sliding door not unlocking

[badger the welder]

hi guys, I have an ex RAC transit mk7. The sliding door won't open using the key fob. I have managed to get into the rear of the transit (like Houdini) and manage to unlock the black knob on the inside of the sliding door. I decided to sit in the back and close the sliding door and lock the van. The van locks securely and with the dead lock feature working as well. When I come to unlock the van the sliding door lock makes the noise to unlock but I still can't open the door unless I use the black knob on the inside of the door first. This knob should turn automatically when the van is locked and unlocked (im assuming). After a bit of wandering around on ebay I find these locks are not the cheapest to replace but I also notice there is something called a central locking door actuator ? It appears to be something that could be connected to the black door knob ? If I replace this actuator will the door work successfully or do I need to buy a whole new lock ? The lock sounds like it engages and disengages which leads me to think I dont need to waste a lot of money ?

All help and advice is much appreciated

[farrer]

hi badger, what i would do is remove the panel from the sliding door and observe what is happening (loads of round plastic clips), it could be obvious once you have removed the panel and pressed the the fob once or twice.
regards

[badger the welder]

the black knob will go from unlocked to the locked position when the fob is used but when the fob is pressed for unlock the knob attempts to move but doesn't move much, this is what leads me to think its the actuator. I can turn the knob manually and the door will open so its not as tho there is tension on the two unlock door handle cables

[farrer]

hi badger, for the time it takes i would just whip that panel off, it could be a simple fix

regards

[farrer]

hi badger, whip that panel off and undo the cables and try it on the fob, if it works(meaning the round knob turns when you press unlock your cable is prob holding the mechanism partly open and preventing the actuator from working, sometimes its the handles that cause it or other times the mechanism is worn, on my last van i fitted a small spring from the casing to the loop that the cable attaches to, to pull it to its correct position, other than that you can just change the whole mech for working one

the above information is providing the actuator is working in the first place in both directions

regards

[bambi mk 1]

The lock is shot ,quite a common problem with a big price

[andz327]

Double lock it and press the door i next to middle runner and unlock the dealocks and see if it opens

ANDZ

[twin--turbo]

Just replaced my door with a glazed one, have a very similar issue....

Got my old lock to swap over though.

TT

[rogerw]

Mine was doing the same. Oiled the lock and linkage and it’s good.

[davyjcb]

Had to get 1 open tonight dead locked and a linkage had detached itself form inside the lock body,not too bad was able to drill 2 holes in the casing and manually unlock it bit of a pain though the customer didn't unload the van so had to climb over whacker plates an a whole load o crap to get at it

[bambi mk 1]

Had to get 1 open tonight dead locked and a linkage had detached itself form inside the lock body,not too bad was able to drill 2 holes in the casing and manually unlock it bit of a pain though the customer didn't unload the van so had to climb over whacker plates an a whole load o crap to get at it

Wait till you get a split compartment fridge Davy

[davyjcb]

That sounds like a bit of a night mare I would have to take my hat of to you for that one

[dumper]

When my mk6 did it the mechanism was just sticking sprayed it with loads of WD40 and got it to work first time 8 out of 10 after using it for a few days it started working every time

[twin--turbo]

mines had generic maintenance spray..

I do know that the cables to the handles have been messed with and may not have enough tension, so replacing them will be the first test.

[twin--turbo]

Swapped the entire lock over this morning, cured for me.

There must be some way to fix the original but could not see anything obvious.