2001 Sharan (X) 1.9TDi, won't lock

[dazza12]

Hello,

My Sharan has been fairly reliable up until a couple of weeks ago, just after the snow.

Ever since, I've had random problems when I unlock the car. 9 times out of 10, the clock on the dashboard will reset to midnight, but normally no other problems. Occasionally, I've noticed that none of the other doors unlock, or will unlock after a few seconds. A few days ago I didn't notice that only my door had unlocked, and the wipers would only work on the high speed setting. After locking my car, having a bit of lunch and coming back, the car worked correctly again.

For a few days now when getting in the car I've noticed that the clock had reset overnight, the clock showing 4am at about 7:30.

I did notice the carpet in the passenger footwell was damp a few days ago. I've been under the bonnet with a brush to clear out leaves - there was one and no other gunk. I didn't remove anything however, just looked in the area with the wiper mechanism housing. If there's anywhere else I need to look in this area I'd be grateful for any pointers. I'm assuming I need to take out my pollen filter to remove any leaves or gunk in there - where do I find it?

After searching and reading many posts on here and googling the problem, it's been suggested there's a unit under the passenger seat that controls central locking etc. I've removed the square carpet underneath both the passenger and driver's seats, but they're both empty. So it appears that this unit is somewhere else.

This morning, I appear to have lost all central locking. As well as this, I can't turn on my aircon, rear heating or operate the recirculation flap. The blower works in all positions however (already had a previous fault with the resistor pack blowing but replaced about a year ago). I can manually lock the rear doors and the front ones individually, but no motor sound (and the indicator lights don't flash when I unlock or lock). I've noticed some other people on the forum with central locking issues report indicator failure as well, but that's not happened to me.

Until I've traced and fixed the problem, the main security issue for me is that the boot now won't lock. It will open, but as the central locking has failed, anyone can open it. Is there a way of locking this manually until I've fixed the other problems?

I'd be very grateful for any pointers as to what's gone wrong and where to look.

[kenney]

The first place to look is the wiring to the tailgate,pull back the rubber boot,on top of the taigate.when the wiring is damaged all sorts of faults occurs

[dazza12]

Checked the tailgate wiring, all seems to be ok.

I've noticed however that although I can lock all of the doors manually, I can't lock the tailgate. Does anybody know if this can be done manually? Alternatively, any way of disabling the actuator that operates the boot catch, for instance which fuse to pull?

[kenney]

There is no seperate fuse to the taigate,can you not lock the tailgate with the key? there is a contact switch on the lock cylinder for the tailgate/anti-theft warning system/central locking (F124) could be something wrong there if wet

[dazza12]

An update - although lighting is working, the lights that normally illuminate the aircon button, rear blower and recirculation, along with the lighting for the aircon panel (fan blower selector etc) were off. However, the fan blower selector works normally. Oddly, the radio maintains it's settings along with my Bluetooth unit, so there's still a permanent live getting somewhere.

Where is the central locking unit on this car? My local VW dealer were happy to attempt to sell me a new control unit at £700 and insisted the fusebox would need replacing as well. All that without even seeing the car! If they're right, time to start trawling scrapyards for similar aged Sharans...

The leak itself was in the passenger footwell (however there's an empty water bottle discarded by the wife in that area, so it's also feasible that the damp carpet is accounted for by that). However, the chap at the VW garage suggested the control unit was on the opposite side - I've checked around the pedals etc and the fusebox and all appears to be dry.

I'm a bit worried about leaving the car unlocked at the back. That's quite a design flaw if VW didn't account for electrical failure - looks like I'm turning the car round tonight and parking as close to the house as I can to stop anyone getting to the tailgate.

What are the chances of this being a fuse or even a stuck relay? I've checked the card on the fusebox cover, and nothing appears to point to a central locking unit (although hinted by a key symbol in the manual, nothing on the card shows this symbol).

[dazza12]

Another update - on Friday, after spending the night worrying about the tailgate being unlocked, I tried it that morning and it was locked. No longer getting the motor sound when I unlock it, it's purely mechanical now.

I also noticed that my fuel cap was locked - whilst at a motorway service station with about 20 miles of fuel left. I won't say what I did to solve that, suffice to say I'll need a new lock.

Since then, nothing else has failed, so whatever unit was failing, it's gradually failed. The car is now purely mechanically locked/unlocked but it's still a pain with an 18 month old when I'm putting her in the car. Not as much a pain as the wife insisting I unlock her door first though...

It's been suggested that there may be a build up of water just behind the pollen filter. Where is that on the car, and how do I get to it?

I'm very grateful for all the help I've received.

[kenney]

Check the fuses in the fuse box on the battery.Check fuses in multifunction unit control unit

[dazza12]

I've checked all the fuses in the battery fuse box, all of them are fine - removed and tested.

The car's been in for an expensive MoT over the last few days so I've not had another chance to take a look. The car did have a sort of 'solvent' smell to it when I got in it yesterday, but I've put that down to a mechanic covered in oil, diesel and hydraulic fluid driving the car (it had a cambelt changed in addition to the MoT).

