HI All, hoping you can help with central locking issues on my 85 sovereign after an afternoon of Jag/BL frustration that ended with a hint of delight followed swiftly by disappointment!

In a nutshell for anyone who doesn't want the long version below - it's kiekart version, the fuse is blowing, and the front passenger door doesn't respond!

Now my central locking has never worked since I got the car, and actually the driver's door was now refusing to lock with the key so it was getting urgent. I had thought this was down to a previous owner putting some sort of aftermarket alarm in possibly as it came with a key fob that does nothing and there's a non-standard looking black box in behind the passenger footwell carpet.

Anyway, after finally getting the trim panel off (my 85 sov has a different door card to all the posts here, as the map pocket is lower down to the front of the handle and houses the speaker, and once you get the front screws off the main handle, the top half of the handle slides backwards and then all makes sense...!)

.... so I jiggered the linkages about and lubricated a bit and now she opens and locks with the key. But no central locking.

After reading all the posts on here about central locking (thank you all for those) I found the fuse that seems to dictate my car is a kiekart system - mine is registered 1st Aug 85 =, and back in those days in the UK this was the annual new registration date so cars were ordered and built earlier in the year for delivery this date, so assuming a build of Apr - May - June that indicates the majority of 85 cars will have the kiekart system, not 86 onwards as the haynes manual suggests.

The fuse in question was blown (hallelulah I thought - this was promising) so I put a fresh 37 year old 15 amp fuse in from the spares box within the main fuse box (as it came from the factory!!) and lubircated all the driver and front passemger linkages as well as the visible bits of the read doors (I had only dismatled the front door trims)........ and nothing changed...

I tried locking and unlocking about 15 times and then gave up, but as I was tidying up I started to hear a clicking sound coming from the drivers door lock area, this sounded intriguing so I unlocked the car and........

lo and behold I had working central locking..... almost...

I tested all the doors and evrything was working to spec apart from a non functioning front passenger door - not locking or unlocking.

Still this was great news as it showed with a fresh fuse most of the system was working!

I went off happy to get a beer to celebrate and do some more online searching, then came back to the car to give the passenger door a bit more lubrication ... and damn it's all not working again, and the new fuse has blown.

So this is where I'm at - it all worked briefly to spec with the new fuse, boot and all doors apart from the front passenger door, so I was thinking the next step would be a new kiekart controller in there maybe, but now I don't know what would be causing the fuse to blow and how to diagnose that, so hoping someone can help with that please?

Thanks, so much, Al

 

Hi all can anyone advise on how to get to the power lock motor/actuator… do I have to take the large black plate off and will this interfere with the window mechanism? I can get my hand to the actuator through the left access holes but no way I can get leverage in the mounting bolts or get at the wiring connector, Haynes manual is vacant on this!! Thanks, Al

 

Plus it’s really odd the way the membrane is inside in the way of everything is that right? Seems I have to rip it to get at things?

 

Plus it’s really odd the way the membrane is inside in the way of everything is that right? Seems I have to rip it to get at things?

 

Sounds like the controller is Ok.

Disconnect the lock motor for the front passenger door. Install new fuse. Operate the system. Does the fuse still blow? I'm thinking the motor is shorting. Or, perhaps a fault in the motor or mechanical side of the locking mechanism is stuck or binding, thus overloading the circuit

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks Doug, it all moves freely so I’ll try and pull the plug of the passenger door actuator an£ see how it goes with a new fuse,

if I have to remove the actuator after, do you have to remove the black window mount panel first, is it a headache with the window mechanism!?

 

No need to do anything with the window mechanism to remove the controller or motors. Just roll the window up and peer into the innards of the door, looking forward. You'll see how they're mounted on a bracket with two bolts

Cheers
DD

 

Still a bit confused! Have removed the actuator and tried a fresh fuse - nothing …. new fuse must have blown straightaway as soon as the key turned or as soon as I put it in.

can anyone confirm if it’s meant to be a 15amp / 8 amp continuous as that’s what I’ve tried with?
( the original one just said 15 so could have been uk or European 15a rating not sure especially as the car lived in Spain!)

