Misbehaving door locks

[ytt105]

My 2000 P38 is having problems with its door locks. They have a mind of their own. They lock and unlock anytime they like, and I'm always getting "RHF Door Open" warnings when it isn't open.

My research tells me it is probably the drivers door latch micro switches,

Has anyone pulled this latch apart and replaced the micro switches?

Does anyone have a 2nd hand unit I buy, so I can open one up and try?

Regards
Trevor

[PeterH]

My 2001 HSE does the same thing sometimes.
To stop it annoying you before you get a chance to have a crack at fixing it, I find if I lock the doors from the inside (while inside the car of course), that usually stops the locks from jumping up and down while you are driving at least.
I also find it is much more prone to doing that when it is a hot day for some reason.
During winter mine don't really do it at all.
It's a really good idea to always leave the drivers window open if you ever need to leave the keys in the ignition.
I've heard stories of doors locking on thier own while the car is running and the owner is outside...not a good thing!
Cheers, Pete.

[ytt105]

Doing all that!!

Have to think about fixing it now!

Can't have such a stupid problem ruining such a great car.

[PaulP38a]

Long story, short answer... (check the up/down lock buttons and wires are not fouling).

A couple of weeks ago, I had to go to Sydney for work and a family funeral, so I decided to drive instead of fly. Took the wife's black P38 instead of my blue one which wont fit in the car park of the Park Hyatt at The Rocks, the Soarer was out of action waiting on a new seat belt, and turning up to the Park Hyatt in a Crewman ute won't do much for my ongoing credibility there :p

Visiting my family on the way, I managed to break the mechanism in the driver's door. While I could put up with reaching in from the rear door to open the front door, it was definitely going to be a problem with the valet parking at the hotel. I was lucky that Mr and Mrs Bundalene let me come over to have a go at fixing the mechanism in the dark, which we did with a 15mm screw and 100 mile-an-hour tape. When I put the inner door trim back on and tested the handle, I found that the locks kept activating. Removing the trim and re-adjusting the play in the up/down lock button wire fixed the problem.

When I got back home, I found to my pleasant surprise that I had a couple of handle mechanism repair kits and have now fixed the handle problem properly.

Worth checking before assuming it is the micro-switches.

Cheers, Paul.

[ytt105]

As usual I've done nothing since my original post. Too hot. It now registers that the door is open all the time. But I also have the SRS error and the cheque book symbol for the aircon is on. My present thinking is possibly the fusebox!!

[PeterH]

Might be a good idea to hook up a faultmate code reader and see what codes it throws up. The cheque book symbol could be a blend motor or something else playing up. As you said, it could be a fuse box fault, but much easier to read codes first to at least rule out other possibilities. I've been having a look around on this topic and often replacing the drivers door latch seems to fix the door lock jumping up and down problem. Saw one on ebay: GENUINE RANGE ROVER P38 FRONT DOOR LATCH ASSY FQJ103290 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GENUINE-RANGE-ROVER-P38-FRONT-DOOR-LATCH-ASSY-FQJ103290-/330561217385?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4cf6fbe369)

[wayneg]

My car has recently started this random locking and unlocking. It has happened when driving and also whilst the car is in the garage. No rhyme or reason.
There is never any message on the dash re door open etc and when it locks it can only be opened with the remote or key, not buy the interior button or pull.
There are dozens of threads on this but nothing conclusive and no real follow ups on a cure so if anyone can answer any of these questions or knows what it is please chip in.
My remote works fine.
PaulP38a refers to a repair kit for the lock, whats that, never seen one.
Is the drivers door lock easy enough to get in and out and if so can the lock be serviced, ie cleaned greased etc without the chance of it falling to bits
Would one of the passenger door locks cause this, my rear RH door sometimes is sluggish to trigger the interior lights when opened.

[radste]

On the subject of doors & locks,does anyone know how the interior lights are turned on via the door opening,my passenger front door does not activate the interior lights but all the rest do.


Any help appreciated.


Thanks Steve

[PeterH]

Wayne, I fixed this problem on mine, it was definitely the drivers door latch.
It was also starting to affect my tail gate button, which stopped working at very inconvenient times.
I did not want to risk my car unlocking itself while parked, so I just got a new one and replaced the latch, have not had a problem since.
It is pretty straight forward, not a hard job compared to some Rangie jobs.
It is pretty tight inside the door cavity, I found the trick was to undo the screw on the inside of the door that holds the handle in place, which allows you to pop out the lock end of the door handle and allows access from the other side of the door.
Then it's just a matter of hooking the rods inside the door onto the new latch.
There is a good write up here: Replacement of door latch 4.0/4.6/p38A) (http://www.rangerovers.net/repairdetails/doors/latchreplace.html)
I took a photo of the original latch in place with my phone so I had a guide to installing the new one.
Hope that helps!

