Right here we go:

 

First of all I stripped the door following this guide http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/222287-how-to-octavia-1-replacing-door-latch-microswitch/

 

And thought, has someone been here before?

 

 

Anyway, I pressed on, decided to follow the slits already there and also maintain the membrane seal along the bottom.

 

Got to the multiplug and unfastened, looks good doesn't it?

 

 

If the plug looks this good, surely the pins are ok?

 

 

 

All present and correct, yes?  I'm now a mixture of pleased and perturbed, glad I don't have to mess around with corroded and pins and wires, but I was hoping to find a more obvious problem.  Anyway, I contact cleaned the plug and got some silicon grease over the plugs connecting pins and plugged in.

 

If there is one good thing to come out of it and share with you perhaps its my shelter for the plug made from self amalgamating tape...

 

 

 

I retaped the membrane, putting some duct tape up the slits behind, and then joining and taping over the outside of the slits, a kind of double backed join

 

 

I then reconnected all plugs and reassembled the door, first time I tried the fob guess what, no passenger front lock!  A bit annoying, tried a few more then it sprang into life and worked 20 times, was still working when I left it, but then it was an intermittent problem anyway. I also contact cleaned the switch unit, still no rear window lock button, and the interior light didn't come on every time I opened the door....the plot thickens, any ideas?

 

I didn't have time to get into the passenger door, would this be worth doing?  I don't have access to a multimeter so all done by eye and giving things a gentle wiggle, all wires seem good, A pillar run throughs also seem ok, in fact as with the rest of the car its all in pretty good nick in the nooks and crannies.

 

If I go for a used door window motor unit, is there an issue with part numbers, I read somewhere that module and motor have to match exactly for the year, is that the case for the whole thing?

 

P.s Thanks to everyone for posting here and elsewhere and their advice, even though the problem may not be solved yet, I don't know what I'd do without this forum sometimes.

Both my nearside door locks were intermittent (at different times) - sometimes working after two presses of the remote and sometimes ok for a week or so and sometimes not working at all for days.

 

It seemed to me when I looked at the mechanism on the outside of the door that it was a little corroded and figured it could be same inside the door due to water or dirt. So on the first door (passenger front), I stripped it down like you did so I could see the motor and mechanism. Hard to see as the whole lot is hidden so I copiously sprayed the area with both a teflon filled oil and a silicone oil. I then did the same on the catch bits on the door. I then worked it in by operating the lock 20-30 times.
Still works at nearly three years.

 

When the rear nearside door started to have the same problem I thought I would first try putting the lubricants through the gaps in the catch mechanism using the spray tube and hope it reaches the bits inside. Now about a year since I did this and still working.

 

My conclusion is that if the wiring is ok, then the lack of lubricant on the moving parts may be causing friction greater than the power of the motor.

 

Of course you have wait until a day when the door is actually open but then go for it. You have nothing to lose except a fine covering of oil in the door - more waterproofing! 

Both my nearside door locks were intermittent (at different times) - sometimes working after two presses of the remote and sometimes ok for a week or so and sometimes not working at all for days.

 

It seemed to me when I looked at the mechanism on the outside of the door that it was a little corroded and figured it could be same inside the door due to water or dirt. So on the first door (passenger front), I stripped it down like you did so I could see the motor and mechanism. Hard to see as the whole lot is hidden so I copiously sprayed the area with both a teflon filled oil and a silicone oil. I then did the same on the catch bits on the door. I then worked it in by operating the lock 20-30 times.

Still works at nearly three years.

 

When the rear nearside door started to have the same problem I thought I would first try putting the lubricants through the gaps in the catch mechanism using the spray tube and hope it reaches the bits inside. Now about a year since I did this and still working.

 

My conclusion is that if the wiring is ok, then the lack of lubricant on the moving parts may be causing friction greater than the power of the motor.

 

Of course you have wait until a day when the door is actually open but then go for it. You have nothing to lose except a fine covering of oil in the door - more waterproofing!