and then to the actuator, the lever was loose, as if somethings broken inside, so I forced it open and the lever must be missing something, I can’t find any loose debris but the gears move ok in one direction, and stiff the other, but the lever doesn’t seem to have any way of attaching to the gear mechanism, ie it just slides back and forth loosely, hence why the door never locked or unlocked,

so as well as tracing whats shorting the circuit, I think I’ll need a new unit, but, they’re £268!!! Ouch, so next question is - is there a viable alternative ie I see cheap sets of 4 actuators on Amazon for a fraction of the price and wondering if there’s something that will substitute in either for the one door or even for all 4?

thanks a lot, Al

 

bit of progress, discovering that the part is DAC3530 and it is seemingly the same in all doors apart from the driver's door which uses DAC3529, so have ordered one for c. £80, from JLR classic!

so just need to figure out how to diagnose why the fuse is blowing - any suggestions on that much appreciated! and any one who can confirm if it's a 15A british fuse ie 8amp continous for the bullet connector?

 

what a nightmare, fresh fuse holding up, but now one rear passenger door inoperative and boot making a horrible noise as its motor won't switch off!!!

I now maybe need 3 actuators instead of the one I just ordered earlier, but it seems the control unit is not available anyway now, and that keeps clicking after removing the key.

I really need an aftermarket solution to replace the lot cheaply, ...does anyone have any recommendations or done this before?

 

It might be right on the cusp of on/off....making it a bit hysterical.

The unit is adjustable fore-n-aft. Loosen the bolts and slide the unit back and forth a bit. You're looking for a new 'sweet spot' so that when the key is removed the linakage, and the controller's innards, are in a neutral position.

Cheers
DD

 

Yes, that's normal but I've taken the route of adding additional membrane on the back of the door cards to protect them from the inevitable damp that you get. Aristides Balanos posted some photos of what he'd done to provide more insulation in his XJ12 on the Jag-lovers forum if I remember correctly.

Putting the membrame back in place is a horrible job - make sure you use transparent membrame so you can see what you're doing. It is worth the effort to protect the door cards, however.

 

thanks, the other odd thing about my door membranes is that they appear to be put in before the window mechanism was bolted in as the bolts go through the plastic sheet!!! This is the same on both front doors and I can only assume the factory did this... thinking of just putting a fresh membrane on the inside of the door when I'm putting it back together, and pva on the plywood first maybe?

Back to my central locking - a new kiekart actuator arrived today, and it works on the front left and the boot, so the wiring seems fine and it is maybe that I had 3 failing actuator motors -

the front passenger door one had failed,
the boot one goes crazy and won't switch off, so I think I will order another actuator for this,
the right rear passenger one is now sleepy but I'll try lots of lubricaiton before ordering one for here,
and my driver's door controller seems a bit iffy as it doesn't send the signal 100% of the time and clicks afterwards,

so I definitely need to try Doug's advice of trying to adjust the controller next, as JLR says DAC3529 is not available!.. not to mention the cost building up when really I should be doing fuel hoses and brakes rather than central locking,

(plus having the door cards off has got me thinking about the speakers and stereo now...!)

 

Yes, mine were the same. It's a buggar trying to get it back in. I'd definitely put a fresh membrane in. I put a waterproof sealant on the new door cards before I put them back with some extra membrane where it felt appropriate.

Let me know what you do about speakers. I've put in a Blaupunkt Bremen replacement stereo which is brilliant but the speakers let it down. I think that the mountings aren't a standard size but I haven't done any real research yet.

 

Thanks all, so the plot thickens … attempted to adjust the driver’s door actuator controller and discovered that someone has been here before!!! And a long time ago… An additional aftermarket actuator bolted onto the side of the kiekart controller!!! … much like I’ve seen in another person’s post here about adding remote keyless entry!

so this probably explains why my drivers lock got so stiff and why i had to take things apart in the first place! And it’s getting more clear that a PO has had a RKE and alarm system as there’s a non standard looking box with lots of wires shoved behind the carpet of the passenger footwell!

so now I’m thinking…. right … I need to get all this aftermarket rubbish out and back to stock, before I then decide if it’s fixable with OE or second hand parts or if I need to go for a new aftermarket quality RKE alternative…. If I can’t get my driver door controller working reliably

I’m not skilled at electrics, I’ll try and post a pic, but any one who’s got an ‘85 onwards I’d love to know if there’s some junction box for the door wiring as what worries me is if I take out the aftermarket box and trace the wires back I might not be able to work out where it all should go??





also if anyone lives near London and has an 85-86 onwards model can I come and have a look in your passenger footwell at the wiring?

thanks, Al