Hi all, still got my Fabia vRS, over 200k miles now and I've had it since new.

 

Unfortunately I cannot afford a new car at this time and probably never will (lol).

 

My passenger door is jammed shut and locked. I did have a read here and tried taking the fuse out for central locking but that does not work. Any idea how I am supposed to get the door open and fix the issue? 😞

 

I am wondering is it even possible to get the door card off with it closed?

 

Thanks if anyone can offer any input.

 

Garry.

Yes, it is possible to get the door card off with the door closed,  removing the passenger seat makes it a lot easier, it'll take you about ten minutes to remove all the seating except the drivers seat, that way you can work with the passenger rear door open and nothing else in the way.

Remove the door card and window carrier, then you can smash the plastic lock casing to get the deadlock to release, once you can open the door it gets a lot easier.

As another option to try which has helped with the locks on my Mk 4 Golf when they have played up. 
sit inside the car in the relevant seat and repeatedly thump the area of the door where the lock is situated with the side of your clenched fist. At the same time keep on pressing unlock repeatedly on the remote whilst a couple of people operate the inside and outside  door handles. Sometimes the thumps on the inner door are enough to unlock it. 
Don’t lock the car again until the lock is changed and the quality  of the latest ebay 

Thanks very much both, I will try the thumping fix before resorting to taking out the seat and removing the door card. 

6 hours ago, jifster said:

Thanks very much both, I will try the thumping fix before resorting to taking out the seat and removing the door card. 

I posted my answer before I had finished typing! 
I meant to say that the quality of the brand new cheap EBay locks is terrible. It’s luck of the draw if you get one that works properly and then they don’t last long. Better to purchase a genuine known working example. 

OK thanks for updating the post for that. 

For those that are broke (  moneywise ) and dont mind foregoing central locking and dead locking functionality you can just disconnect the  electrical connector going into the lock

( crude, but at least the thing wont go and do an unlockable deadock again )

Edited 6 September, 20223 yr by olddog
typo

So you mean the door will stick lock manually? I think i'd rather just do that if that is a quick fix once I get everything open. I am wondering if there are any diagrams or pictures that would show me what I need to disconnect. Can I get to this connector without removing the window carrier or anything else (except the door card) ?

 

I will still try the thumping the car trick 1st 

 

I am currently working night-shift so am saving this fun for later in the week !

24 minutes ago, jifster said:

So you mean the door will stick lock manually?

 

It wouldn't be able to be locked with the key. Turning the key actuates microswitches to trigger the locking motor which won't happen with the plug disconnected from the lock unit. The door would be permanently unlocked.

Edited 6 September, 20223 yr by TMB

You have to un-deadlock it first as per sepulchrave  or ( if lucky ) prt57

 

Once its undeadlocked then you will need to get the door card off regardless of if its to replace the lock or just disconnect the connector to the lock

Here's a video of lock unit replacement....

 

 

so... if the connector is disconnect could you lock the door from inside and then leave the car and use the central locking to lock the rest?

Thanks for that TMB. I'll give that a watch.

2 minutes ago, jifster said:

so... if the connector is disconnect could you lock the door from inside and then leave the car and use the central locking to lock the rest?

....

 

At least that what happens with a Mk 1 Octavia....................and I'm just presuming ()  a Mk 1 Fabia will be similar

I never thought about locking it from the inside. If it works on the Octy it should work on a Fabia.

EDIT: I'm not convinced that leaving the lock disconnected wouldn't have an adverse effect on the rest of the system as the locks are linked to the windows, interior lights and god knows what.

Edited 6 September, 20223 yr by TMB

Yikes, that's a lot of work in that video. Do I need to take that other bit off once the door card is off to remove the connector? I am talking about the big silver bit on the door that he removes. Sorry I do not know the terms or the parts to be honest. i can find the door OK though lol. I am wondering if I'm just going to get myself in more of a mess!

Yes, the silver panel has to come off and the regulator disconnected from the window glass at the two clamps. Depending on the year of your car, the silver panel is either bolted on, or after 2004 is pop riveted.

Mine is September 2004 so hopefully bolted. I'll give it a go and if I get into a mess I can take it to the garage and ask them to put it back together again lol.

By the way, you don't have to remove the window glass like he does, you can temporarily tape it in place while you have the silver panel off.

ah, thanks, that's quite important knowing that.  

Here's a pic of my passenger front door. The yellow arrow shows where the connector plug is fitted to the lock unit.

 

 

 

To remove the connector plug, push the whole plug upwards to relieve strain on the catch while also pulling the tab downwards to release plug.

 

Edited 7 September, 20223 yr by TMB

The pictures are not showing at the moment but I am on the work machine. I'll have a look on my laptop shortly see if they are there.

^ OK.

Thanks TMB, I can see the pictures now, so it must have been my work blocking the image hosting. Thank you so much.

I have had to fix this many times on my Mk 4 golf. The only bit in the video you don’t need to do is remove the glass. Loosen the glass clamps then pull the glass upwards as it it was closing then duct tape it closed, protecting the paint on the top of the door from the tape in case it pulls the lacquer off as the tape is removed. 
It helps to have a 2nd person to support the lock as you remove and replace the silver metal window mechanism carrier as you need three hands !!

as I mentioned above, by a good genuine 2nd Hand lock rather than a cheap brand new one.