How to repair door actuator

[Lax]

Hi All, the front passenger door in my VYII Crewman stopped locking/unlocking last week with the remote. After reading some posts in this forum and seeing
the prices quoted I decided to try the repair myself.

I'm assuming that there are various failures involved with these actuators so this process may not work for you. My symptoms were that you could hear the
actuator click and the button would move slightly but in most cases the button would not lock or unlock.

The problem is caused by one of two microswitches inside the actuator going high resistance. This is a common problem with microswitches with lots of use
and can usually be fixed by either replacement or cleaning. If you are not confident with soldering or pulling apart very small electrical components I'd
suggest getting some help from someone who is.

What you will need:
This forum
small flat screwdriver
medium philips head screwdriver
digital multimeter
soldering iron
solder sucker
small nail punch
magna lamp (if your eyes are as bad as mine)
1200 grade wet and dry

Step 1: remove the door lining as described elsewhere in this forum. Don't forget the screws behind the lock button and door handle

Step 2: remove the door lock as described elsewhere in this forum. Note: to remove the outer and inner door handle rods you'll need to rotate the plastic clip at the end of the rod then simply slide out the rod. These can be tight and may need the help of a large flat blade screwdriver but be careful not to break anything.

Step 3: You should now have the lock removed


Step 4: remove the two screws holding the black plastic actuator onto the assembly


Step 5: carefully remove the rubber boot from the white plastic slider and then carefully prise the top of the slider sideways off the main slider


Step 6: at the bottom of the main unit you will see two metal pins running through the whitish plastic section near the connector. Knock these both out with a small nail punch (or similar) These should come out quite easily.

Step 7: using a medium flat blade screwdriver, carefully prise the black plastic cover off the actuator


Step 8: once you have the cover off, you should be able to see the two microswitches (in my case, one black, one white)


Step 9: you'll now need to check the switches with your digital multimeter Note: you must use a digital multimeter as an analogue one will not be accurate
enough. Without the button pressed it should read less than 1 ohm across the two outside pins and open circuit between the left and middle pins. (pins facing towards you) With the button pressed it should read less than 1 ohm between the left and middle pins and open circuit between the two outside pins.
In my case the white switch measured anything from 1.5 to 6 ohms between the two outside pins without the button pressed. Since power for the actuator motor runs through this switch it was enough to cause a problem.

Step 10: using the soldering iron and solder sucker remove the resistor wire you will find connected to one of the pins (middle one on the white switch) then suck out the solder enough to loosen the pins. One you have unsoldered the pins, pop the switch out of the assembly (remember the orientation)

Step 11: using a very small flat blade screwdriver or hobby knife very carefully prise the top of the switch off. It is held on at either end via plastic latches


Step 12: the button on the switch presses on the spring which causes switch to flip from top to bottom. Now cut a narrow (~5mm) strip of the 1200 grade
wet & dry and carefully insert it between the connectors and slide it over the connectors in either direction a couple of times to clean the connector surface.
This needs to be done on all four surfaces of the connectors. Blow any grit out from between the connectors after cleaning.

Step 13: re-measure the resistance of the switch to check that you now have less than 1 ohm across connected poles. You can operate the switch by carefully pressing on the spring.

Step 14: re-assemble the switch ensuring you orient the cover correctly

Step 15: re-insert the switch back into the assembly and resoder the pins including the resistor wire

Step 16: re-assemble the lock assembly in reverse of above

Step 17: to check your repair you can temporarily reconnect the electrical cable to the assembly and try the remote control. Note that the actuator will not
work correctly unless the door lock itself is locked (or think that its locked). You can simulate this by sliding a screwdriver into the lock where the striker
would be to latch the lock. The actuator should now move up and down with the other door locks. Remember to unlock the lock before re-installing it back
onto the car by pressing down on the lever normally operated by the outside door handle.

This repair worked for me, cost nothing and took me a couple of hours. Hopefully this information helps some others save some money.

Regards, Phil.

[aussie453]

Great info mate but Ive been searching for over an hour and can't find the information on removing the door lock that you mention. I have removed the two rods no problem and undone the the 3 star screws that bolt the lock to the door frame but I can't work out how to get the lock out of the frame.

Thanks Brian

[[Linkin Park]]

Yes great info but I also cannot find how to remove the door lock either. if possible could you point me in the right direction.