Rear door locked shut and window not working

[sri16v]

Hi all

 

It's been a long time since I have posted on these forums, I still have my 2006 VRS tdi after 10 years and it had now becime a third vehicle!

 

As the title suggests, my drivers side passenger rear door won't open and the window is also not working.

 

I have done the usual checks for broken wiring at the A pillar and the B pillar and all good, also have 12v at the connectors.

 

I have removed the b pillar trim and also managed to remove the door card with the door still locked shut!

 

I have checked what I assume is the window control module and it has 12v at the connector (whether the motor works is another matter) 

 

I am pretty confident there is not a broken wire as I'm reading 12v all the way through to the rear door.

 

My next step is the door lock module, I'm guessing to remove and gain access , that the riveted inner panel needs drilling to access the module?

 

The car only does 1000 miles a year so is left parked up most of the time, I had to charge the battery to get it started and its MOT is looming, hopefully this is not the end for my loyal servant!

 

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

 

[sri16v]

Added an image to show what stage I am at

[MikeTheThinker]

Pardon a possibly obvious question, but as you seem to have multiple electrical failures in one location but with good 12v feeds - have you checked for a good earth/0V connection?

[Guest]

I'm going to say the flat battery was key to the fault... assuming there was no fault prior.

 

Disconnect the battery negative, turn ignition on, turn hazards on, flash main beam and toot horn.  Nothing should happen but it should drain any residual charge lurking in the car.

 

Reconnect the battery, turn the ignition off then start engine and retry your problem items.

[sri16v]

3 hours ago, MikeTheThinker said:

Pardon a possibly obvious question, but as you seem to have multiple electrical failures in one location but with good 12v feeds - have you checked for a good earth/0V connection?

 

Yep have checked for earth continuity and it seems to be good.

 

I'm guessing the next step is to drill out the rivets and remove the panel to gain access to the door module controller? 

 

The wiring grommet for the rear module is unfortunately not big enough to be able to insert more than 1 finger and remove the plug to test, but the wiring to it all looks good.

 

Also a shame there is no access to mechanically unlock the door via the lock mechanism.

[sri16v]

48 minutes ago, MicMac said:

I'm going to say the flat battery was key to the fault... assuming there was no fault prior.

 

Disconnect the battery negative, turn ignition on, turn hazards on, flash main beam and toot horn.  Nothing should happen but it should drain any residual charge lurking in the car.

 

Reconnect the battery, turn the ignition off then start engine and retry your problem items.

I had to bump start the car to get it started this morning, I will give that a try tommorow.

 

It's been a fault since last year but as I rarely use the car I forgot all about it until I remembered the MOT is up in the next few weeks.

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Trying to start it with a flattery corrupts the electronics, a reboot is required.

[sri16v]

41 minutes ago, MicMac said:

Trying to start it with a flattery corrupts the electronics, a reboot is required.

 

The rear door and window not working was prior to the battery going flat, probably around 4 or 5 months ago I first noticed it not working.

 

I will give the battery disconnection method a try tommorow

[sri16v]

Just an update as I may have found the issue and it may help others in future.

 

Decided to take another look at the A and B pillar looms, disconnected the drivers door loom and checked the wiring again and all looked OK.

 

Did a continuity test on the earth from the b pillar to the drivers loom and it was all good, did the same with the power cable and it was intermittent, disconnected the block and noticed corrosion on the earth and positive terminals.

 

Also checked for Continuity on the can bus wires from the rear door which were all good.

 

Cleaned them up with pcb cleaner and some isopropyl spray.

 

I found 2 32 amp fuses had blown in the fuse board which may be related to the bad connection and me cleaning and not drying off. 

 

I'm hoping 2 new 32 amp fuses and removing the positive and earth cables from the block and cleaning up the blade ferrule will solve it.

 

Got some arriving tommorow, so fingers crossed

[Mattybrooks]

had the same issue about a year ago the door wires run through the window motor to the door lock i bought a used window regulator and motor off ebay and replaced the motor all worked fine ever since

[sri16v]

On 25/01/2022 at 21:52, Mattybrooks said:

had the same issue about a year ago the door wires run through the window motor to the door lock i bought a used window regulator and motor off ebay and replaced the motor all worked fine ever since

I haven't had another look at the car since last weekend, but I am planning to tommorow. 

 

I tested the resistance of the motor on the window regulator and it was around 3 ohms from memory, so I don't believe the issue is the window regulator, and the fact I have 12v supply there.

 

Got to get it sorted this weekend as the MOT is looming in 2 weeks, otherwise its off to the scrap heap in the sky!

 

 

[Nepomuk]

Can you physically open the door? I believe that the MoT doesn't require the door to be lockable, just that you can close it, and get out from inside using the handle.

 

 

 

[sri16v]

On 01/02/2022 at 14:10, Nepomuk said:

Can you physically open the door? I believe that the MoT doesn't require the door to be lockable, just that you can close it, and get out from inside using the handle.

 

 

 

Unfortunately not, it's deadlocked shut, tried from the outside and inside.

 

Had no joy last time I looked, so scrap heaven is looking likely, will try one more time on the weekend, going to swap over the window regulators.

 

It would be a shame to scrap it, but I don't really want to spend the money on it, and without an mot it's next to worthless.

[Guest]

And this is progress... how hard would it be for designers to add a manual override mechanism.

 

When the electrons fail to flow we need an abacus standby.

[Nepomuk]

On 03/02/2022 at 18:21, sri16v said:

Unfortunately not, it's deadlocked shut, tried from the outside and inside.

 

Had no joy last time I looked, so scrap heaven is looking likely, will try one more time on the weekend, going to swap over the window regulators.

 

It would be a shame to scrap it, but I don't really want to spend the money on it, and without an mot it's next to worthless.

 

Don't give up. There is a procedure on this forum for attacking exactly this problem on a Mk 1 Octy. I can confirm it works, as we used it on my duaghter's 2004 model.

[sri16v]

On 05/02/2022 at 13:01, Nepomuk said:

 

Don't give up. There is a procedure on this forum for attacking exactly this problem on a Mk 1 Octy. I can confirm it works, as we used it on my duaghter's 2004 model.

Well I have the door open, took the window regulator motor off the passenger rear door, plugged it in and unlocked the car, door opened!

 

Does anyone know the part no. Needed? Seen a couple on ebay that look the same, but unsure if there is a difference?

 

Only other problem I have is, I manged to knock the splined cable pulley for the window into the door!

 

Drilled the speaker rivets out and got it out, but I'm unsure as to the cable routing, as the cable seems quite slack