The strangest Electric Window/Central Locking Issue

[petemcr 10]

Hi everyone,

 

Hope you are all well,

 

I've used the search on here but the issue I have at the minute is a little unique and is sort of the last piece of the puzzle to getting my Corrado back working correctly.

 

The issue is, since I've owned the car I've always had issues with the central locking, looks like the previous owner had messed with the wires inside the drivers door which I've tried to put right, a few had been snipped. So the solid red to the actuator had been snipped and left dangling, and the set of wires to the door handle weren't in the best condition. I managed to get a replacement plug and re-terminated the plug going to the door handle, since doing so I now have full closure again, if I hold the door in the lock position the sunroof closes which never worked, so I think the micro switch in the handle is Okay.

 

This is now where it gets weird, I have lost my electric windows, sunroof is fine but neither side work, and if I lock the door on the drivers side it doesn't do any of the locks... BAR the petrol filler, that locks when the car is unlocked and visa versa, but I hear nothing from the pump itself or the relays in the rear seats. I do have a spare comfort control module that I have yet to try but I hear it click on when I reconnect the battery, but then nothing after. Checked the fuses, I believe there is one situation above the normal fuses which is for Central Locking/Windows and it's fine, same with the relay next to it.

 

Does any of the gurus on here have the tests I can try with a multimeter to determine where this might be going wrong, I can live without the central locking but it would be nice to have it back, but I really would love windows again in summer.

[Dox 23]

Any broken wires inside the rubber concertina pipe between body and doors? Rear hatch?

sometimes the break is only inside the insulation so needs a gentle pull to expose

[petemcr 10]

2 hours ago, Dox said:

Any broken wires inside the rubber concertina pipe between body and doors? Rear hatch?

sometimes the break is only inside the insulation so needs a gentle pull to expose

I've not actually checked, I figured it was something like the unit with it being the same on board side, the only thing which appears to work is the full closure now, I'll have a check and see if any wires are broken, be a relief if it was that.

[petemcr 10]

So the central locking has suddenly started to work as of today, out of the blue, with nothing being done. Then after I drove it, it stopped again, drop it back home and sure enough, working again, so I'm a little confused as to what is happening with it.

[Dox 23]

Open the drivers door, flip the lock mech around with a screwdriver (so the door is open, lock in closed position.

 

Operate the c/l whilst pushing the concertina wiring  protector between body and door to make / break a potential broken wire

[petemcr 10]

1 hour ago, Dox said:

Open the drivers door, flip the lock mech around with a screwdriver (so the door is open, lock in closed position.

 

Operate the c/l whilst pushing the concertina wiring  protector between body and door to make / break a potential broken wire

I'll give it a try today,

 

I take it then while I'm trying to operate the central locking it's a case of seeing if it stops working when I press the concertina to check if there is a split in there somewhere?

[Dox 23]

39 minutes ago, petemcr said:

I'll give it a try today,

 

I take it then while I'm trying to operate the central locking it's a case of seeing if it stops working when I press the concertina to check if there is a split in there somewhere?

Yes, try and see if manipulation of the wiring causes the fault to occur.

try the passenger door and rear hatch too.

 

30 year old wiring flexing 1Ks of times leading to obvious cracking of insulation and shorting and less obvious internal wire damage.

[petemcr 10]

I gave this a go while everything was working,

 

Locked the door latch with a screw driver, kept trying the CL while messing with the concertina, no change, everything was working fine, did the same on the boot and passengers door, still no change. It started raining a little here for about an hour, went back out and it had packed in again, so no more central locking and the fuel filler cap is back to unlocking when the car is locked and locked when the car is unlocked,

 

Something is defo a miss with the wiring and water ingress is causing it but I can not for the life of me find where it is.

[fla 9]

Is the cl pump working correctly ie 30 seconds after locking it will run again? On mine, the later running of the pump caused the car to unlock. Changed the pump and all ok. I did dismantle the pump and it looks like one of the relays was faulty (which I'll get round to replacing). The actual pump itself is a basic mechanical device.

I tested the cl pump directly by applying 12v and pressing each relay by hand to open and close - this was simply done by covering the discharge tube and checking for suction (for locking) and pressure (unlocking)

[petemcr 10]

2 hours ago, fla said:

Is the cl pump working correctly ie 30 seconds after locking it will run again? On mine, the later running of the pump caused the car to unlock. Changed the pump and all ok. I did dismantle the pump and it looks like one of the relays was faulty (which I'll get round to replacing). The actual pump itself is a basic mechanical device.

I tested the cl pump directly by applying 12v and pressing each relay by hand to open and close - this was simply done by covering the discharge tube and checking for suction (for locking) and pressure (unlocking)

I'd not noticed, I never knew it ran again or even noticed, wonder if it could be the pump.

The actuator on the petrol filler cap works with the key but I don't believe that uses vacuum as it sounds more electrical and I don't hear the pump at all. To add to this, I also had a RightCLICK C/L unit fitted which was plug and play, so it sat between the factory loom and the pump, I'd imagine it sends a signal to the pump the c/l has been triggered to cause it to lock, but I removed that when the CL started playing up, I then re-fitted it once it started working again and it was all working fine, then... stopped again, but I can hear the RightCLICK unit clicking when I press the key, just no pump noise.

[petemcr 10]

On 3/30/2023 at 10:31 AM, fla said:

Is the cl pump working correctly ie 30 seconds after locking it will run again? On mine, the later running of the pump caused the car to unlock. Changed the pump and all ok. I did dismantle the pump and it looks like one of the relays was faulty (which I'll get round to replacing). The actual pump itself is a basic mechanical device.

I tested the cl pump directly by applying 12v and pressing each relay by hand to open and close - this was simply done by covering the discharge tube and checking for suction (for locking) and pressure (unlocking)

Going to try this today if I get chance or weekend, I was under the impression the control module for the Windows and CL was the one located behind the rear seat, I didn't know the CL had its own control module built into the pump.

What did you use to supply the 12v current?