Sliding door won’t lock

[Lmh2000]

Hi, having some issues with my sliding door not locking & ive looked at the wikis and searched online but now looking for some further help.

I’m a new owner so just learning but have removed the trim & could see the locking nut on the adjuster of the Bowden cable had come off so have tightened that back up. This made no difference so I removed the locking mechanism to understand how it works & gave it a clean up & grease as all the components worked well. I thought great just a case of re-fitting but it still doesn’t work as the latch won’t engage when the door is closed.

I cant work out how the Bowden cable is pulled back when the door is closed to engage the locking latch. If anyone has any tips/pointers in setting the Bowden cable up that would be great as I’m not sure if it’s stretched or if I’m missing something else.

Thanks

[hotpod]

The lock just stops the handle from operating the latch. There isn't an extra lock as such. Its the same principle as the front doors. The doors latch when closed and you pull the trigger to release the latch. If the trigger doesn't engage, you cant release the latch.

[shepster]

Can you lock it from the inside (small lever that moves up and down) if so next check the outer handle to see if the 'locking lug' operates with the key, as stated above the cable/rod is there purely to release the catch at the back of the door.

[hotpod]

I have just had a thought that you might mean the catch isn't catching when you close the door so the door wont stay closed?
If that is the case then you need to check that the catch does actually catch and release . I would do this with a large screw driver or something with the door open and see if I can make it close and stay closed. then when you operate the handle, it should spring open.
If that all works as it should then I would think that the bar it catches onto which is bolted to the van needs adjusting.
If this is the issue and we have misunderstood what you mean by 'locking' then I'm happy to take some photos or something.

 

[Stesaw]

The linkage that goes from the front to back on the door needs to be as straight as possible so if you have insulation bowing it out or if its just bent it will mean that its always acting on the lock keeping it open.

[Lmh2000]

Hello

Thanks for everyone’s useful comments so far but unfortunately I’m no further forward with this.

I’ll try & explain the problem better using the reference part names from the Haynes manual as not sure I did a good enough job with my original blurb.

Primary issue - can’t lock the sliding door from the outside with the key or from inside using the door-lock knob.

I’ve removed all components to test & the lock does work from the inside & outside using the key when the ‘latch’ above the locking hook is engaged & aligned with the locking hook (by pulling the Bowden cable back towards the rear)
What I can’t understand is how the ‘latch’ above the locking hook is re-engaged once the door has been opened or either handle pulled as it doesn’t return to align with the locking hook & seems as though some backward tension must be applied to the Bowden cable and this is why either lock won’t work.

Haynes says ‘to adjust the Bowden cable first pull the remote control lock inner handle to throw the central lock latch into the locked position’ but I can’t do this, there is zero movement from the mechanism in that direction so I’m not sure if I have a broken part??

Any help much appreciated.
Thanks

[hotpod]

Could you maybe do a film on your phone ( landscape please) and stick it on youtube?

[Lmh2000]

I’m delighted to say I got this one resolved

After finally figuring out how the locking components were designed to work I found an issue with the sliding door rear lock. The lock catch wasn’t aligned with the strike plate and had obviously been bashed shut in the locked position so many times that it had damaged the internal mechanism & worn a groove into the internal components so that it couldn’t close or spring open as designed when pulling the bowden cable. Luckily I found a replacement part on eBay and it’s now working like a charm. So satisfying haha

[hotpod]

That can often happen if the wheels fall of the rear roller for the door. They still slide ( but make a horrible noise) but the rear of the door drops so the catch is out of line with the bit it catches.  
How are your wheels?

[Aidan]

Dan, early door hinge slider is different, has a block rather than the rear weight carrying wheel

[hotpod]

Ahh. Ive only had one early t3 and the sliding door closed beautifully every time so I never needed to check.
It was the only one I've not had to fix or adjust. Just worked.