Russ Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) Ok where do I start....in the cold mornings I have to use hot water on the door and locking mechanism (on the side of the door) to get the doors to close then the dash computer tells me the drivers door is open leaving all interior/footwell lights on! I’m currently sat in work, can’t lock the doors and had to pull the footwell bulbs and the puddle lights are still on! Any help is appreciated, thanks 🙏 (2008 1.6 focus) Edited January 24, 2021 by Russ Added car year/model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 I too have issues every time there is a frost/ice. I too use warm/hot water on the doors to free up the mechanism. Often when I get the door open, it will not latch closed again so more hot water on 'open' lock. No amount of liberally applied grease to prevent icing makes any difference whatsoever. It's now just a routine when it's icy to get the hot water available. I've never owned a car so susceptible to icing like this. Like you, if anyone has a magic solution, all ears... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 The microswitch for the door open/alarm is part of the lock and not accessible without taking the door card off. As a short term fix you could try to spray lots of penetrating oil into the lock but it looks like the door card will need to be removed and everything greased. There should be videos on youtube that will help. I would also use Silicone spray on the door rubbers. The lights should time out after a while so as not to drain the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 1 minute ago, Tizer said: As a short term fix you could try to spray lots of penetrating oil into the lock ..... I would also use Silicone spray on the door rubbers. Unfortunately, didn't work for me... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Just now, StephenFord said: Unfortunately, didn't work for me... It is strange because I had the same car for years and worked in the same area as the OP and never had any problems, but I never had to use water to get the door open so maybe my mechanism never got as corroded as you guys. I was a bit anal about oiling everything every month or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 I'd never had this problem in 3.5 years of my 2008 Focus either...seen quite a few threads on it though. Ok it doesn't get as cold as often down here, but we do still have frost regularly during winter. I've never once oiled a door mechanism either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 7 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: I'd never had this problem in 3.5 years of my 2008 Focus either...seen quite a few threads on it though. Ok it doesn't get as cold as often down here, but we do still have frost regularly during winter. I've never once oiled a door mechanism either. Tom, you're soft LOL You get amazing weather compared to us higher up in latitude, and I have my own micro climate living in a valley north of Belfast LOL Right now it's minus 3, car is iced up, but luckily I'm going nowhere today so will leave it till tomorrow! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 5 minutes ago, StephenFord said: Tom, you're soft LOL You get amazing weather compared to us higher up in latitude, and I have my own micro climate living in a valley north of Belfast LOL Right now it's minus 3, car is iced up, but luckily I'm going nowhere today so will leave it till tomorrow! Err, it's also -2 here currently! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 7 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: Err, it's also -2 here currently! Just had another look at your avatar, I suddenly feel all warm and glowing LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 2 minutes ago, StephenFord said: Just had another look at your avatar, I suddenly feel all warm and glowing LOL That's what the local reservoir will look like in a few years time if the Climate Emergency is to be believed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Tizer said: It is strange because I had the same car for years and worked in the same area as the OP and never had any problems, but I never had to use water to get the door open so maybe my mechanism never got as corroded as you guys. I was a bit anal about oiling everything every month or so. I live in Livingston, -6 degrees this morning, opening the door isn’t the problem, it’s closing it hence the hot water but once closed the car thinks the door is still open so tells me the drivers door is open. The interior lights, footwell lights and the puddle lights stay on because of this until the car defrosts itself. (I brought it inside the factory this morning and after 30 minutes inside it was ok again!) I live 10 minutes from work but ended up going up the M8 for half an hour before I went to work with the heaters on full blast and the door was still froze up when I got there. 🤬 the picture below shows the snow from Thursday....it’s STILL like that today! 🤣 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 21 minutes ago, Russ said: I live in Livingston, -6 degrees this morning, opening the door isn’t the problem, it’s closing it hence the hot water but once closed the car thinks the door is still open so tells me the drivers door is open. The interior lights, footwell lights and the puddle lights stay on because of this until the car defrosts itself. (I brought it inside the factory this morning and after 30 minutes inside it was ok again!) I live 10 minutes from work but ended up going up the M8 for half an hour before I went to work with the heaters on full blast and the door was still froze up when I got there. 🤬 the picture below shows the snow from Thursday....it’s STILL like that today! 🤣 I know what it is like there, I used to live in Craigshill and worked about 1/2 a mile from that photo in Dedridge. The microswitches in these doors can cause problems, but it usually gives alarm problems. When the weather gets better I would be tempted to take the door card off and bypass the switch. If you are adventurous you may be able to intercept the wiring before it goes into the door and hot wire it there. There is a wiring diagram for these cars somewhere on this Forum. The downside of that is that the Alarm will not work on that door, nor the Lights on reminder, and maybe the car will not shut down properly when you get out of it, but I'm not sure about that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 1 minute ago, Tizer said: I know what it is like there, I used to live in Craigshill and worked about 1/2 a mile from that photo in Dedridge. The microswitches in these doors can cause problems, but it usually gives alarm problems. When the weather gets better I would be tempted to take the door card off and bypass the switch. If you are adventurous you may be able to intercept the wiring before it goes into the door and hot wire it there. There is a wiring diagram for these cars somewhere on this Forum. The downside of that is that the Alarm will not work on that door, nor the Lights on reminder, and maybe the car will not shut down properly when you get out of it, but I'm not sure about that. 