HELP: Rear Door

[taj]

Hi,

I have a 2004 Golf that I have owned since new. Anyway the rear door has become locked shut, its been months.

Finally I got the courage to tackle the problem after getting massive $$$$ quotes as well as mechanics just saying they had no idea except smash the door and replace it.

At this point even though the door is closed I have removed the door card. Now under that is a metal plate, once this is off and the widow removed I can access the door lock module. To me its a lot of work but will do it for a result.

My question, if I get to the door lock module is there any way from there to open the door so I can replace the module as the module cant be removed with the door closed.

Thanks for reading

[marcoz]

This happened to me a while ago aswell, i changed my battery and then went to open the door purely because i forgot it stopped working then it just opened.

[taj]

This happened to me a while ago aswell, i changed my battery and then went to open the door purely because i forgot it stopped working then it just opened.

Yeah thanks I had the battery changed maybe 6 months ago.

The outside handle is floppy, no tension.
If I press the central locking, the button goes down. I have tried pulling on the wire that connects to the internal handle but still the door wont budge.

A last resort which I want to avoid is smashing the lock out to open the door. I mean surely these things should be design in a way that you can open them if something goes wrong.

[AALocksmiths]

I have had the same thing on a customers car.. I did the same as you and removed the door trim and there was just enough room to see the child latch, I moved that back and forth a couple of times, locked and unlocked the car heaps of times and it magically opened. It worked fine from there and the customer didn't want to pay for it to get checked out properly.

I'm guessing that it's either full of gunk or the solders have gone bad ( Seems to be a VAG thing)

What State are you in?

[taj]

I have had the same thing on a customers car.. I did the same as you and removed the door trim and there was just enough room to see the child latch, I moved that back and forth a couple of times, locked and unlocked the car heaps of times and it magically opened. It worked fine from there and the customer didn't want to pay for it to get checked out properly.

I'm guessing that it's either full of gunk or the solders have gone bad ( Seems to be a VAG thing)

Yeah cheers for the suggestion. I've read about the solder joints cracking but I have to get the door open to remove the lock module and then open it up and check the solder. What State are you in?

Probaly best solution is to put in a new locking module if I can ever get this one out. Might try your suggestion and go the WD.

[AALocksmiths]

I think that I have read on here that one of the members can get aftermarket ones for a really good price. That would be a better option to a second hand one. New genuine I don't think are cheap.

[RolfGolf]

This thread might help you - gives a bit of a how to on the rear door:

[Mk4 Golf] rear door lock faulty - but how to remove the window? - Bodywork and Painting - uk-mkivs

There's a how to on lock modules I bookmarked a while ago when mine were playing up - will post a link if I find it. (Posted below)

If you can get the module apart it's odds on a dry solder joint that's causing the problems.

I'm going to do both my rear doors when the weather settles down as they both have intermittent faults.

Here's another link re. mk4 door locks:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1542461

There was also a thread on here earlier in the year where someone had the same problem - perhaps check that out too.

[taj]

Thanks RolfGolf for the links, much appreciated.

Yes could be the solder, I doubt it's the child lock as I never engage it and I'm pretty determined to tackle this after being slack about it over the past few months.

This happened last year and I managed after many many goes to open it with the pick as in that YT video
Opening rear door on MKIV VW Golf : handle broken, child lock engaged - YouTube

But the after a while it stopped working again. Now the above method wont work as the exterior handle has no tension.

[CamYoung]

My car had the same issue when I bought it. The previous owner had left it for months.
most likely it is the solder on the connector in the door. A vw mechanic that deals this stuff showed me what they did.
the get the flat of their hand and wack the door on the outside opposite where the lock module is, and by wack I mean hard, as hard as you can without hurting your hand and dining the door.nat the same time, use the central locking button to open and unlock the car. They say that most cars will unlock this way, but unfortunately mine did not. I went to plan b and manage to get the door trim off from inside the car without damaging it. You then remove then window plate (metal pressing) and then you can get access to the module from inside. I then sprayed lotsnofnwd 40 on the mechanism as it look corroded and got a metal bar and wack the model directly from inside while unlocking and locking the car. ( remember to reconnect the loom to the lock after you have removed plate.) this worked.
i can tell you once you have had this problem you will never let it happen again. The module don't usually stop worked dead, they usually play up for a while. Replace it then while you can get the door open. Also only use genuine modules, I have heard bad stories of copies.

[taj]

You then remove then window plate (metal pressing) and then you can get access to the module from inside. .

Cheers CamYoung. I'm thinking of doing that and spent about 1 hour this morning looking at the plate. I think though you have to remove the window. Thats got me a bit nervous and stalling because if I get the window out & dismantle the door but cant get the window back in......I'm up the creek.