Anand

New Member
When i open the doors with the key fob, all doors unlock apart from the drivers. When you press the central locking switch inside all doors lock, excpet the drivers door. You have to manually press the lock down. But then it doesn't unlock when you press the central locking switch. I have to pull the door handle to release the lock.

Been told i need a new latch (£59+vat + £80 in labour) as the existing one cannot be repaired as it is sealed.

Any suggestions on alternative's or if the diagnosis given is correct?

Could it be a spring thats come off? As when it did work, the driver's lock hasn't always unlocked first time when pressing the key fob, i had to press it again for the drivers door to fully unlock.

Thanks
 
If the vehicle is out of warranty and you are happy with tools, you can save a lot of money by repairing the drivers door lock using an aftermarket 5 wire motor. They cost less than £15 and will work fine in all RRs Discos and F,landers.
The ones I use are Swiss made and come from a company called Spal, They have a rack and pinion construction as opposed to the floating solenoid arrangement on the OEM unit and are far less prone to bounce.

The wires are different colours but they will work exactly the same. (but for longer)

SEMPAL AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED SPAL CENTRAL DOOR LOCKING MOTORS
 
How do they fit in then Disco?:confused:

Mechanically they work on the same principle.
Physically they have the same dimensions.

The LR unit has 5 wires as does the Spal unit. the only difference is the colours of the wires.

The five wire motors are simply a reversible motor driven by 2 wires and the remaining three wires connect to a micro switch which signals the control box fitted inside the LR alarm or the central locking control relay on cars not fitted with an alarm.
 
To do this you need to establish which wires do what on your car.

Start by removing the drivers door panel and peel back the vapour barrier at the top where the lock assembly is.

You will need a test lead. A multimeter will help, but a test lead will actually operate the locks while you are testing.

I can only tell you the colours on the Disco door lock as its the last LR car I worked on, as far as I remember all Rover cars use the same colours BUT CHECK.

With the drivers door open, trick the lock by pushing the cam back with a screwdriver so it is in the door closed position.

Operate the door pin and see if the doors all lock and unlock. If you haven't tricked the lock they will bounce.

Pull as much of the loom to the locking motor, out of the door as you can.
On the Disco 1& 2 you can get to the connector by pulling the loom behind the speaker.

FOR THOSE WITH A HAYNES MANUAL THIS IS ALL IN CHAPTER 12.17

Connect one end of the test lead to earth and probe the connections in turn as you operate the door pin, record what happens as you lock then unlock.


Pink: Should flash live as the door locks or unlocks. NOTE WHICH
Orange: Should flash live as the door locks or unlocks. NOTE WHICH

Red/Pink: When you touch this with the test lamp the doors should lock.
Yellow/Orange: When you touch this with the test lamp the doors should unlock.

Black: should be either 12v or earth, Check this with a meter.

Depending on the fault, you can replace the whole motor with a 5 wire Spal one.
zzz.jpg

The wires SHOULD correspond like this.

[The reason I say should, is in my 15 years as an auto-electrician I learned that no manufacturer ever sticks to the same wiring colours for ever, so I never assume, I always check]

Pink===============Red
Orange=============Blue
Yellow/Orange========Brown
Red/Pink============Violet
Black===============Black

The Spal motor should line up with the holes in the lock plate but you will need to use longer self tapers and washers to hold it in place, You may also need to ease out the hole in the end of the actuator as LR use thicker rods than the aftermarket locking motors.

You can cut and join the wires with crimped sleeve connectors (Butts) but I prefer to solder and use heat shrink.

Reassemble, test and don't forget to pull the door handle to un-trick the lock before you slam the door shut.


If you are not savvy with car electrics this is a job best left to others.
 

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