Doors don't open

[Klaus]

I run a 4.2 in Berlin, Germany (next dealer - one out of two - about 300 miles away). A problem with the doors keeps recurring: Usually they work fine, as does the alarm, but sometimes they won't open (except manually). On the previous occasions the fault has righted itself after some time, but not this time. I have to leave the window open to get access to the car, and it's snowing outside... Not really practical. Anyone got a clue? I'd really appreciate any infos - thanks.

[futie]

I had a similar problem with the doors - after a drive sometimes neither door would open; had to use the manual method. Didn't happen all the time, and would always be fixed by opening & closing the passenger door.

The problem was the door open sensor at the bottom of the passenger door - after driving over a bumpy road, the sensor would dislodge and think the door was open. For some reason, this confused the control box and it stopped the boot and doors from opening at all.

Solution: wind out the metal bit that sticks out from the door a little so it was closer to the magnetic sensor on the car body.

[**999**]

How old is the car ? Cos if it's one of the earlier 4.2 Cerberas, the door sensor wasn't magnetic, but relied upon a vacuum operated switch, which in wet conditions, filled with water and prevented the sensor detecting the door open/closed state. This in turn prevented the solenoid door release from operating and caused alarm system and window problems..
The magnetic door switch was dealer retro-fitted to the earlier cars and became standard factory fit some time after the first year of production.

[Klaus]

The car's a '98, so it should have a magnetic switch. Thanks a lot for the info, I will give it a try tonight.

Merry Christmas

Klaus