My New Lupo Has Swallowed Another Central Locking Mechanism

[Skezza]

Hey guys,

Earlier this year, I bought my Lupo, knowing that the passenger side central locking was hit and miss. The car would lock from the drivers side, but wouldn't lock or unlock from the passenger side and the anti-hijack function caused the passenger side to lock then unlock immediately.

I had it fixed about a month or two ago and all seemed fine... till today. I tried the anti-hijack function, once again the symptoms I describe above reappeared. It locked then delocked. I tried to lock it from the passenger side, and it did, successfully, but only unlocked the passenger door. I tried again and it locked again, then unlocked correctly so it's perhaps a very dicky connection.

Anyway, the point is my SDI has now swallowed another locking mechanism Is there something I'm missing here?

I won't be getting it fixed again until it ****s up for good. I can't afford for it to keep swallowing locks!

[Defcon5]

Turn off the anti hijacking for a start - all it's doing is doubling the amount of wear on the moving parts of the lock.

[Skezza]

Turn off the anti hijacking for a start - all it's doing is doubling the amount of wear on the moving parts of the lock.

Already done that, but I'm not sure that really explains what's happened and why it's happened twice, in almost identical ways

Is it the vibrations fracturing the circuit board? My Lupo is an SDI, and it does vibrate a lot when idle, being a NA diesel. It just seems strange that it came to me with a fault, and it's developed the same one within months of it being fixed. I will not fix it again though, ultimately, it's never stopped me locking my car and I was stupid to get it fixed in the first place. Although it was a cheap enough fix.

What is worse, the engineer who fixed it binned the old lock mechanism

I know these lock mechanisms are particularly troublesome and have a reputation for packing up, which is why VW scrapped them and designed the one found in modern VW's

If there is a company producing aftermarket lock mechanisms that will fit OEM into a Lupo (bit like aftermarket Brake Light Switch), with the defects ironed out I might go for one of those in 12 months or something. I won't do it now, because it's just pointless. It really wasn't worth fixing to begin with.

I noticed these on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-DOOR-LOCK-ACTUATOR-FRONT-LEFT-NSF-PASSENGER-SIDE-BRAND-NEW-/321088219092?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3ALupo&hash=item4ac25967d4

These are brand new, so I wonder if the problems were eventually fixed? If the current lock mech develops any more faults, I might purchase one of these and take it back to the same guy, instead of a replacement out of an old Lupo, which is what I got this time round. Still a bit sad though, feel like I'm chasing faults now!

Edit: Additionally, I wonder how hard this would be to fit. Seeing as I wouldn't be disassembling the old one surely I wouldn't need to go back, it looks pretty plug and play, although it's missing the hook, perhaps I'd have to remove the old hook and use that.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Skezza

[jon_273]

If it was a used lock it could have been just as worn as the original lock. EDIT: just see you said it was from an old Lupo. You would probably be better off trying to repair the one you have IMO

As the locks are similar if not the same as Passat and MK4 locks, the electrical problems may be caused by dry joints. There is a repair guide here with info: http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/doorlockmechanism/

Edited April 21, 2013 by jon_273

[Skezza]

If it was a used lock it could have been just as worn as the original lock. EDIT: just see you said it was from an old Lupo. You would probably be better off trying to repair the one you have IMO

As the locks are similar if not the same as Passat and MK4 locks, the electrical problems may be caused by dry joints. There is a repair guide here with info: http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/doorlockmechanism/

I saw that before. What put me off doing that was the fact that it's possible to actually damage the lock mechanism beyond repair if it's not reassembled correctly. I could probably do it if I took it slowly and followed the guide though. As you said, perhaps the new (old) lock was just as worn as the one we removed. The old one couldn't be repaired as there were no fractured joints, but perhaps this one is repairable. I'm still wary about how to take it out, but perhaps it's a job for a nice summers day.

[jon_273]

I took my old GTI lock apart a few years ago to replace the micro switch. When I took it apart it turned out it had dry joints, so I re-soldered and it always worked fine after that. Comparing this pic I took, the part looks exactly the same as the Passat one, so I think if you follow the guide carefully you'll be fine.

[Skezza]

Wow, thanks Jon. That's a far better picture than the one in the guide. Did you just re-heat the solder or did you use fresh solder ?

How hard was it to get off the door and disassemble?

Edited April 22, 2013 by Skezza

[Skezza]

Here's a twist though, this morning it worked fine when I first got to the car, but then didn't work after. Maybe it is just cracked joints as you said.

[jon_273]

It must be three years now since I did that repair, so can't remember how difficult it was. But I'm sure I just reheated the solder.

[Skezza]

It must be three years now since I did that repair, so can't remember how difficult it was. But I'm sure I just reheated the solder.

Great!

I'll have a pop in a month or two when it's a bit warmer. I'm not absolutely desperate to fix it, I'm just one of those who gets annoyed by little things lol.

It's more that I'm worried about removing the lock. I don't want to permanently damage the lock because it uses the original key. I intend on fitting aftermarket remote central locking, but it would be silly to damage a lock for something like this.

[Skezza]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh the plot thickens.

So it works almost perfectly in the morning, but not in the afternoon.

When I say almost perfectly, if I put the key in the lock and lock it, it locks the drivers door but the passenger door doesn't lock. If I lock it again, with the drivers door locked, it locks perfectly. Drivers side locks the car perfectly of course.

In the afternoon, it's like the thing is disconnected, and will only lock from the drivers side. Could that be something to do with moisture or some ****? Solder isn't sealed from moisture if I remember?

I am going to fit an aftermarket remote central locking on Saturday I hope. This will be interesting

Edited April 30, 2013 by Skezza