Rekeying locks

[RobertGary1]

I went into the local locksmith today to ask him if he'd be willing to rekey my door and baggage locks to match the ignition if I removed them and brought them to him. Amazingly he's worked on aircraft locks before. He said sometimes owners have been able to call the airplane manufacturer, read them the code off the ignition key and receive new cylinders for the door/baggage. Included in that is an "extraction key" which pulls the cylinders out. No dis-assembly required. Job done in 5 minutes. But he's not done this with Mooney.

I've rekeyed car ignitions and you never need to remove the ignition switch, usually you just put the key on accessory and push a button under the lock and the internal cylinder slides out. Seems like the same thing.

Does anyone know if an extraction key exists for our door/baggage locks? I doubt Mooney would have any idea what I'm talking about.

-Robert

Edited October 13, 2015 by RobertGary1

[N201MKTurbo]

I think if you pick the lock open, then stick a pin in the back plate you can slide it down and pull the cylinder out. If you have the key, turn it so it is not locked and there is a small hole in the back of the cylinder that you can push a paper clip in to slide the removal plate.

[RobertGary1]

Awesome. I'll give that a try. So you remove the interior panel and push from the rear of the lock?

-Robert

[N201MKTurbo]

I think you will have to remove the nut that holds the switch in and push the whole thing behind the panel. The hole should be in the side of the cylinder.

[N201MKTurbo]

It looks like I'm wrong. You have to take the back off and remove a screw to remove the cylinder.

Here is the service manual:

http://www.csobeech.com/files/Bendix_Ignition_Switch_Maintenance.pdf

 

 

[RobertGary1]

Oh, I'm not going to touch the ignition switch. I'm just going to have the door and baggage rekeyed to match the existing ignition.

-Robert

[Guest]

Door locks are usually held in with a 7/8" nut on the inside of the door.  The striker arm is held to the lock with either a nut or screw.  Once the lock is removed you remove the are and can then remove the cylinder from the outer barrel.  This is best done with a key in place to keep the tumblers and springs in place.

Clarence

[StinkBug]

I need to do this sometime. My plane has different keys for all 3. It's annoying to say the least.

[RobertGary1]

I was able to remove the cylinder from the door lock by removing the rear nut that secures the latch and bushing the assembly through. But the latch on the baggage door is riveted to the cylinder so I removed the entire lock. We'll see what the locksmith can do. The locks are pretty generic he may just have one lying around he can rekey 

[RobertGary1]

Just got back from the locksmith. The door key was a simple task since I'd just brought in the cylinder. The baggage door was not rekey-able because the latch is not removable from the cylinder, so it cannot be reasonably disassembled but I was able to find another entire lock assembly in the display case. Its a pretty generic cam lock. 

So on Friday I'll go out to the airport and reinstall. Hopefully all will go well and now I'll be able to use my Bendix key for all my locks.

 

-Robert

[RobertGary1]

Got the new door key in with no problems. Now it matches the ignition. The baggage door key wasn't so easy. I see now why it was riveted to the latch because there is no room for the screw head. Also the latch needs to be pretty short. So I'll do some fabrication this weekend and it should be good. At least I'm 1/2 way to being a single key plane. 

-Robert

[StinkBug]

Knowing that, I wonder if it'd be easier to rekey the door and ignition to match the baggage door. You're already beyond that point, but for others like me.

[RobertGary1]

Another option that may have been attractive would be to use a combo lock on the door so you never have to worry about losing your key on the road. 

Combi-Cam, 7803S, Combination Cam Lock, 4-Dial, Chrome Finish, 5/8" Cylinder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HOO406/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_A-TiwbW4RPPX9

 

-Robert