Door Lock Problems (for a change)

[trundlenut]

First off, this is a mkI Seat Leon but basically the same as an Octavia.

 

Yesterday the drivers window came over all shy, hid in the door and refused to come out.  So this morning I stripped the drivers door down and found one of the clips had broken.  So I removed the broken cables etc, propped up the window with a piece of wood and put the door back together again.

 

Everything seemed OK, lights worked as expected and the door opened and closed from the inside and outside.

 

BUT....

 

I locked the car and left it for a little bit. When I came back and tried to open it, the drivers door is deadlocked and won't open.  I think the lock is making some noise (as best as my dodgy ears can tell).  The rear drivers side door is also acting erratically and not always unlocking, it has played up in the past but has been OK recently.

 

I have got the door card off and obviously the window isn't attached to the carrier which should make removal fairly easy.

 

I have checked the big multi plug on the controlller attached to the window motor and all seems good.  I haven't yet checked the pins in the controller but I will do.  There was no sign of corrosion or water ingress anywhere - the lock connector looked fine.

 

So the big question is, have a caught/pulled/bashed something that has stopped the lock functioning, or is this all a coincidence.  I think I will try putting 12V across what I believe the relevant pins and see what happens but any other ideas would be welcome.

[YellowCar]

Check around the loom for fatigued wires and breakages, particularly where they pass through door pillars and go anywhere near window regulator runners. It does sound as though you may have caught something carrying out your temporary fix. Would be a strange coincidence otherwise. Checking all pins and modules would be good to. The rear door could be a sticky mech (lube it up and see), a knock on effect of the damaged wires or something could be amiss with the multiplug in that door.

[trundlenut]

I will check the wiring, but on the Leon there is a metal plate across the door and the wiring sits between this and the door card, except for the connection to the lock, and visually it all looks fine, no obvious sign of damage.

 

Also I have scanned the car with VCDS and no faults relating to the drivers door came up.  I am getting an intermittant implausible signal fault code on the rear off side door.

[kentphil1]

I would be inclined to agree with YellowCar on the fatigued wiring part, when the window dropped, is there any chance it trapped or partially cut through the wiring loom to the door in that area?.

 

Been a while since I've looked in a Leon, as my son sold his about 4 years ago, but I seem to recall the wiring being close in that area?.

[trundlenut]

I think it is more likely to be a result of me moving things around.  The locking was fine until I pulled the door apart.  I locked / unlocked and drove the car several times after the window died without incident.

 

I could well have pulled something taking it all apart.

 

Using VCDS the door is reporting as unlocked, so something is confused.

[trundlenut]

Right I have some more investigating.  The lock appears to be getting power OK and you can hear and feel the motor run, but it isn't unlocking.  There is no sign of moisture getting into any of the connections and there is continuity between the lock connector and the big multiplug on the door controller on the wires to the motor.

 

I have tried bashing the lock mechanism whilst pressing the unlock button, but no result. 

 

I'm wondering if something has jammed inside.

 

Currently looking on ebay at the various options but I'm still wondering how to get the damn thing open.  I have pondered cutting a hole in the plastic casing where the gear wheel on the motor is located to see the range of movement or try and move it by hand.

 

I've seen pictures of the innards of the lock and also taken apart the rear door lock before, so I understand how the lock operates.

[YellowCar]

Could be a broken rivet or catch on the mech somewhere or something has happened to the cables as you can hear it working and appear to have power. Unusual for both inner and outer handle cables to go, it's quite common ffor the inner one to pop out of place, but the outer one? Hmm

Anyway you may find this useful while we think

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/112185-door-card-removal-from-deadlocked-octavia/

[YellowCar]

By the way people have fitted pattern part lock mechs with few issues, I did the used genuine thing with my front one and was fine. I still have my rear offside one to remove if you want one? My drivers door one went unfortunately.

[trundlenut]

Could be a broken rivet or catch on the mech somewhere or something has happened to the cables as you can hear it working and appear to have power. Unusual for both inner and outer handle cables to go, it's quite common ffor the inner one to pop out of place, but the outer one? Hmm

Anyway you may find this useful while we think

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/112185-door-card-removal-from-deadlocked-octavia/

 

I have got access to the lock and I can see it.  The cable to the outer handle is connected at both ends, likewise so is the inner one.  When you pull either handle you can hear movement in the lock.  Also as this is the drivers door there is the key! So I have tried unlocking with the key with the wiring both connected and disconnected, either way no joy.  I would have thought that even deadlocked the key should un-deadlock the door otherwise how would you get into the car with a flat battery!

 

By the way people have fitted pattern part lock mechs with few issues, I did the used genuine thing with my front one and was fine. I still have my rear offside one to remove if you want one? My drivers door one went unfortunately.

 

I've been looking and come across a few people saying they had problems with cheap ebay locks.  I may take you up on the offer for the rear lock!

[YellowCar]

I have got access to the lock and I can see it.  The cable to the outer handle is connected at both ends, likewise so is the inner one.  When you pull either handle you can hear movement in the lock.  Also as this is the drivers door there is the key! So I have tried unlocking with the key with the wiring both connected and disconnected, either way no joy.  I would have thought that even deadlocked the key should un-deadlock the door otherwise how would you get into the car with a flat battery!

 

 

I've been looking and come across a few people saying they had problems with cheap ebay locks.  I may take you up on the offer for the rear lock!

