As per the title.

 

I have a wonderful Mk1  Low mileage,  perfect condition vRS.

 

 Since owning the car last year the only thing that did not work on the car was the lights on buzzer and interior lights operated by the microswitch on the drivers door lock.  I have lived with this for about eight months and just on a whim decided to do something about it. A new lock was about £150, alternatively I liked the idea of replacing the micro switch but foolishly decided on  buying a pattern lock which looked identical in all respects from eBay for £20. How they can make them for that money I really don't know! Well, I think I do now.

 

I stripped the door down, change the lock and everything  was working beautifully for about a day! Then, whilst up in London the lock failed and you cannot open it from either the inside or the outside!

 

After a little bit of reading on Google I learned that apparently this can happen sometimes. I'm not sure what the problem actually is but it is with the lock and I suppose a minor moving part has failed internally in the lock.

 

As you can imagine , I am absolutely gutted, (I never use that expression but honestly I really am).

 

How the hell can I get the  door panel off and the old lock off without causing any damage ?

 

 I'm hoping someone on here has a brilliant idea as I'm well and truly stuffed!

Are you sure you did not refit the outer handle serrated cable back in a tighter position than it came out of on the old lock?, as that can cause issues.

 

There are 4 microswitches inside the door lock, only 1 of them controls the light, the others send different signals to the comfort module about the state of locking on the relevant door.

 

If you have put it in the wrong place just back it off a notch or two.

It Is in a tighter position!

 

I tightened it slightly for a better action on the handle.

 

it worked fine for the first day......................

 

how do do I rectify the problem?

I can't remove the knbob unless the door is open and I can't open the door!

 

Any suggestions?

Never make it tighter ....

Or looser...

 

Icant remember if you can get at the outer cable without stripping the door card again.

 Well I have tried a combination of banging, locking, and unlocking, opening from outside, opening from inside and nothing works so I thought it was time to take out the driver seat and start stripping the door panel down as best as possible without damage.

 

Thinking about it logically and the length of the little Bowden cable  which I had shortened slightly I came to the conclusion that I needed to lengthen it slightly if what was said above and I have read elsewhere on the Internet is correct.

 

I pushed my knee hard against the outside door handle so the door panel flexed by a couple of millimetres and affectively lengthened the cable inside. I locked and unlocked the door and hey presto, it opened!

 

I'm going to spend £150 on a genuine lock and until that time the door is remaining open!

 

 Thank you all for your help so far. 

30quid ebay locks are perfectly fine. 

No need to spend 150 quid on one. 

Just be really careful about setting the cable on the threads and test it a lot with the door open before you deem yourself happy to close it.

+1 on what mac11irl said, the devil is in the detail of final testing the lock before you box it back up as done.

On 10/03/2019 at 19:58, mac11irl said:

30quid ebay locks are perfectly fine. 

No need to spend 150 quid on one. 

Just be really careful about setting the cable on the threads and test it a lot with the door open before you deem yourself happy to close it.

Any tips on testing  ?

 

Like OP I need to do this but have been putting it off for fear of exactly what OP encountered !

Just use a large diameter screwdriver (I use a large philips head) to mimick the door striker in the lock slot to move the lock mechanism to the closed position while you have the door open. There should be a positive click as the mechanism locks closed around the screwdriver and no longer wants to spring open. Once the mechanism has clicked shut, you should be able to remove the screwdriver shaft, but the lock will remain closed.

 

You can then check that all the relevant handles release the door lock one by one (you will have to reinsert the screwdriver each time the lock releases correctly), and that the central locking functions correctly.

 

If something goes wrong, you still have the door in the open position, even when the car itself thinks that the door is closed and locked.

 

Hope it helps

 

Phil.

Edited 11 March, 20197 yr by kentphil1

Went mad this evening.

 

lateral thinking and followed the micro switch tutorial and renewed it on my original lock. 

 

All works fine fine plugged into loom and will refit in door tomorrow.

 

cost, £3.00.

So.... 1/50th the cost of Sunday nights plan