[rc42]

My 2000 HSE also has periods of door locks opening and closing whilst driving, again it's usually on hot days.
The rear tailgate button has stopped working a couple of times too, I've even put a wire in place that comes out on the inside of the tailgate and can be operated from inside to open it (as long as I can get to it from inside)

My research also indicated that the driver side latch assembly is the cause so I got one from island 4x4 last year, still haven't got round to fitting it yet.

I had a Discovery in the UK (series 1) and all of the door locks were a nightmare to do anything with , especially the rear door which would frequently stop opening, I guess it's put me off this sort of work.

Good to know it's not that bad a job though.

[Scouse]

On the subject of doors & locks,does anyone know how the interior lights are turned on via the door opening,my passenger front door does not activate the interior lights but all the rest do.


Any help appreciated.


Thanks SteveThere's a microswitch in the latch itself that tells the BECM that a door is open/ajar.
Your EAS won't disable itself with your N/S/F door open either as it thinks it's closed.

[TheTree]

I have had this happen a couple of times as well

Once I swap the BECM I will start chasing this as well!

Steve

[wayneg]

Peter, Thanks for the info. I will pluck up the courage and take it out first to see if anything is obviously corroded etc. If that does not work a new one will be sourced.
On the issue of no interior lights triggering, my osr door is intermittent. It was never working until I fired WD40 into the lock area. It has made it better but not 100%. There is a write-up on RR.net on the micro switches corroding and sticking so I will defiantly have a go at that once the Front is behaving again.

[Hoges]

Peter, Thanks for the info. I will pluck up the courage and take it out first to see if anything is obviously corroded etc. If that does not work a new one will be sourced.
On the issue of no interior lights triggering, my osr door is intermittent. It was never working until I fired WD40 into the lock area. It has made it better but not 100%. There is a write-up on RR.net on the micro switches corroding and sticking so I will defiantly have a go at that once the Front is behaving again.

might find that "3-IN-ONE" 'professional dry lubricant' is a better option for door locks. It's manufactured by the same mob who produce WD-40. It is a teflon-type active ingredient in a volatile carrier.. when it dries there's no oily residue to attract dust. I got a can of the stuff from Whitworth's Marine Supplies. (also freed up the blend flap in the heater plenum...no more $$$ symbol!!:D )
Word of warning: Wait plenty of time for the hydrocarbon propellant/carrier to evaporate... it's quite flammable:wasntme:

[TheTree]

I was at the locksmith the other day and mentioned using graphite in the locks and one of the guys said "WD40 is the best" like Hoges I always thought it left an oil film which attracted dust.

They actually used INOX in my ignition switch which is a pure silicone spray I think

Steve

[FANTOM P38]

When I got back home, I found to my pleasant surprise that I had a couple of handle mechanism repair kits and have now fixed the handle problem properly.

Worth checking before assuming it is the micro-switches.

Cheers, Paul.[/QUOTE]

Please elaborate Paul. Have n ot xeen these before! Might be handy to get one or two & keep in my spares kit.
regards Martin

[TheTree]

When I got back home, I found to my pleasant surprise that I had a couple of handle mechanism repair kits and have now fixed the handle problem properly.

Worth checking before assuming it is the micro-switches.

Cheers, Paul.

Please elaborate Paul. Have n ot xeen these before! Might be handy to get one or two & keep in my spares kit.
regards Martin[/QUOTE]

Are we talking the camlock door kits here STC3063 and STC3064?

STC3064 | CAM DOOR LOCK KIT RHF DOOR P38 NRR | Land Rover | Range Rover P38 - 1995 to 2002 | Britcar (UK) Ltd (http://www.brit-car.co.uk/product.php/99338/4439/cam_door_lock_kit_rhf_door_p38_nrr)

Steve

[TheTree]

Well mine was a combination of drivers side stuffed, passenger side stuffed and a mad BECM :censored:

I still have a problem with the rear locks though, they have stopped responding a while ago as well. The odd thing is both of them stopped working at the same time so I am suspecting a setting or a wiring issue perhaps

Steve