A3 Central Locking Issues

[ConcreteDonkey]

I've had my 2007 A3 for around 10 years. Around a year ago the remote central locking stopped working. Tried replacement batteries but no joy getting resolved. Decided not to fix it further as it still opened from inside once the ignition is switched on. More recently though, the front passenger door will not open with the rest of the doors and must be done manually from inside the car before it can be opened. 

The final straw is the boot. It became intermittent opening and as of the last week it has now just stopped entirely. Again, manual release does work. 

I tried an OBD scanner and there were no fault codes. Hope someone can offer some suggestions as I love the car but it won't pass MOT next year if I can't resolve this. 

 

[DavidTdi]

Was that a generic scanner or VW/Audi specific?

[Sheffieldyorky]

13 hours ago, ConcreteDonkey said:

I've had my 2007 A3 for around 10 years. Around a year ago the remote central locking stopped working. Tried replacement batteries but no joy getting resolved. Decided not to fix it further as it still opened from inside once the ignition is switched on. More recently though, the front passenger door will not open with the rest of the doors and must be done manually from inside the car before it can be opened. 

The final straw is the boot. It became intermittent opening and as of the last week it has now just stopped entirely. Again, manual release does work. 

I tried an OBD scanner and there were no fault codes. Hope someone can offer some suggestions as I love the car but it won't pass MOT next year if I can't resolve this. 

 

Hi there Nathaniel

I had similar problems, driver’s door related and the tailgate.

Your passenger door

If you have various a Torx screwdrivers in various sizes or Torx bits a scraper and or a Trim removal tool., small flat blade screwdriver, a multimeter.

Something to sit on i.e. a small toolbox (you will need it) an LED torch and finally plenty of patience, you will need that to.

Passenger door

Handbrake ON Ignition off and key removed from the ignition, if you want some music I suggest turning on your i-player or something else but NOT car related.

First thing first

Double click the remote to hear whether you hear the remote working or not, if not proceed as follows.

Start by taking off the interior door trim (otherwise known as the door card)

With a good torch have a look at the “door actuator mechanism” see image to make sure it is working OK.

Unclip the various cables etc. you will see what to unclip etc.

With the door card safely out of the way and the door fully open look at the rubber gaiter from the door to the bodywork.

This is the tricky bit peal back the gaiter my might need to make some slack so reach inside the door cavity and adjust cables as necessary once the gaiter is pulled apart I fully expect you will see one or more wires corroded OR broken, hence no central locking but can open from the inside because that works on a wire system.

If you door a search for “Repair Kit Audi A3 8P Door Pillar Wiring Harness Loom” see image you will find a new plug with all the wires, I would advise NOT to try and repair / solder because you might be defeating the object.

I take it that you have checked the fuses etc.

From what I am reading I think that you might have to do it twice. Passenger and drivers doors.

On the tailgate, remove the trim and unplug the supply lead and check that you are getting a supply, I would expect that you have checked both fuse boxes (under the bonnet and driver’s side dash next to door pillar.

From what you are saying that sounds like a wire that is broken and the two ends are sometimes rubbing together.

Locate the break join together.

Assemble it all back together and test before putting the trim back on.

I find it bad practice to fit second hand parts in this kind of an area.

eBay first and then Amazon

Good luck if you need any more advice send me a P.M or post here.

Tony

[DavidTdi]

To expand on my reply/question above. I had similar problems with locking and it turned out to be a combination of broken wiring through the door shut, faulty locks and poor contacts on the lock module attached to the window motor.

I asked what sort of scanner as the generic or cheap ones may not give any codes or help re locking, you need a specific VW/Audi one either laptop/tablet based or handheld. I have a handheld which costs about £150 and that gave codes to assist with diagnosis.

I thought long and hard about the door wiring repair kit. I'm not saying don't use it but you need to be confident of making about a dozen perfect joins that don't bulk the cable thickness too much and are 100% reliable... even the complete new cable is tight to get through the location just inside the door and there is not much spare give in the cable/routing or it could get caught by the window going up and down if not correctly positioned.

See my thread with pics...

Front door wiring loom replacement and locks. - Audi A3 (8P) Forum - Audi Owners Club (UK)

[Sheffieldyorky]

Well if I had seen that door wiring kit I would have been over the moon.

I did say that you needed a toolbox to sit on a patience.

as regards bulk etc I did say that you might need some slack, but with a wiring kit like that should be done in a morning.

Go to eBay and insert "audi obd2 scanner" for get your £150.

I didn't pay that for my Foxwell NT 510 Elite

[DavidTdi]

It's not a competition!

Just offering real life experience of trying to get that that loom back even without any extra bulk of a dozen joins which you can't risk straining. At the other end of the scale many folks have happily DIY repaired just by letting in sections of wire. It's a personal choice.

Re the code reader again just offering real life experience that a basic unit usually will not look into the Audi specifics so if the OP had used such a device he may not have seen flagged codes that could help him. £150 wasn't offered as a minimum just that's what mine cost at the time... a Foxwell model just above yours in the range with broadly similar abilities... I see mine is on offer at the moment for £125 and yours for £100 so we are in the same ball park.

For me whether £100 or £150 these code readers are a godsend for diagnosing problems if DIY repairing older cars.