Has anyone replaced V8V locking modules DIY?

Has anyone replaced V8V locking modules DIY?

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olv

Original Poster:

343 posts

214 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
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Ever since I've owned my 2008 Vantage, my drivers door has suffered the common, iffy locking syndrome. Has anyone here successfully replaced the door lock/catch module themselves?

http://astonmartinbits.com/models/5-V8-Vantage/par...

I'm assuming it is that part?

Inexpensive on its own but having been unable to find any guides to swapping them over, I'm wondering whether or not it is DIYable given it's c.£500 a side to have them sorted.

Anyone with any experience of doing it?

Thanks

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
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Is that generally all that's needed to fix the intermittent door lock problem?

I'm pretty sure I could replace mine, and could live with a £250 bill a lot more than a £1k bill. Mine seems odd though since it seems to get in a cycle where alternate doors lock which sounds more software than mechanical!

ETA : I'm sure in threads I'd seen in the past, the door lock modules had to be "coded" by AM? Or did I imagine that?

Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 25th July 12:46

olv

Original Poster:

343 posts

214 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Gingernuts - that's really helpful thanks.

Davek - not sure if that's all that's needed, I guess that's the main point of the thread. In the various threads about this, people often think they have solved it with new batteries, key fobs or other electrical fixes, but it inevitably always ends up requiring new modules. There is talk of dealers coding them to the car but I can't see what for. Hopefully it's just a case of plug and play.

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
olv said:
Gingernuts - that's really helpful thanks.

Davek - not sure if that's all that's needed, I guess that's the main point of the thread. In the various threads about this, people often think they have solved it with new batteries, key fobs or other electrical fixes, but it inevitably always ends up requiring new modules. There is talk of dealers coding them to the car but I can't see what for. Hopefully it's just a case of plug and play.
Let me know if it worked, then I'll do mine wink

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
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I just called my local indy to chat about this.

For mine - based on my description (passenger door doesn't lock, then I open close it and it does, but driver doesn't, then I open close it and passenger doesn't etc. etc) - he said it sounds like I need new latches (which is what you've linked to).

I asked about coding, and he said that the modules need to be coded if they are replaced, but it sounds more likely it's the latches which have no coding.

I'm sure I could replace the latches, but they will mail me a quote later anyway - I'll update when they do.

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
My indy says :

£436.74 + Vat fitted - which includes a labour discount of 20%.

They tell me that to replace the door latches, the window glass and the regulators have to come out - which isn't rocket science, but having replaced a few regulators in the past (not on the Aston) means I might let them do it!

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
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Please keep advising!

Wasn't contradicting, just giving the info I got.

olv

Original Poster:

343 posts

214 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
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Useful information from both, thanks.

I'm definitely not brave enough to be the guinea pig on this so will keep digging. Need redpants to do a video for the communities (read, 'my') benefit. Haha

akita1

487 posts

199 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
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My ones going in next week for this problem was told to bring all the keys as if it is a module problem all3 need replacing and coded to the keys I really hope this is covered by the extended warrenty as I am still waiting for it to be changed over to my name.

akita1

487 posts

199 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
My ones going in next week for this problem was told to bring all the keys as if it is a module problem all3 need replacing and coded to the keys I really hope this is covered by the extended warrenty as I am still waiting for it to be changed over to my name.

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Thursday 26th July 2018
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akita1 said:
My ones going in next week for this problem was told to bring all the keys as if it is a module problem all3 need replacing and coded to the keys I really hope this is covered by the extended warrenty as I am still waiting for it to be changed over to my name.
Please keep us updated with that they do - I'm happy to replace my latches, but don't want to waste my money (or time) if it's more likely to be the modules. At least my mechanic seemed to think it's the latches, but the way it behaves makes me think it's not a mechanical problem, and the modules are more likely for me.

Life clearly has a sense of humour. Having stated on here yesterday that I really didn't want to be taking the regulator out to replace the latches and hence might let the mechanics do it - I got home, opened the passenger door to my Alfa Spider and the window dropped all the way down (should only open an inch) and wouldn't come back up. So it looks like I will be replacing a window regulator on a car this weekend anyway, just not the Aston. Doh!

BamfordMike

1,192 posts

156 months

Thursday 26th July 2018
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The OP’s problem sounds classic door module failure. The pic in the part the OP copies is a locking latch motor. There’s the off chance it could be a latch motor issue (gone lazy and doesn’t achieve full range of motion so bounces back to unlock), but 9 times out of 10 the problem is door module.

