Central locking (again)

[MajorBrownEye]

Greetings and happy Christmas everyone,

I know there are loads of messages on this topic, but none (that I've found) seem to answers my question.

I have a 2004 or 2005 Mk1 1.9 tdi 90hp. 5 door, sport limited - black (like that makes a difference).

I should explain also that I live in Spain, ironically recently having moved very close to where the car was built, so the car is LHD.

Ever since I bought it from a friend about five years ago, I've had intermittent faults with the central locking. Finally, just about a year ago, I had one the rear door locks replaced by a local garage at great expense, it had been playing up for quite a while before failing completely. With the MOT equivalent coming up, it needed to be sorted.

Now, a year later, I have the MOT looming again and this time it's the front doors that are misbehaving. The driver's door has been iffy for some time, it works when it wants using the remote, is fine using the key and sometimes responds to the button on the armrest. The passenger door, however, does nothing. It used to make a noise and not unlock, but now it does nothing whatsoever, it won't open. For a while, it would open after following a weird procedure: Open the car with remote, get in, lock the doors with the armrest button, start the car, switch off, remove key from ignition. After three repeats the door often opened.

To be fair, the guy who replaced the back door lock last year warned me the driver's door was on the way out, but as it can be opened with a key, I wasn't in a rush to give him another fortune to do that one too.

I've started stripping the doors down, not easy when you can't open one of them, but I'm getting there, the door cards are both off and the bolts removed from the passenger side sub frame. I've stopped now as I've run out of daylight and energy, it is also beer o'clock.

My first question is:
How do I know if this is a problem with the individual motors or the "brain" hidden behind the fuse board? I'm going to have to order parts, probably from Ebay, so I want to get this right first time, a question of time as well as money.

Other questions:
If I order from the UK where I've seen the lock mechanisms sold in pairs, does it matter that I'm getting RHD for an LHD car? I imagine they are handed, but does it matter that the key operated one is on the left on my car?

Another idea is to get a UK driver's door handle with lock and key and fit that, just in case - any thoughts?

Any help or advice will be very gratefully received.

Cheers.


PS: I've tried pulling fuses, disconnecting the battery, etc. No luck.

PPS If anyone can point me in the direction of a guide to getting the subframe out, that would be great too.

 

[mty12345]

If you scan the car with vcds/vagcom then the central locking has fault codes that can be read the same as you would with the engine etc. It's probably both the lock mechs as they have a tendency to fail but without the fault codes it's impossible to say.

Have a look at this guide if you need some help on how to strip them and get the mechs ouwt. It's pretty simple with the guide and some patience. It's a big help to have someone helping and holding the panels while you fit the bolts etc.

 

[MajorBrownEye]

Have a look at this guide if you need some help on how to strip them and get the mechs ouwt.

Thanks for the quick reply Matty, any guide in particular? Or are you referring to this forum in general?

Sadly I don't have access to a vagcom set up, but it's something I'm considering.

As for the helping hand, my other half will not venture outside in this weather and my daughter has the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to these sort of operations. Also, I'm not too sure I want to expose her to the sort of language that I will no doubt be using during the process.

 

[mty12345]

Sorry mate, i forgot to post the link, doh. Here you go, hope that helps the process and keeps the language to a minimum hahaha http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...egulator-clips-and-or-door-lock-module/page19

If you post a request in the vagcom section then it's possible that someone near to you may have it and be willing to help out.

If not and you are looking to buy the full package then this is the one you need. https://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCHU.html The other option is to buy a cable from ebay and register with ross-tech and you can use most of the features for a reduced price. http://www.ross-tech.com/vcds-lite/index.html

 

[747_727]

Doors lock always go wrong on all vags cars of this age. I've replaced all 4 on my LCR in the 2 years I've owned it. I would have thought the locks would be different on left hand drive cars but I don't know for sure.

 

[sockpuppet]

Replacing the key barrel won't work as it is literally a spade the other side that goes into a slot in the locking mechanism. You will need to replace the lock module to fix, The good news is that they are cheap on ebay and the front's are easier to do that the rears. One thing to check if you get the ebay copies is that electronics are not quite right so even though they lock and unlock perfectly they don't send the right signals to the ecu which means you can unlock the car, open the door but it doesn't send the right signal that the door has been opened and the car re-locks itself after 20 seconds. People have locked their keys in the car like this. You will need a T20 torx tool to undo the barrel retaining screw and should get a butyl strip to seal the door panels at the same time. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1015107

 

[MajorBrownEye]

I've just ordered the parts, via eBay. They're coming from Germany. It seems crazy that it is is easier to buy them there when I live a 30 minute drive from the Seat factory. The company sells the same parts on Spanish and UK eBay but calls them "left and right" instead of "driver and passenger side". Cheaper on UK eBay but free delivery on the Spanish version evens the price up.

I'm going to hold off stripping the doors out until I have the parts, I can drive around for a few days with no door cards.

Next question: Once the subframe is off, is it easy to unlock the door? I imagine I just have to tug on a lever or something.


Thanks again for the advice given thus far.

 

[MajorBrownEye]

Replacing the key barrel won't work as it is literally a spade the other side that goes into a slot in the locking mechanism. You will need to replace the lock module to fix, The good news is that they are cheap on ebay and the front's are easier to do that the rears. One thing to check if you get the ebay copies is that electronics are not quite right so even though they lock and unlock perfectly they don't send the right signals to the ecu which means you can unlock the car, open the door but it doesn't send the right signal that the door has been opened and the car re-locks itself after 20 seconds. People have locked their keys in the car like this. You will need a T20 torx tool to undo the barrel retaining screw and should get a butyl strip to seal the door panels at the same time.

Great advice. Thanks. The fronts are easier than the backs????? I do NOT want to mess about with the back ones.

OK, so my lock handle idea is a no no. Thanks for saving me time messing around.

Last year the back door mechanism cost me around 150€ supplied by the garage, I've just bought the pair of fronts for 80€ delivered, so I look on it as 220€ compensation for incorrect signals going to the ECU, to be honest, the central locking has always been so iffy, it sometimes locks itself with no reason. Thanks for the heads-up re the keys though. I really must get a spare cut.

 

[747_727]

I wouldn't worry too much about getting a cheap eBay lock. All 4 of mine are from eBay and they work perfect well.