Barmy Central Locking

[johnthebass]

Any ideas on this one folks:- My central locking seems to have gone nuts! The passenger door actuator sounds as if it is both locking and unlocking but doesn't open either itself or the drivers door yet it opens manually from the inside. The drivers door actuator unlocks ok but does not lock although it locks manually it has no effect on the passenger door. I've checked the multipole connectors and the fixing for the actuators and all seems well. Is there some relay involved or what??
John.

[amarshall]

That sounds fairly typical of the symptoms you get when one of the mechanical linkages is out of alignment - possibly a worn door latch, handle about to fail or loose lock barrel in the door handle.

[johnthebass]

Well thanks for that! I'll check things out later in the week when I've got a bit of time. This whole business started with the cold weather. The drivers door actuator was repeating it'self when trying to lock up and only stopped when re-inserting the key and attempting to un-lock.
John.

[steven popay]

Had the same problem with my wifes Alfa, the passenger door lock was frozen locked so as you unlocked it, it immediately locked itself.

[tonypoll]

I had the same problem - constant lock - unlock - lock - unlock ...
I cleaned and oiled both door lock mechanism and now it works fine.
It was not an electrical problem, the locks and rods just needed some TLC.

[johnthebass]

Well a few more pointers there I think. I'll get back on this one when I've checked things out!
John.

[johnthebass]

Well! It was a lovely day here yesterday plus I had a little time on my hands so let's tackle the door locks I thorght!
No chance! The passenger door now refuses to open at all. Acctuator chattering away, tried to open from the inside, managed to lock myself in the car at one point! Not good! Any suggestions greatfully received!
Bollocks to that I went for a run instead. There's a great country road close to me with a 3/4mile straight and some nice sweeping curves moreover little traffic so it was 90/95 up the straight slow to about 75 for the corners. Exlel-erating!!
Felt much better!
John.

[ttedj]

km/h I'm sure.....

The locks can be awkward as each actuator is driven by the interior and exterior lock.
I would suggest disconnecting the rod from them. and make sure that the locks work as advertised first both interior and exterior. Adjust the length of the rods if required.
Then reconnect one at a time making sure that the other actuator moves in the correct sense before re-connecting and adjusting.

Enjoy!!

Ted

[amarshall]

It's also worth checking that the pivot lever which connects the actuator rod to the lock rod is properly secure - it's attached to the inside of the doorskin by a single setscrew which acts as the fulcrum as well. It can be reached through the inspection hole which lets you get to the door handle as well.

Over time the fixing works loose and allows the lever to twist on it - which reduces the effective length of the rods and misdirects the forces so locking & unlocking becomes progressively more difficult.

Ever since I tightened the mounting point for mine, the problem with the driver's door has disappeared.

If the passenger side won't open at all - it's possible, though less likely, that the latch mechanism has failed internally.

[johnthebass]

Thanks for that Ted & Angus. The problem is of course with the door shut how in gods name do I get inside the door panel??
John.

[fitz]

try disconnecting the battery, that might allow you to turn the key pushing the rod back in the actuator, when I had this issue i found that when locked the actuator 'held' the mechanism in the locked position I don't know if this is down to the alarm, with the battery on I cannot use the key to unlock the car, it has to be the remote (well I chicken out when it looks like i'm going to bend / break the key in the lock). I could however get in the with the battery off.

[johnthebass]

Thanks Fitz! I'll give that a try.
John

[johnthebass]

Well success by accident! It was a lovely day here yesterday so time to try to sort out the locked passenger door.
Tried all the suggestions without success anyway with the sun shining it had to be a run out so went off on my favourite bit of road. After about 10 mins I encountered a minor pothole and there was a "click" from the passenger door. Looking in the wing mirror I could see that the door had come ajar slightly so when I got back home after the run I tried to open it. Bingo! The problem was rust on the lock after the winter! The acctuator was working perfectly but the latch wouldn't spring past it's locked state. Applied some oil and all's now well! Just a bit of TLC! However after manually opening and closing the door a few times I went back round to the drivers door to lock-up and the central locking isn't working at all now! Wierd! So next weekend it's off with the door trim panels check allignment of everything grease/oil all moving bits and hopefully all will be well!
John.