[Goedhart]

Hi all,

The passenger door of my Range Rover (p38, 1999) doesn't open anymore when I unlock the car with the remote or with the key. It also not possible to manually unlock the door by lifting the sill button.

Luckily I can unlock the passenger door using the Nanocom. But then again, when I lock the car with the remote fob, the passender locks but doen't unlock.

For now the solution is to leave the car unlocked and I suppose I need to replace the latch. But what puzzles me is that the latch does respond to the nanocom but not to the key/ fob. I suppose the signal from the key fob is processed by the BECM that sends a signal tot the outstation to unlock the latch and that it isn't any different from the command send by the nano com.

So is it really the latch that needs replacing or am I facing something else?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Geert-Jan

 

[pwood999]

Sort the latch before you can no longer unlock it with Nanocom. Chances are you are simply engaging the motor for longer on a mechanism that's already worn out. Also Nanocom does not have a specific Lock-Unlock option. Instead it can engage & test the solenoids, but BlackBox are quite specific in their warnings.

When you say "superlocked", are you actually doing this by pressing fob twice ? Superlocking is a two step process. First fob press engages the lock. Second press within 1.5 seconds activates the 2nd motor in the latches and moves the SL pawl which disengages the manual button.

When unlocking a "superlocked" car you simply press unlock button once. Same process applies when using the key in the door.

 

[Richard_G]

Agree it may just be a bit sluggish so the pulse from the BeCM isn't long enough to unlock it but the Nano doesn't send a pulse but a continuous signal until you stop it. The motors can get sluggish but usually only need a squirt of contact cleaner and spinning back a forth with a 12V supply to get them moving properly again.

I always superlock my car despite everyone saying it's a bad idea. Unless superlocked the internal ultrasonic sensors aren't activated so why wouldn't you?

 

[Goedhart]

Dear PWood and Richard,

Thank you for sharing this information, I now understand why the latch responds tot the nano com signal but not to the remote.

I am currently on holiday and not in a position to replace the latch, but as a precaution I will remove the doorpanel so I can easily acces the latch in case someone accidentally locks the car.

@PWood, you're correct, I assumed it was superlocked since the latch doesn't respond to the sill button. I realize this might be an incorrect conclusion.

Thanks again!

 

[Goedhart]

Dear Pwood and Richard,

The bad news for everyone is that the replacement doorlatch is now obsolete. Contacted six sellers, same story everywhere. Finally decided ordered a new lock via ebay from the States for an absurd price…

Anyway, took the latch apart for diagnose. Turns out that microswitch number 1 miraculously lost its tip, this leads to an always open circuit hence not locking the tailgate.

At the same time the CDL motor reacts when the car is locked but not when the car is unlocked. I now wonder whether this is solely related to the defect microswitch or that it is a defect in the CDL motor itself.

But what puzzles me most, is the reason why the doorsil doesn’t unlock the latch when the car is locked. Only superlocking should immobilize the doorsil, on regular locking one should be abled to unlock the latch from the inside by pulling up the doorsil. However my doorsil doesn,t get immobilized, it just goes numb, it moves freely up and down.

I examined the internal latch mechanism and found no broken parts, also the superlocking motor is not engaged when I lock the car with the remote. So what is going on inside this latch??

Furthermore the rave mentions three microswitches on the passenger door latch while my latch only has two, the one missing is the key switch (nr 2 in the ETM). I recon since there is no key on the exterior passenger (LHD) door handle there is also no need for a keywitch in the latchmechanism. Is that a correct conclusion or does the previous owner mounted the wrong part?

Reason for asking all these questions is because I plan to fix the lock so I have a spare one for the (far) future.

BTW, the cdl motor is a FC-280PD-20150 with a shaft length of 27/28 mm.

 

[Richard_G]

You have worked it out correctly. RAVE mentions 3 switches as the RH latch could be the drivers door, where it will need a keyswitch, or a passenger door where it won't. There is nothing to stop you fitting a RH latch from a RHD car, it'll just have a spare switch that you will never use. Your other option is a RH door latch from a RHD MG TF, which uses the same latch as long as you have the 6+1 connectors (the MG one has 6+2 but the extra grey wire in the 2 way plug isn't needed on the P38), see MGF MG F 1.6 115 Drivers Door Lock Latch Mech RHD FQJ000080PMA mgmanialtd.com | eBay. If you have the later single connector, then there is nothing to stop you from changing the plugs over, the wire colours are the same. An MG RH latch from a LHD car won't work as that only has 1 microswitch and not the two you require.

The reason it is not unlocking is because of the broken microswitch. It thinks the door is unlocked so won't try to unlock it again, why would it?

 

[Goedhart]

Thank You!

 

[pwood999]

Replace the microswitches & clean up the internals. RS Components do suitable switches. Some door latches have a single 3-switch module, but these can easily be replaced with 3 separate switches.

 

[brian2138]

If the passenger door latch is obsolete then you can purchase the RHD latch from BritCar in the UK as I did recently : part no.FQJ103260.
Re the microswitch with the broken nipple,I glued a piece of plastic onto the engaging lever to increase it's travel.Working fine.

 

[kapilamuni]

Or talk to Marty Nz , he has refurbed door latches.