Chucks928

Since I bought this car 2 yrs ago its had some odd issues with the doors and the locking system. The passengers door has always had to be opened with the inside handle,the outside not working. The drivers door has worked fairly well,but on random times it would lock the door on its own, and if you left the keys inside you were hoping that a window was down to access the inside handle! If you were inside when it locked you could turn the manual dial to unlock it to get out. Today I was inside both door panels finishing re-wiring the power mirrors as both looms had been cut to remove the mirrors some where along the way.When I finished the re-wiring I found that the drivers door will lock itself automatically as soon as its closed and the only way to get out is climbing over the console and using the passenger door ( inside handle is disabled also). When I use the key to unlock it from the outside it cycles 5-6 times up and down and then stops in the locked position! I,m wondering if I have 2 separate issues going on and where to start. Also, can the central locking system be disabled so you can just use the manual locks?

85fortheDrive

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/16...82372723095894[img]blob:https://rennlist.com/1d723c66-5b86-4022-8e9a-2d6aafeccbe6[/img] shows that fuse #21 governs both the central locks and power windows for your MY. Was going to suggest pulling that, but then so go the windows.

The passenger door not opening from the outside is most likely a broken latch, which is not uncommon. You can confirm this if you still have the door panel off. If that proves to be the case, repair is a bit painstaking due to the small recesses of the area. That is indeed a separate issue.

My limited understanding of early MY cars is that the central locking runs in part on a vacuum system. The central locking brain tries to harmonize the two doors when it senses differential in that system. Wondering if that is what is causing the cycling loops.

Curious - does your central locking button illuminate? Does it work?

Chucks928

85.... I,m sure there are a few issues going on. I went out last night and popped the round dial off of the manual door lock, turned it almost 180 degrees and re-installed the dial. Whatever I did,the locks now are in cycle and I can open the drivers door from both sides and the pass side from inside. Locking and unlocking either door with the dial will lock or unlock the other door as it should. I,m feeling fairly sure I wont get locked into the car at this point.
The passenger door outside handle will be another issue and will be added to the " to do" list.
The drivers side window was working ( shakily) before I repaired the CE panel and a lot of wiring inside the console. After the work was done,it worked briefly then died. I have new brushes for the motor and have installed a new switch in the console . The brushes are the next on the list to install.
I,m not familiar at all with the locking system on this car. I,m not seeing any "Central lock" light ? I do know that the rear hatch has an issue, it may be corroded inside the auto release, I happened to lean on it the other day and it was quite warm so I unplugged the wiring. Another " to do " item!

The Forgotten On

You can bypass the central locking system by installing a standard 4 pin 53 relay in place of the 5 pin relay in the window's socket.

As for the system acting up you need to remove the door panels to adjust the motors as per the WSM section 57-21.

I faced this exact issue on my 81 and the only way to fix it was to adjust the mechanism, same goes for the door handle as well. It too needs to be adjusted so the door latch mechanism wont bind up.

Worst case you break the ball off of the door lock and need to rekey one to fit because of everything binding up. (this happened to me)

It shouldn't be too bad to do because you're already in there anyways. Best of luck.

Chucks928

Does the locking system also lock and unlock the hatch? The hatch mechanism is messed up too and I was wondering if that would mess things up. The PO included the WSMs with the car and I noticed the section regarding the Central locking system had been used extensively which lead me to believe he was chasing an issue with it. Both fuse holders behind the CE panel were broken and I replaced both,so that was either the issue he had or his fix on trying to shortcut it!

The Forgotten On

Nope.

They were always separate systems (outside of activating the optional immobilizer), so even if the hatch is messed up it wont affect the door locks.

You can even replace the rear hatch lock with a non alarm one and everything will still work fine, you just wont be able to arm the alarm system from the hatch.

This changed in 89 when you could lock the doors with the rear hatch but that wouldn't pertain to your 82.

The PO of your car was probably trying to take a shortcut, like you mentioned, that kept biting him in the butt instead of adjusting them properly or just deactivating the system with a 53 relay in the window socket.

It takes all of 15 minutes to do with the door panels already off like you have. There is no computer to control it, just the contacts in the door motors communicating to each other and completing a circuit.