😉 I’m in the houses across the A71 from Dedridge and its Baltic in the winter. Luckily I work up at Deans Engineering so not far to go, I’ll look into the wiring, thanks 👍🏼 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Well, just an update on the frozen locks......I was on holiday from work on Monday so sat Twiddling my thumbs thinking how to deal with the frozen locks once & for all and also as I have to slide myself down into the car groaning as I go figured that it was time for a slightly higher mode of transport so...............I traded the car in and bought a 2018 We’ll known ‘foreign’ model mid sized SUV (collect tomorrow from Stirling) So although not a Ford this time I’ll still be hanging around the forum as my son drives a fiesta black edition 👍🏼 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 minute ago, Russ said: .....I traded the car in and bought a 2018 We’ll known ‘foreign’ model mid sized SUV (collect tomorrow from Stirling) mmm... My 'hot water' solution is much cheaper for me LOL Best of luck with the new ride... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 minute ago, StephenFord said: mmm... My 'hot water' solution is much cheaper for me LOL Best of luck with the new ride... Oh the hot water worked but it just refroze so I couldn’t lock the doors and the footwell/puddle lights stayed on. It just worried me if I parked the car at home and couldn’t lock it the battery might go flat Or it could’ve got worse. Been thinking of changing for a while as we fancied an SUV so thought the time was right for another car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire_Ford Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 This had never happened to me before, relieved to find several threads about it! After several nights of minus 6 or 8 in God’s Own County I had the latching problem this morning. I wouldn’t use hot water IMHO because I think ice is what is causing the problem to begin with. I warmed the larch with a heat gun for 60 seconds and I saw it move. Then gave it a good blast of WD-40, and shut it. Came back a bit later (still below freezing) and latch still working fine. Have now applied some white lithium grease to latch and striking post as well - and done the other doors too! forecast is for another very cold night, so I’ll soon find out if this solved it or not! 🥶🥶🥶🥶 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 8 minutes ago, Yorkshire_Ford said: I wouldn’t use hot water IMHO because I think ice is what is causing the problem to begin with. You'll find that hot water melts ice LOL (Put an ice cube in a glass, pour in hot/warm water - observe) 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire_Ford Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 Yes it does, for a bit, then all that water you’ve just poured over the latch freezes up again. (put your glass of warm water in the freezer overnight - observe) 🥶🥶🥶 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 3 minutes ago, Yorkshire_Ford said: Yes it does, for a bit, then all that water you’ve just poured over the latch freezes up again. (put your glass of warm water in the freezer overnight - observe) 🥶🥶🥶 Yep, absolutely it would freeze with an overnight freezer visit, but personally, when I 'de-ice' the lock, I tend to then drive off! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire_Ford Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 22 minutes ago, StephenFord said: You'll find that hot water melts ice LOL (Put an ice cube in a glass, pour in hot/warm water - observe) 🤣 3 minutes ago, StephenFord said: Yep, absolutely it would freeze with an overnight freezer visit, but personally, when I 'de-ice' the lock, I tend to then drive off! LOL the water doesn’t just vanish when you drive off 😆 it’s still sat there around the latch waiting for night to fall and the temperature to drop..... 🥶🥶 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 1 minute ago, Yorkshire_Ford said: it’s still sat there around the latch waiting for night to fall and the temperature to drop..... 🥶🥶 OK buddy, you win, I'm bored now debating that if your latch is iced over to get a watering can of hot water and pour it on your car to get you mobile again LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire_Ford Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 4 minutes ago, StephenFord said: OK buddy, you win, I'm bored now debating that if your latch is iced over to get a watering can of hot water and pour it on your car to get you mobile again LOL Of course that works, but I don’t want to be having to faff about at that every time I have a bad frost. I never had to before now. I want to FIX the problem...🙄 I’ll soon know, tonight’s forecast is minus 6. If it won’t latch in the morning, you win 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire_Ford Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 17 hours ago, Yorkshire_Ford said: I’ll soon know, tonight’s forecast is minus 6. If it won’t latch in the morning, you win Minus 5 this morning, doors all shut and lock normally. I’ll take that as a win for the hairdryer and WD-40. Stephen can stick to his watering can 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 Just now, Yorkshire_Ford said: Minus 5 this morning, doors all shut and lock normally. I’ll take that as a win for the hairdryer and WD-40. Stephen can stick to his watering can 🤣 Aawww, bless you - WD40 LOL You think I didn't try that in the last 2 years?? Also, a very thick coating of grease on the full latch mechanism, that doesn't work either. Still, like I said, you win, you are obviously far more intelligent than me and I bow utterly to your superiority in all things surrounding hair dryer technology. 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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