My front passenger door recently decided to remain permanently locked! The rest of the central locking system works absolutely fine, has anyone else had this before?

First question - does everything else still work on that door?  Audio speaker?  Electric window?  Electric mirror?

If so, chances are the door latch module is faulty.  If anything else is not working, then it's more likely to be a wiring fault.

13 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

First question - does everything else still work on that door?  Audio speaker?  Electric window?  Electric mirror?

If so, chances are the door latch module is faulty.  If anything else is not working, then it's more likely to be a wiring fault.

Hi yes everything else still works fine on the door. How can I access the module with the door shut?

5 minutes ago, Con-fusion said:

Hi yes everything else still works fine on the door. How can I access the module with the door shut?

With difficulty.  If you can remove the internal plastic doorcard with the door closed then that's a good start, but I'm not sure if it's possible on the Fusion. 

This used to be a common issue on VW's and I've changed a few on those.  We'd spend a few minutes 'whacking' the outside of the door roughly where the latch is mounted, while repeatedly pressing the unlock button in the hope of briefly making the connection.  That did work for the majority of cars.  If you can't get it unlocked though, you will just have to gain access through the plastic door card, which may mean causing some damage.  

4 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

With difficulty.  If you can remove the internal plastic doorcard with the door closed then that's a good start, but I'm not sure if it's possible on the Fusion. 

This used to be a common issue on VW's and I've changed a few on those.  We'd spend a few minutes 'whacking' the outside of the door roughly where the latch is mounted, while repeatedly pressing the unlock button in the hope of briefly making the connection.  That did work for the majority of cars.  If you can't get it unlocked though, you will just have to gain access through the plastic door card, which may mean causing some damage.  

Thank you. I will attempt surgery this week! I will also take a few photos etc and post them. 👍

Does the interior door release not have any effect ?

11 hours ago, Paulkp said:

Does the interior door release not have any effect ?

Not if it's deadlocked.  

On 6/18/2023 at 10:29 PM, Paulkp said:

Does the interior door release not have any effect ?

No, none whatsoever unfortunately for me!

The unlock for the three passenger doors are fed from one output from the GEM, (driver's door is a separate output) via a soldered joint somewhere in the loom, so if two out of three do unlock, then GEM is probably OK.

With the door physically shut, there is no access to connector in A post, or access to the three securing bolts for the door lock motor.  Getting at the door lock motor when you can open the door is enough fun (I've done two).

You may be able to get the the inside of the A post connector to check you are getting the open door lock signal to that connector, may be a Wh/Rd core.

The striker plate is held to the B pillar with two 8mm bolts - I have no idea if they can be accessed by removing the B pillar trim, and possibly drilled out to open the door.

 

So I am no help, but will think before I deadlock my cars again

silly suggestion disconnect the battery and leave for a while allow the system to reset

No, that is a perfectly reasonable suggestion for any computer based system !

6 hours ago, Paulkp said:

The unlock for the three passenger doors are fed from one output from the GEM, (driver's door is a separate output) via a soldered joint somewhere in the loom, so if two out of three do unlock, then GEM is probably OK.

With the door physically shut, there is no access to connector in A post, or access to the three securing bolts for the door lock motor.  Getting at the door lock motor when you can open the door is enough fun (I've done two).

You may be able to get the the inside of the A post connector to check you are getting the open door lock signal to that connector, may be a Wh/Rd core.

The striker plate is held to the B pillar with two 8mm bolts - I have no idea if they can be accessed by removing the B pillar trim, and possibly drilled out to open the door.

 

So I am no help, but will think before I deadlock my cars again

Thanks for that lol! I was hoping to somehow get the card off and hopefully disconnect the module so the door can be locked/unlocked manually! 

6 hours ago, Jimpster said:

silly suggestion disconnect the battery and leave for a while allow the system to reset

If I were to disconnect the battery for say 5 mins would that then release the door?

38 minutes ago, Con-fusion said:

If I were to disconnect the battery for say 5 mins would that then release the door?

In my experience 'No'

If you do try disconnecting the battery, make sure you leave the drivers door standing open when you reconnect the battery. The systems of your era quite often lock all doors when the battery is reconnected.

Just tried to remove the door card but no joy. Also disconnected the battery to reset the sytem but still nothing.  Then tried to reset using the 4 turn of the ignition which did reset but still didn't release the passenger door! Removed the cap to the side of the passenger door handle just to double check whether or not there was a hidden key lock under there but no! 

Ford will charge over £500 to sort this door but I really don't want to go down that avenue so is there anything else I can try please?

31 minutes ago, Con-fusion said:

I really don't want to go down that avenue so is there anything else I can try please?

It depends on how much time and effort you're willing to spend on it, and how much technical ability you have.

If your willing to spend 4 or 5 hours and accept that you may have to damage the door card then you can open the door. The fault will fall in to one of two categories. Either the door locking is mechanically broken, or it is an electrical fault.

Starting with the possible electrical fault. Normally you would unplug the harness from the door, but in your case the door can't be opened. So the only alternative is to access the door harness in the passenger footwell. You are going to need to open up the harness and with the aid of a circuit diagram identify the wire(s) for the lock. Then by applying power to the wire(s) you may be able to directly unlock the door. Care needs to be taken as to which wires the power is applied.

If the door lock is mechanically broken then you are going to have to cut a hole in the door card and reach in to the lock and operate the latch manually.

It's not going to be a 5 minute job which ever way it goes.