A latch motor is plug and play, a door module will need coding to the car and because the latest design level part won’t operate with an older level part on the other door, often a pair of door modules is the fix required.

For a locking or window drop issue (which the fix is mostly door module), someone saying to bring in all the keys, they say that because they are anticipating changing the main body control module, hence the need to copy key fob and key transponder codes and program them to the new body control module - but really? a door issue and the root cause of the fault is the body module, it could be, but extremely rare.

Door module can be removed with glass in, latch motor is glass out. Extreme care is needed refitting the glass, slightly over tighten the fixings or position the glas ever so slightly out of position and the glass will shatter at an unpredictable time in the future

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Thursday 26th July 2018
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Hmm. Sounds like there is little choice - mine will need to go to a mechanic and have the door modules replaced, not the latches. frown

Thanks Mike, very useful info.

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Thursday 26th July 2018
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Asked my Indy for a quote if it's the door modules.

£219.02 + vat for each module
£35.12 for a new config file from Aston to match the modules
£148.50 Labour to fit both door modules

Assuming all of the prices were plus vat, that comes to £745.99. Expensive, but quite a bit less than I was expecting.

olv

Original Poster:

343 posts

214 months

Thursday 26th July 2018
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I think I'll just continue to double check it with the key biggrin

JaseB

854 posts

260 months

Thursday 26th July 2018
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davek_964 said:
Asked my Indy for a quote if it's the door modules.

£219.02 + vat for each module
£35.12 for a new config file from Aston to match the modules
£148.50 Labour to fit both door modules

Assuming all of the prices were plus vat, that comes to £745.99. Expensive, but quite a bit less than I was expecting.
Sounds about the going rate, exactly what I paid...

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Friday 27th July 2018
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I've noticed something very odd about my problem - which means I'm not convinced new door modules would solve it anyway.

When it fails to lock (seems about 80% of the time) it is always the door on the other side of the car that fails to lock. If I lock from the driver's side, it's the passenger side that will fail. If I lock from the passenger side, it's the driver side that will fail.

This also explains why the car gets into a cycle where I find a door didn't lock, unlock and lock with the remote, then find the other door didn't lock - and repeat indefinitely until I use the key.

If I was designing a central locking system, I don't think I'd make the remote talk to a module in each door - but it's beginning to look like that's how it works and it's often failing to reach the door module.
I may dig out my other remote or replace the battery on the one I use. It seems unlikely to be the solution, however it definitely is always the door further away that fails. Even if a new battery doesn't work, I don't think I'll be spending £750 until I understand why.

olv

Original Poster:

343 posts

214 months

Friday 27th July 2018
quotequote all
Something that I have noticed with mine is that if I use the interior console switch to unlock the doors before getting out of the car, then both doors are more likely to lock from the fob. If I, or the passenger, just open the door with the handle whilst they are still locked then it's likely that one of the doors won't lock.

I do not think I have the same thing as you where the furthest door will not lock but I haven't played about with the keys to see if one is more or less unreliable than the other.

But agree it would be good understand the problem properly.

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Tuesday 31st July 2018
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My new battery in the remote has made a significant difference. So far, the car has locked 100% of the time - including 10 attempts at unlocking / locking after changing the battery.

Given the way mine was behaving - and the results so far - I am 100% convinced that it was some kind of range issue, and it does seem to suggest that the fob communicates with each door module. Although it hasn't failed again yet, I'm still not 100% convinced that the problem was just the battery in the remote though - I think that's simply improved the situation.
I know that my 360 has a wire (aerial) outside of the locking module. I don't know if the Vantage has something similar - can't find pictures of the door modules. My gut feeling is that the door modules are "faulty" - in that they are not receiving the signal as well as they should. No doubt new modules would solve the problem - but I can't help feeling I'd be paying ~£750 simply because (e.g.) a couple of capacitors had blown.

I will update again if it fails - or in a couple of weeks if it continues to work.

olv

Original Poster:

343 posts

214 months

Wednesday 1st August 2018
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This thread has been useful, if only to clarify to me that there are at least two causes (if not more) of iffy locking syndrome (as I am snappily naming it) which doesn't exactly help, and probably makes DIY unlikely as diagnosing whether it's modules or locks does not appear straight forward.

Maybe between a few of us we can devise some logical tests to help diagnose.