Alarm does not lock doors

[Petee]

Apologies if this has been covered, but my search proved fruitless...

The alarm fob on my 2000 Chimaera operates the alarm, which is I believe a factory standard one (4 flashes and "blips" = locked, 1 silent flash = unlocked), and the alarm works just fine.

However, the doors will still open when the car is "locked". Press the button under the wing mirror and the door pops open as normal. And the alarm goes off. This has caught me off guard a few times so far, and I can't believe this is normal.

Any thoughts on what might be the issue? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[rickprice]

My 2000 with factory meta alarm:

Lock = 2 short flashes, no sound
Unlock = 1 long flash
Lock, error (eg boot open) = 2 short flashes with beeps.

Never had 4 flashes.

So either you have a non-Meta alarm or something is different?

Rich

[QBee]

rickprice said:

My 2000 with factory meta alarm:

Lock = 2 short flashes, no sound
Unlock = 1 long flash
Lock, error (eg boot open) = 2 short flashes with beeps.

Never had 4 flashes.

So either you have a non-Meta alarm or something is different?

Rich

I had 4 beeps and two flashes with my 99 Meta alarm - what it means is that one or more of the door, boot or bonnet catch sensors are not making contact, so the system cannot set properly.
In my case it was the bonnet, and an adjustment of the catch sorted it. However, mine did lock.
I would infer that means your issue is a door sensor.

[eric450]

My 2000 Chim did exactly the same on the driver's door.
The 'locking' solenoid had gone bandit.
There are two solenoid units per door, it's the 5 wire one that locks.
The two wire one opens from the under mirror button.
Simple to change it but you do need three hands to hold the mechanism
together while you put the three allen head bolts back!

Cheers ....

[Petee]

Thanks chaps, plenty to go on there.

Will hopefully get a chance to look at it this weekend.

Many thanks!

[ou sont les biscuits]

eric450 said:

My 2000 Chim did exactly the same on the driver's door.
The 'locking' solenoid had gone bandit.
There are two solenoid units per door, it's the 5 wire one that locks.
The two wire one opens from the under mirror button.
Simple to change it but you do need three hands to hold the mechanism
together while you put the three allen head bolts back!

Cheers ....

You need four hands to make sure that the little springs on the solenoids don't drop into the cavity.

Ask me how I know this..........

[Petee]

Quick update:
It was indeed the bonnet catch. The switch was at a slightly off angle so the spring was skipping over the top of it when shut.
Pretty simply sorted with a 13mm spanner and a bit of fiddling. I love this car!

Thanks for your help chaps, invaluable as always.

Now I'll be able to lock it in the car park at Goodwood Revival on Sunday, maybe see some of you there

[Petee]

Thread resurrection ....

Having sorted the bonnet latch, it now seems that it is indeed my driver's door solenoid that has now gone kaput, as when the car locks the passenger door won't open, but the driver's door will open by the button under the mirror. (2000 Chim 450)

Am I correct in thinking that the 5-wire central locking solenoid is the one that needs replacing, even though the door button activates the 2-wire one?

From listening to the passenger door, it sounds like the 2-wire one fires when the button is pressed regardless of whether the door's locked or not, but the 5-wire keeps it from opening, effectively overriding the 2-wire one if it's locked.
If the 5-wire in the driver's door is kaput, that would mean there's nothing to stop the mirror button opening the door?

Do I understand that correctly? If so, then the next job is to find detailed instructions as to how to swap the 5-wire solenoid...

[tonys]

There are several threads on here dating back into the darkest depths of history

The attached link, which took me a while to find, shows the colours when I changed mine. IIRC, threads over the years have shown that the wire colours sometimes varied.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=3&...


See my entry towards the end of the thread.


Can't guarantee yours will be the same.

[Petee]

Thanks Tony, will investigate.

[eric450]

If you buy the OE units (SPAL) from TVR Parts or Racetech, the wire colours are the same as the original.
A bit more expensive but much better quality IMO.

Cheers.

[tonys]

eric450 said:

If you buy the OE units (SPAL) from TVR Parts or Racetech, the wire colours are the same as the original.
A bit more expensive but much better quality IMO.

Cheers.

Didn't realise they had them, seem to recall that they were out of stock several years ago.

[eric450]

tonys said:

Didn't realise they had them, seem to recall that they were out of stock several years ago.

Yes, I've bought them from both in the last eighteen months,
Needed a five wire for the door and a two wire for the boot.

[Petee]

Thanks for the tip. I did actually buy the only 5 wire solenoid I could find on eBay (those model numbers quoted don't seem to be available form anywhere), and it was slightly too long.

I have now ordered a SPAL one from a TVR supplier.

In the meantime however, I discovered two things:

1) The assembly is very easy to remove from y 2000 Chim, just having three Allen bolts around the lock, facing forward. No risk of losing bolts or difficulty in replacing in exactly the right place. Which is handy, as I'll have to do it all again when the SPAL one arrives.

2) A bit of PTFE lube on the solenoid shaft seems to have resolved the locking issue, at least temporarily. Central locking is now working again.

[QBee]

A bit of PTFE lube seems to solve most things, it seems.....