The central locking has stopped working today on my brother's Felicia. I've ruled out that it's not the key as he has two and they both only open the one door and not all of them. The car starts and drives fine so what could be the cause?

He just texted me to say he can here a sort of electrical noise (Relay?) when he's inside the car and tries to lock it. What relay controls central locking?

He just texted me to say he can here a sort of electrical noise (Relay?) when he's inside the car and tries to lock it. What relay controls central locking?

Check fuse number 16 first ;-)

The central locking is controled by the central locking control unit, which, from what I've seen so far can be either mounted behind the instrument cluster or taped behind the dashboard. (Depends on if it was a factory installation, a dealer installation or a completely after-market installation (such as Maplins)) If it's OE the unit is black and about 2x2x1 inch, 1 connector spliting out into 4 separate looms (1 for each door). If it's after-market, I'd suggest tracing the wiring back from one of the front doors.

Alex

Pretty sure it's standard from factory. So it's behind the steering wheel somewhere or over the other side where the fuse box is?

Just phoned him on his lunch break to ask to see if he can see anything under the dash and he put his hand up and he reckons it wet! Not sure how and won't know until he comes home and that's not until 10.30pm. Any idea where this water could be coming from?

Just phoned him on his lunch break to ask to see if he can see anything under the dash and he put his hand up and he reckons it wet! Not sure how and won't know until he comes home and that's not until 10.30pm. Any idea where this water could be coming from?

If I recall, Felly's have a tendancy to leak around the windscreen. This should only affect the central-locking if the control unit it mounted in a vunderable place. :-(

Alex

Ah right. Anyway of resealing the windscreen?

Ah right. Anyway of resealing the windscreen?

I think there have been a few threads on doing this. (Touching wood) mine's not leaked.

This is wha the OE central-locking control unit looks like BTW:

Alex

Nice one! Any idea where to get it done and how much roughly should it cost?

I think the central locking unit is solid state - I've never heard any noises from mine in all the messing about I've done - and there's a fair few things more likely than a failed controller. For reference it's on a bracket attached to the bulkhead approximately behind the rev counter/clock. To rule out one possible connection problem (if it's not water-related), does the car have electric mirrors and if so do they still work?

As for wet, mine is occasionally wet around the left-hand side of the fusebox too - from around the bonnet release downwards - and surprisingly it's not from the windscreen, although that is definitely worth checking (if necessary taking the dash out is a bit awkward but not all that difficult). The best I could work out is water from the bonnet vent drain collecting under the battery tray and somehow finding its way inside. Anyway, take off the passenger-side A-pillar kick plate and make sure the all the connectors under there are dry - if there's any water collecting in the connections for the passenger door loom that's liable to mess with lock/unlock sensing wires.

I checked for dampness when he came home and on the drivers side the side nearest the door all the foam is soaking wet. You can wring it out. The other side like you say is only really wet around the bonnet release but thankfully not by the fusebox. Is all theis foam stuff easy to take out without damaging it? I'll check under the bonnet to see if anything looks odd.

You can't get the foam insulation off without taking the whole dash and most of the wiring loom out, so I wouldn't bother trying at this stage. If it's wet both sides then the windscreen is a more likely culprit for leaks, although it might also be worth taking the wipers off and popping the plastic cover panel up to see if it looks like water has been getting in there - I don't know for sure that that can happen but it's a quick and easy job to check.

Also if it's wet on the driver's side as well I'd take off that kick trim and check the connectors under there too - not as many as the passenger side but there's still potential for water to affect the central locking at the driver's door connector. Even if they're not actually wet it's worth unplugging each one to check the contacts - when I was sorting my central locking I found the pins of one of the n/s plugs were all green and crusty from getting wet, so it's definitely a potential issue.

It seems to be that the water is getting in somewhere by the wipers. The plastic doesn't fit that tight. Under the bonnet it is damp drivers side in that open gap and it is a little bit by the battery too. Once we get some dry weather I'll unbolt the spindles, dry it all out and see what can be sealed under there. I may even run a bit of silicone sealant along the edge of the plastic because its the most likely place that the water comes in. It's strange that it's happening. Never seen it happen on a car before.

You can't get the foam insulation off without taking the whole dash and most of the wiring loom out, so I wouldn't bother trying at this stage. If it's wet both sides then the windscreen is a more likely culprit for leaks, although it might also be worth taking the wipers off and popping the plastic cover panel up to see if it looks like water has been getting in there - I don't know for sure that that can happen but it's a quick and easy job to check.

Also if it's wet on the driver's side as well I'd take off that kick trim and check the connectors under there too - not as many as the passenger side but there's still potential for water to affect the central locking at the driver's door connector. Even if they're not actually wet it's worth unplugging each one to check the contacts - when I was sorting my central locking I found the pins of one of the n/s plugs were all green and crusty from getting wet, so it's definitely a potential issue.

I think someone mentioned about checking the seal that's in the hole for the steering on the LHD models.

Interesting you mention the plugs for the loom as well Robin: mine is just one monster-sized loom. No connectors in mid-length, just the 5 'ends'.

There's certainly a few open holes under the wiper cover plate - the ones for the Favorit windscreen washers were never deleted, for instance - there's no obvious holes into the cabin but I do wonder what happens right at the ends where the scuttle panel meets the inner wings. Can anyone who's completely stripped out a shell shed any light there?

I'm dubious about the LHD steering column hole thing - My car doesn't have one, and the lower front panel does have specific part numbers for LHD and RHD variations.

It's not just the front door looms under those kick panels, either - the connectors for the rear body loom are under there and a short across the rear door motor wires wouldn't do much good either. If you're unlucky the water will run down the wires from under the dash (where they're pressed against the soggy foam) into here and get wherever it can:

I know Tom's posted some clearer pictures of these areas before, but I have no idea what the relevant thread was even about.

Interesting you mention the plugs for the loom as well Robin: mine is just one monster-sized loom. No connectors in mid-length, just the 5 'ends'.

Ah but remember your kit is for a car that's already built - on the production line the body loom will go in long before any doors get near the shell. Plus it's far more efficient to build up complete doors as separate assemblies that can just be bolted on and plugged in as needed.

Thanks guys for the advice. Hoping to have a good look next week if the weather improves.

Ah but remember your kit is for a car that's already built - on the production line the body loom will go in long before any doors get near the shell. Plus it's far more efficient to build up complete doors as separate assemblies that can just be bolted on and plugged in as needed.

I was talking rubbish! I have 1 main loom and 4 door looms.

The control unit does make a single click when operating as well, so I suspect if it is dying it could make many noises. Also be aware that when you're testing, the unit doesn't like rapid locking and unlocking.

Alex

Indeed you're right, my mistake - it's very hard to hear it over the 4 motors going but there would seem to be a relay in there. With my head against the dash I can hear it switching on for 1 second and then off again - I'd never noticed even the second click as the sound of the stalled motors relaxing covered it.

I'm glad it doesn't seem to be a failure-prone relay though, since a whole new control unit is around £90!