Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia Forum

Technical => 932 Series (156, GTV, Spider, 147, GT, and 166) => Topic started by: baldrick on February 26, 2018, 09:56:49 PM

Title: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on February 26, 2018, 09:56:49 PM
My new to me (and lots of fun) '02 147 5 door has a few quirks that need ironing out. One is that the the curb-side rear door doesn't lock when all the others do. The solenoid would be my guess, but of course I could be wrong. As I would like to keep this fun little jigger I would like to sort this pronto! Ideas?
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: bonno on February 27, 2018, 09:23:46 AM
Hi
You will need to remove the door card and check for loose connection and or getting power to the solenoid (test lamp or multimeter).
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on February 27, 2018, 03:58:07 PM
Good thinking, that I will do.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: Citroënbender on February 27, 2018, 05:30:39 PM
When you open the naughty door, does the rear cabin light come on?
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on February 27, 2018, 11:56:03 PM
The interior light does not come on when the naughty door is opened, either when the car is locked or unlocked. The well behaved doors all trigger the interior light when unlocked and opened.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: bazzbazz on February 28, 2018, 12:40:51 AM
Check the wiring harness between body & door for broken wires/connections.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: Citroënbender on February 28, 2018, 06:58:18 AM
You'd have to agree two broken wires on one part of the door harness is not common in Australia, considering we don't have the cold to harden their insulation.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: bazzbazz on February 28, 2018, 09:29:18 AM
I've seen worse, but the plugs in the door jam can become loose/dirty. That's why I said check connections.  :)
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on February 28, 2018, 11:38:31 AM
I'll let you guys know what I find as soon as I pull off the door card. I'll assume from Citroenbenders little test that the door light switch is mounted in the door rather than then door frame and i'm looking at an "electrons in electrons out" situation rather than a locking solenoid issue. That said the power window does work (from the drivers switch panel at least) so some electrons are getting in and out.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: Citroënbender on February 28, 2018, 01:52:24 PM
Yes, there's a "normally open" switch that closes when the latch is fully unlocked, this triggers the cabin lights and also informs the body computer of the door's status (ie, open). The switch is part of the door lock and the telltale wire (signal return) is "made" to a ground wire that is grounded within the cabin - not on the door.

The lock motor is driven from the same two junction blocks as the other doors, on the same fuses.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on February 28, 2018, 03:33:10 PM
Thats good to know Citroenbender. That means I can test that switch by simply switching the ignition on and opening the door. If that circuit is no good then the warning on the central computer panel will not show "door open" icon.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: Citroënbender on February 28, 2018, 03:45:13 PM
Correct. Try driving off without the driver's door shut properly and the dash will carry on like a pork chop. If it doesn't react similarly with the recalcitrant door then yes, likely a problem between the pillar harness plug and the lock unit.

Re the multiway conector from door jamb to door:

The pins have tiny, barely visible, numbers on the mating faces.  On the pillar itself, you're looking to test for 12V briefly appearing between pins 1&2 when the other doors lock or unlock.  An analogue meter or 5W globe is fine to use; operate the locking with your remote. Similarly, if you ground out pin 3 on the connector, the rear interior lamp should light.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on March 01, 2018, 09:45:06 AM
Thanks Citroenbender. Out of town for a couple of days will report back my findings as soon as I can test it. Cheers
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: Citroënbender on March 15, 2018, 09:53:23 PM
Did you get anywhere with this mystery?
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on March 15, 2018, 10:02:48 PM
Just arrived back in the country - but to Melbourne not Adelaide will get to play on the weekend I hope...
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: baldrick on March 20, 2018, 04:22:28 PM
Finally back home. Had the chance to pull the door card off and have a look. Turns out the multipin to the doorlock had detatched itsself. All my doors now lock... Thanks for the help guys.
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: bazzbazz on March 20, 2018, 08:55:58 PM
As I have said, 95% of all electrical issues are connections . . . . it's the other 5% that are utter, utter bastards!  ;)
Title: Re: Door fails to lock...147
Post by: Citroënbender on March 21, 2018, 05:21:13 AM
Free fixes are usually good fixes.  :)