh, and sorry for the time you're going to waste on YouTube watching the same videos..... ;)

-Sparky

I had to try the tennis ball trick one a Mercedes 190D with a flat battery so not even the keys will open the doors. It may work on other cars, but not on a Mercedes. We did have acess to the boot (trunk) we quite simply took air line that goes to the boot lock off and using a high pressure bicycle pump were able to blast air into the system. Pressurising the system like this opens all the doors! I took the battery home and charged it at no cost, we were up and running! As we needed the key to open the boot, I'm not telling anybody how to break into cars!

Regards, Matthew

[hopefuldave]

When I was working for BT, we had a spate of Transit vans (the first of the "aerodynamic" looking ones) being cleared out overnight - tools, spares, cable, phones and even the gumboots. There was Union Intervention as management were blaming the drivers - all the empty vans were found to be unlocked with no sign of tampering - then the Union rep' demonstrated just *where* to slap the back door of a locked transit to unlock it...

The Motor Transport guys were quids in, lots of overtime fitting a 1/4" steel plate behind the panel!

Dave H. (the other one)