I'll make sure I get it off before the man with the lorry comes to take the shell away.

It does sound like something within the mech has gone.

Try find a used genuine one, try here, ebay or breakeryard.com I marinated mine in lube and greased it up fully before fitting and it was fine. It's door slamming that fractures the microswitch so once you know that you can be mindful of the replacement.

I'm sure some on here have used the Chinese ones and they've been good, sounds like a case of pot luck.

[shivadow]

My rear driverside door lock is borked too. Motor has power, loom is ok, deadlock is jammed because it sounds like slipping teeth in the mechanism and thats only when it decides to work.

I guess door locks are a weakpoint in these cars. Replacement is the best option if you can smash the lock to bits without damaging the door (providing you can get the door card off, which i cant). If your door opens then do something about it before it suddenly doesn't open anymore.

[YellowCar]

My rear driverside door lock is borked too. Motor has power, loom is ok, deadlock is jammed because it sounds like slipping teeth in the mechanism and thats only when it decides to work.

I guess door locks are a weakpoint in these cars. Replacement is the best option if you can smash the lock to bits without damaging the door (providing you can get the door card off, which i cant). If your door opens then do something about it before it suddenly doesn't open anymore.

Check the link above for getting the door card off. They are a weak point, they suffer a bit with water ingress and get a bit brittle it seems.

[trundlenut]

Well I managed to pick up a lock from a Fabia at my local scrapyard. Took it home and plugged in and it works. £10 well spent.

Now I just need to get the old one out...

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

[YellowCar]

Well I managed to pick up a lock from a Fabia at my local scrapyard. Took it home and plugged in and it works. £10 well spent.

Now I just need to get the old one out...

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Was that for the rear door? Was going to say I've fished mine out now...Both rear and passenger front door mechs now available

[trundlenut]

Was that for the rear door? Was going to say I've fished mine out now...Both rear and passenger front door mechs now available

Front door. Just need to get the car running again. I need to check the part number on the rear door lock and see if the Fabia is the same.

I will let you know if I need either lock if that's OK. Thanks for the offer.

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[YellowCar]

No worries

[trundlenut]

All sorted (fingers, toes, eyes and ears crossed).

Drilled through the casing of the old lock where the gear wheel is attached to the motor and manually turned it full range both ways. Then hulked out and abused the lock. I tugged hard on the inner cable and there was a sort crunchy twang and it opened!

Old lock out, new one in. Then I used a screwdriver to operate the lock before I shut the door, and all was good.

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[GAZ911]

I will check the wiring, but on the Leon there is a metal plate across the door and the wiring sits between this and the door card, except for the connection to the lock, and visually it all looks fine, no obvious sign of damage.

 

Also I have scanned the car with VCDS and no faults relating to the drivers door came up.  I am getting an intermittant implausible signal fault code on the rear off side door.

 

My left side rear door had this and was dead locked for about a week.I managed to get working by locking and unlocking with fob and taping (banging) on  and around the door handle.When it finally opened I took the door card off and sprayed dw40 on all the connecters and the lock.Touch wood its.seams to be working.

Edited 22 September, 2015 by GAZ911

[trundlenut]

My left side rear door had this and was dead locked for about a week.I managed to get working by locking and unlocking with fob and taping (banging) on the on and around the door handle.When it finally opened I took the door card off and sprayed dw40 on all the connecters and the lock.Touch wood its.seams to be working.

The motor in the rear door sounds lazy. It played up before and I dismantled it and liberally lubed it up and it has been ok for a year or so. New lock time I think.

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[GAZ911]

The motor in the rear door sounds lazy. It played up before and I dismantled it and liberally lubed it up and it has been ok for a year or so. New lock time I think.

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

 

Yes I was looking on ebay for one myself.I might buy one just in case it starts playing up again.

[YellowCar]

Yes I was looking on ebay for one myself.I might buy one just in case it starts playing up again.

Which side do you need?

[GarryC]

Sorry to jump in here as a bit of a hijack but I think I am suffering a similar problem and hope you guys could point me in the right direction:

 

Using the central locking key fob, ONLY the 2 offside doors open, the nearside ones do not. They open okay from the inside (pull the door handle) but not on the central locking.

 

This isn't a side of the car issue and its intermittent and sometimes one will randomly work, but most of the time they do not.

 

What do we think the cause is, and what is the best way to fix this?

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

Kind Regards

 

Garry

[YellowCar]

Check your wiring loom and the pins in the multiplug on the window motor. Sounds like a water ingress/corroded pins problem as the lock still basically works. There's a thread in the how to section about checking and protecting plugs, and a Google search with skoda should reveal solutions to corroded pins and the same problem.

[GarryC]

Hi YellowCar,

 

Thanks for your assistance on this. I have found the thread (HERE) and after reading the comments, it seems this is indeed my issue. Will whip the door cards off, and have a look at the connector, to clean it all up and see if I can get it working again.

 

Kind Regards

 

Garry

[YellowCar]

Hi YellowCar,

Thanks for your assistance on this. I have found the thread (HERE) and after reading the comments, it seems this is indeed my issue. Will whip the door cards off, and have a look at the connector, to clean it all up and see if I can get it working again.

Kind Regards

Garry

No problem. If you need one (pins are too far gone or it could be internally goosed) I have a nearside rear door window motor (with regulator attached). Unfortunately front went. I also have the wiring loom for that rear door and the lock mechanism.