Key Mechanism problem

abailie

abailie

Member
I took out the driver's door lock mechanism a few months ago to fix the microswitch. I thought I'd put everything back together properly as it all seemed to be working as expected, but then the car sat for a month or more and the battery drained. When I tried to open the car using the key in the lock nothing happened - the key turned but the door wouldn't open.
I'm assuming I missed something when I reassembled the door lock mechanism - does anyone have any idea what I've done and how to fix it?

Thanks,
Andrew
 
Hi Andrew,

I’ve seen this countless times.
When reinstalling the lock, it’s vital to ensure that the connection is made between the exterior key barrel and the lock assembly itself. This stage is often overlooked.
The upshot, as you’ve found, is that the rotation of the key barrel does not transfer to the lock, which creates difficulties when the (vehicle or key) battery dies.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Tom has said it all...

One thing are you sure that you are not unlocking the door and immediately relocking it on the key?
 
timmus said:
Hi Andrew,

I’ve seen this countless times.
When reinstalling the lock, it’s vital to ensure that the connection is made between the exterior key barrel and the lock assembly itself. This stage is often overlooked.
The upshot, as you’ve found, is that the rotation of the key barrel does not transfer to the lock, which creates difficulties when the (vehicle or key) battery dies.

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...
Is their a how too anywhere on this? Does the lock barrel and exterior handle need to be removed
 
timmus said:
Hi Andrew,

I’ve seen this countless times.
When reinstalling the lock, it’s vital to ensure that the connection is made between the exterior key barrel and the lock assembly itself. This stage is often overlooked.
The upshot, as you’ve found, is that the rotation of the key barrel does not transfer to the lock, which creates difficulties when the (vehicle or key) battery dies.

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...
Hi Tom,
Thanks, I think this is exactly what I've done. I have a new door controller to install, so I'll sort it out at the same time.

Andrew
 
If the car battery has gone flat and the internal bridge part between the exterior key lock and the internal door lock is out of position then there is certainly a problem getting into the car without damage.

Getting the drivers door open will be fun. There is every likely that the remote and CCCU are now out of synch and that will require car battery power and the key in the ignition switch. This is why the RHD UK cars have this function to provide a back up method of opening the drivers door ( non UK cars that do not have remote locking have a key slot in BOTH front doors ).

If the door does get opened then the exterior key lock needs to be removed but the interior trim all has to be off first to allow you to see where the bridge piece has to be located as the key lock is reinserted.

No 7 in this diagram is the bridge piece that links the external key lock to the internal locks lock and unlock....

Audi Workshop Service and Repair Manuals > A2 > Body | General body repairs, exterior | Front door, central locking | Front door | Door handle and door lock (front) - exploded view

A2 > Audi Workshop Service and Repair Manuals > Body | General body repairs, exterior | Front door, central locking | Front door | Door handle and door lock (front) - exploded view
workshop-manuals.com
 
Was mentioned on here the wires to cooling fans can be powered to get enough charge for remote locking to work
 
But if out of synch the key will need to be in the ignition to reset the remote / CCCU.

If you are going to put wires onto the cooling fans may as well connect onto alternator or starter positive and a chassis earth.
 
audifan said:
But if out of synch the key will need to be in the ignition to reset the remote / CCCU.

If you are going to put wires onto the cooling fans may as well connect onto alternator or starter positive and a chassis earth.
Click to expand...
Yes indeed both very valid points!
 
If supplying the car with 12v doesn't allow the CCCU to unlock the car, you'll have to break a window. The fixed glass quarterlights front and rear are bonded and are not a DIY proposition unless you have prior experience as a windscreen fitter. Whereas the driver's window in its frame is in plentiful supply and it's going to have to come out to reinstate the lock bridge anyway.
 
If the car has manual rear windows there is a chance one of these can be forced down rather than break a window. Would also try easing a window frame in a door away from the roof and use a rod to try and hook a door handle and open that way. Even better have a recovery service or locksmith open the car for you without breaking glass.
 
I bought a kit from Amazon that allowed me to access the car without any damage - not sure if I should post a link because it was frighteningly easy.
 
So from your above post, I take it that you have now gained access to the car and opened the drivers door?

If so you can now remove the inner door cards and the exterior lock barrel to locate the bridge piece that operates the internal lock when the key is turned in the door.
 
abailie said:
I bought a kit from Amazon that allowed me to access the car without any damage - not sure if I should post a link because it was frighteningly easy.
Click to expand...
Meanwhile it's clear why you don't wanna share that item here, I do wonder if you'd tell us what to look out for with that opening-device.
If the outter lock didn't make connection, and the door couldn't be opened from inside using the handle either, how did it open it without breaking the rear window?
Hmm...Is the rear window manual or electric?
A PM is more than welcome as well, cheers.
 
Sylvester said:
Meanwhile it's clear why you don't wanna share that item here, I do wonder if you'd tell us what to look out for with that opening-device.
If the outter lock didn't make connection, and the door couldn't be opened from inside using the handle either, how did it open it without breaking the rear window?
Hmm...Is the rear window manual or electric?
A PM is more than welcome as well, cheers.
Click to expand...

In my case the door could be opened from the inside using the handle. The kit provided the tools to reach the inside handle from the outside. I’m not sure about the rear doors but I know that both the driver side and passenger door can be opened this way - the handle needs to be pulled twice to open.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
audifan said:
So from your above post, I take it that you have now gained access to the car and opened the drivers door?

If so you can now remove the inner door cards and the exterior lock barrel to locate the bridge piece that operates the internal lock when the key is turned in the door.
Click to expand...
Yes, I have access to the car - I probably should have made it clearer in the initial post that I wasn't trying to gain access to the car, but rather trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong in my initial door mech refit.
I had a few horrible hours before Christmas when I'd realised I was completely locked out and figured I would either need to find access to a 12V line or smash a window.
Hopefully, I'll get a go at fixing it this weekend.

Thanks,

Andrew
 
abailie said:
In my case the door could be opened from the inside using the handle. The kit provided the tools to reach the inside handle from the outside. I’m not sure about the rear doors but I know that both the driver side and passenger door can be opened this way - the handle needs to be pulled twice to open.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Please check again if it's still the case that you can pull the interior handle twice to open the door after locking with the remote.
If so you should investigate further, scan CCCU for errors.
When locked from the outside (remote or key) doors should be locked safe (deadlocked) which blocks interior handles.
 
^^^ Yep! ^^^

When the car is locked from the outside (either using the key in the barrel or the remote fob), the interior handles should be mechanically disconnected. If this weren’t the case, thieves could simply break a window and then open all the doors from inside.
When the car is locked from outside, no amount of pulling the interior handles should allow the doors to open.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Do Irish cars have remote central locking?

If not then the lack of bridge piece between the external lock and internal mechanism may not be setting the deadlock thus the door can be opened by pulling the handle twice.

Tom @timmus I am sure you can explain if this is a possibility or if there are multiple issues here at play.

Was there an issue before the OP removed the mechanism to "fix" a microswitch? Or did that cause an issue inside the mechanism?
 
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