Now you mention it, I cant believe I didn't think of it, first thing I usually go for with any door trouble is the GT85 and just about any other lubricant I can find. I just didn't think it would effect it too much as this seems a central locking issue but what you say makes sense and its worked for you. I'm glad I stripped the door down for peace of mind if nothing else. Before I spend on used parts I'll definitely get the cans out and go spray crazy!

Really good job on the door there, that is an aftemarket skoda oem membrane on there rather than a factory job - someone cared enough about the car to fork out for it. Get some wd40 or gt85 as you have said, and put a pipe on the nozzle and soak the living daylights out of the door mechanisms.

 

If you are lucky the linkage or micro switches will unstick, otherwise you may have to consider new units  If you really wanted to be sure it was the lock switch if things don't improve, you could remove the connector plug to the lock and temporarily bridge the terminals to make sure the interior lamp and buzzer work. But to be honest, it is such a pain to get to you may just want to swop it out in one go.

 

I had this on my vrs and a good soaking sorted it for 2 years, but it is really a 50/50 shot for success. I also fire this stuff into all the locks once a year - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/ambersil-graphite-lock-lubricant-n68jb, don't know if it helps, as you don't know what would happen if you didn't use it, but the locks fire off in a more positive sound after using it.

Really good job on the door there, that is an aftemarket skoda membrane on there rather than a factory job - someone cared enough about the car to fork out for it. Get some wd40 or gt85 as you have said, and put a pipe on the nozzle and soak the living daylights out of the door mechanisms.

 

If you are lucky the linkage or micro switches will unstick, otherwise you may have to consider new units  If you really wanted to be sure it was the lock switch if things don't improve, you could remove the connector plug to the lock and temporarily bridge the terminals to make sure the interior lamp and buzzer work. But to be honest, it is such a pain to get to you may just want to swop it out in one go.

 

I had this on my vrs and a good soaking sorted it for 2 years, but it is really a 50/50 shot for success. I also fire this stuff into all the locks once a year - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/ambersil-graphite-lock-lubricant-n68jb, don't know if it helps, as you don't know what would happen if you didn't use it, but the locks fire off in a more positive sound after using it.

Cheers Phil, I was quite pleased with the 'veranda' for the wires. That lock stuff looks like a good shout and I've got some sprays and greases I can use for now. Hopefully it will help the microswitches too which do work a fair amount of the time (interior and door light more often than buzzer though). I do also have that used drivers door lock mech on the way as well. I'm tempted with getting that used window motor just in case, but I should know in a few days if the squirts have been successful.

I did wonder about the membrane I was expecting plastic sheet. It makes me wonder why someone had gone in there though, and also again as that was also slit, anyway, I'm fairly confident its not a major issue, just hope its not permanently recurring problem.

I do think this is a good example though and I'm really pleased with it. It has had a few owners but I don't think it was neglected at any point, although I do think it stood still on sale for at least a few months, this ties in with paperwork, condition of paint surfaces and window rubbers (fine now though), and a few sticky and stiff things. Think I gave the thing a shock back to life with some long journeys a pokey map and some minor but effective mods!

Anyway, thanks again chaps, I'll get the sprays out and keep you posted.

The uncomfortable truth is that this has been a problem for some time on these cars, and if the car has been taken to a dealer in the past, then they rightly, just fix the problem. The problem with that is the cause does not get fixed unless the factory update the part or issue a service bulletin with a fix. With the age of our cars, both options are very limited at best - probably non existent.

 

The cure 98% of the time is that caring owners find the cause and cure it with inventive methods at the time like you have - well done by the way - and really caring owners spend out on new oem parts, where most of us don't have the funds so go for the best after market option available. That does not mean that is a bad thing either as some parts are better than oem, and at the end of the day, any maintenance is far better than none at all.

 

You will probably find plastic in the rear doors though.

I'm just glad I've found this forum and people like yourself who can people like me who care a lot but don't much money or mechanical nouse to work through problems like this. Which on VAG cars, as great as they are in terms of major parts, often leave us scratching heads and cursing over niggly issues. Despite this they are rewarding cars to own and the learning curve is definitely worth travelling up.