I have however noticed that the tailgate doesn't lock again - and I'm getting the electronic catch operate when the handle is pulled, so that's working again - however with the central locking not working I'd rather this was still broken as the tailgate doesn't lock now. I mentioned earlier in the thread about possibly pulling a fuse to disable this - is there any module I can disconnect (I don't mind disassembling the tailgate if it means my car is secure for a few days).

I've noticed again this morning that the passenger floor was soaking wet. No odd smell to it, and the heater is working fine (but I can't turn it to cold or operate the aircon) so I'm hoping this is a good sign that it's rainwater rather than a sign of a leaking heater matrix. I'm hoping for 3-4 days of dry weather so I can at least confirm that it is rainwater.

You mentioned fuses in the multifunction unit control unit. Where is this unit? The only fuses I'm aware of are the ones near the battery, and the fusebox on the driver's side.

[kenney]

The multifunction unit is situated above the pedals,it consists of an upper and lower relay carrier with 4 fuses,the fuse holder under the unit,with fuses 1-34 and the fuses on fuse holder for multifunction unit. fuses 51-62.the is no seperate fuse for the tailgate.If you are 100%sure the wires are not damaged on top of the tailgate,then you will have to remove the trim to check the actuator motor,and to be able to lock the lid.I can send you the wiring diagram and how to remove the trim,if it helps

[dazza12]

I will check the multifunction unit this weekend if it stays dry enough.

I would like to take you up on your offer of the wiring diagram and instructions for the tailgate. I've PM'd you my email address.

Thank you.

[dazza12]

Just to update, this problem still exists.

Over the past few months, I've been gradually getting to each fuse in the car, and as far as I can see, all appear to work.

I've been able to compile a list of what does and doesn't work. This doesn't seem to fit in with the description of what fuse does what (for instance - S232 on the fuse plate holder looks like a good candidate, but it also feeds the washer motor which is working fine).

To summarise:
The air conditioning is not working at all. The blower works in all positions, but the position is permanently set on hot (not ideal at the moment!). I cannot change the route of the air, it is permanently set on middle (cannot change to windscreen or footwell).

The central locking is not working at all. The tailgate remains permanently unlocked (no way of manually operating).

The trip meter and clock reset at the beginning of each journey. The odometer correctly saves and increments the miles. The radio appears to save stations and operate correctly.

All of the above were working fine until a week of torrential rain in the UK. During that week, the above appeared to gradually fail (central locking would sometimes operate, sometimes would take a few seconds to operate other doors, sometimes would appear to still be activated when starting the car). It's now permanent, which would suggest water ingress caused this.

I checked for water during that week. The passenger footwell carpet was wet. As a result, I've removed the glovebox which has uncovered the blower resistor pack. This appears to be ok (I've replaced this before due to another water leak) but cannot confirm this as it's only been a visual check. I cannot locate any fuses or other control units in this area.

One theory I do have is that the resistor pack got wet again, and this time shorted something out which blew a fuse. The big question is which one! Is there any way of checking the resistor pack without buying a new one? I'd be happy to compare resistance readings.

Many guides refer to some fuses being in a compartment under the passenger seat. I've removed the seat and the protective floor cover and only see a compartment with a couple of wires travelling through - no fuses or boxes in this area. I've also checked the drivers seat - nothing there at all.

The priority for me at the moment is getting some cold air in the car. It doesn't even have to be air conditioned, so long as it's not hot. Driving with the window open isn't an option due to the irritating noise I get in my ear (not the one next to the window, but it's the wife that'll moan!). I can cope without central locking for now but it would be great if I could change that one fuse that suddenly brings everything to life!

[honeyman]

Hi there Dazza,
YOu are not the only one with problems similar to this. Same model and year all same problems but the central locking is only not working on the drivers door. Clock and trip reset just the same. I do get a lot of water in the tail gate after heavy rain and will try checking the wiring in there first. I was also thinking it was a central control unit issue but after reading of your woes and the money wanted by the dealers I'll hold off on that.
Have you had any more luck solving the issues??

All the best.

[qwerty01]

The multifunction unit is situated above the pedals,it consists of an upper and lower relay carrier with 4 fuses,the fuse holder under the unit,with fuses 1-34 and the fuses on fuse holder for multifunction unit. fuses 51-62.the is no seperate fuse for the tailgate.If you are 100%sure the wires are not damaged on top of the tailgate,then you will have to remove the trim to check the actuator motor,and to be able to lock the lid.I can send you the wiring diagram and how to remove the trim,if it helps

Kenny
I've not used this forum before but read that you have a wiring diagram for a Sharan 1.9TDi. I'd be very grateful if you could email it to me.
Thanks in advance

[jonibeeight]

I had exactly the same faults on my sharan !

Turned out to be the wiring in the tail gate loom. It was about half way into the rubber flexi joint and all but 2 wires were broken or shorted !!! replaced the wiring in that section and one 5amp fuse in fuse box and all faults went away.. 2 months on now and no problems. Check further into that wiring loom !!!