Central locking - DIY fix - PAH!!!

[QBee]

So, my driver’s side door has stopped locking. Asked the noble Mr Mat Smith what it might be, he said “usually a failed locking solenoid”.

Right, I thought, I will change that myself. Cannot be difficult.

Oh yes it can.

So I lifted the carpet flap and tested both sides, central locking. Sure enough, I can see the passenger side solenoid working, driver’s side not. Well done Mr S.

First off, the solenoid has two holes in the plastic case, about 2cm long, look like they would take fixing screws. Oh no they don’t. They seem to slot onto metal pegs in a backing plate in the door frame. No problem. Oh yes it is.......old one won’t come out.

Second off, the old solenoid has five wires going into a rectangular connector with rounded corners, round pins. New solenoid has two rectangular connectors, blade pins. Grrrr. Why?

So I have to completely rewire it.......once I can get the old one off its retaining pins.

Any suggestions, apart from “take it to Mr Smith, you idiot”?

Existing connector:




New connectors:




Solenoid in place:

[andy43]

LHD conversion?

[Classic Chim]

I think it’s bolted through the white metal box plate which has to be removed to replace solenoid but hopefully I’m wrong and someone else will correct me.
I got mine working again so left well alone as it looks a fiddly job at best!

[blaze_away]

I bought mine off ebay.
I didnt know which ones I needed so I bought 2 of the 5 wire and 2 of the 2 wire.

IIRC the 5 wire ones were what was needed. Old ones unscrewed new ones straight on no mods needed.

Ebay item
281932208324

[QBee]

Ah, so those aren’t pins it’s located on, it’s screws through from the back. That explains the non-moving of the old solenoid.
Still not sure why TVR Parts Limited, the main official supplier of Genuine TVR Parts, supplied one with the wrong plugs on, but I will call them tomorrow to hear their explanation.

Edited by QBee on Thursday 12th October 21:45

[eric450]

Yes the two screws into the solenoid unit are a self tapper type thing.
I replaced mine last year with the TVR part and the connectors are wrong.
Thankfully, the wire colours were correct. Just snipped and soldered the old connector on then heat shrink.
One thing I found useful. when you remove the three main screws holding the unit, put them temporarily back to hold the whole meccano together while you mess about with it.
Then you need at least three hands to keep everything in the right orientation as you try to re-assemble into the door post.

Good luck with it.

[Steve_D]

QBee said:

........Still not sure why TVR Parts Limited, the main official supplier of Genuine TVR Parts, supplied one with the wrong plugs on,........

The OE connectors are Lucas RISTS style which are now only available if someone has old stock.

Steve

[QBee]

Thanks Steve, to the point as always.
I know one shouldn’t buy cheap bits off EBay, but at least Blaze Away’s part looks to have the right connectors on it, if the door mirror wiring is anything to go by. I will take the connector on the car apart first to see if it uses push in pins.
It’s looking like a “send it to Mat Smith” job right now.

[magpies]

central locking systems have a 'master' solenoid with 5 wires and all the others are 'slaves' with 2 wires.

[QBee]

magpies said:

central locking systems have a 'master' solenoid with 5 wires and all the others are 'slaves' with 2 wires.

Yes, correct. It’s the 5 wire one that isn’t moving when I press the locking button on the key. It is behind the other one, looking at it from in the car. The two wire one is activated by the button on the door mirror, and does work.

TVR Parts echoed what Steve said, so I will be returning the part to them. I don’t buy a pair of shoes and expect to have to stitch the soles to the uppers.......

EBay part ordered with what look like the correct connectors on it, from the link above. We will be plugging it in and testing it before fitting it to the car.

[QBee]

Stuck my head in the car again this afternoon, looking for the screws that hold in place the white painted metal piece that has all the solenoids etc on it. No screws. Hmmmm.

Then the penny dropped - it’s the three Allen Key headed screws on the forward facing bit of the doorframe!!

I will wait for the EBay solenoid to arrive on Tuesday or Wedesday (£4.25 delivered) and get to it. It will then be a case of use that one, which looks like it is a straight swap electrically, or use the TVR Parts one (£26.74 delivered) and have to modify the wiring. Difficult......because I don’t want to have to do the job again in 3 months time.

I have had issues before with EBay parts, though those were from China and for a different car. I will never buy directly from a Chinese company again. The one I bought from just laughed when I tried to claim on the 2 year warranty, five months after fitting a £110 part bought from them.