another central locking issue...

[Andy Drinkell]

Hi

My Ka has an intermittent fault on the central locking. Every now and then it refuses to open the doors, either by the fob or with the key. Sometimes it will make the recurring cycling noise but even so I can't interrupt the cycle by attempting to open the door.

My only option in these cases is to use the fob to open the boot and physically climb into the car and manually unlock the passenger door and then the drivers door. This has been the cause of many funny looks and one Police patrol gave me a really good glare as they passed. Fortunately they probably thought that A) I'm too old to be TWOCing cars, B) I'd have more knowledge of how to get in without looking so suspicious, and C) I wouldn't be daft enough to pinch a tatty old Ka..

Trouble is, if anyone else is using the car and it happens to them (ie family) they can't physically do it so it'll leave them stuck.

Any ideas on this? I suspect the wiring at the door post but it looks like the previous owner had a problem too as the drivers door has some holes where rivets have been drilled out etc. As it's intermittent I didn't find out about it until recently ( and the toe rag who flogged it "forgot" to inform me of lots of little bits... and if that MOT was done properly and not by the "mate" with a garage so he could get shot of it, my name is Willy the Womble)

Still, I love it to bits, handles great, drives well, stops well (well, it does now I've fixed the suspension rubbers and the rear brakes, the heater and the rocker cover gasket. Just got the aircon to sort now and this annoying fault...)

Any help greatly appreciated.

Cue for forum members with big cars and huge engines to fall around in derision at a humble Ka. Go for it. Enjoy. Some of us don't need flash cars to make up for lack of tackle elsewhere, lol...And we actually enjoy the challenge of fixing things.