hi guys, school boy error but just collected my 58 plate, got it home and the lock doesn’t work. In all the tested I checked all the electrics but not the driver’s door!
Fob works fine and locks/unlocks the passenger door and locks the driver’s door but doesn’t unlock. The locking switch on the inside looks like it’s trying to move initially but gives up.
Locks/unlocks fine with the key.
Any ideas?
thanks
It needs a replacement lock actuator, I don’t know why but usually it’s the drivers side that plays up.
Back to the dealer with this one me thinks.
I expect a new lock actuator from the dealer with fitting will be around £250.
A second hand one fitted yourself, maybe about £25 - £40.
Of course, there is no guarantee that a used one will last the test of time…
TBH it’s totally intermittent at the moment. Appreciate it will probably get worse but happy to live with it at the moment.
thanks or the responses
It will give up, mine did after around 6-9 months of being intermittent. As above mine was fixed for £25 with a working SH part, how long will it last? It’s not an everyday used car.
Mine went with no warning.
Worked OK in the morning, worked ok at lunch time, didn’t work at 4pm.
Prior to this, I had no inclination as to there being an issue.
I Initially assumed that the linkages needed lubricating, when this didn’t work, I took the actuator out of the door, and even removed all the linkages from the actautor motor.
When it still didn’t work, I knew it was the motor.
I was hoping to open it up and see what was going on inside, but it’s moulded, only destroying it would get it open.
I opened my faulty one up, I’m still no wiser as to what the problem is. Everything seems in order, nothing broken or worn regards actual moving parts, can only think it’s electrical. If you can spot the two (forgive me if they aren’t) resistors on the right hand part and the motor on the left part. I think these need checking for operation or passing current, I’m no electrical whizz, far from it.
The two little black components with axial leads and a silver band at one end are power diodes.
It is easy to check if they are OK with a multimeter using the Resistance or Junction test; they will pass current with a voltage drop of about 500mV in one direction, and be open circuit with no current passing in the other direction.
In that package they are probably rated at 1Amp, but it is possible that they might be 3Amp or 5Amp.
I can’t quite read the full part number written on the body of the diode. If you can give me the full number (might need to unsolder one to see) I can tell you what it is and where to find one or an equivalent.
However, I expect the diodes are probably OK, and if all the nylon gears are undamaged then it is most likely that the motor has failed or the wires to it are broken.
Those are diodes, they allow the current to pass in only one direction.
Think of them as a one way valve for electricity.
You can test these with a sdtandard multimeter.
De-solder one end, so the current can’t flow in another direction.
With a multimeter on continuity check, put the positive on one end and the negative on the other.
You should get a reading.
Now swap the pos and neg to the opposite sides and you should get no reading.
I don’t recall which is the positive end though.
The motor looks like a simple brushed 12v DC motor, polarity switced by the 2 diodes to drive and reverse.
An easy way to tell if the motor is kaput (or not) is simply lift it out of its cradle and flash 12v (via a pair of small leads with a point end) onto the motor terminals. reverse the polarity and try again.
If it kicks round in one and the other direction, it’s sound…If not, it’s a motor that has ceased to be.
Usually the simple copper brushes wear out against the commutator, and they are not easily fixable, but the motor itself may be replaceable (via Fleabay )if you can attach the worm drive to the shaft.
I suggest you try that first before trying to unsolder the diodes which are easily damaged by solder heat…
Just my free advice - money back if not happy!
Aldi
Having unplugged it all and separated the two halves it is likely that they don’t need to be unsoldered for go/no-go testing, only if they appear to be a dead short and only then the rest of the circuit needs to be eliminated.
The end with the silver bar around it is the Cathode, so if positive is connected to this end a healthy diode will block the current.
^^^ Thank you all chaps, I said I’m not electrically minded, sorry for my ignorance.
Something I will get around to later this year, I gave up last year when presented with the findings inside and those diodes. Must buy a multimeter too, my workshop/garage is having an upgrade atm, I gave up when the cold weather hit. I found the actuator again whilst having a clear out, I’m saving it just incase I can revive it, at over £200 for a new one it’s worth having a go.
Anyways hope the pics help anyone in the future, the unit does clip back together, just be careful when taking it apart, it’s not glued.