central locking module

[mickmick]

i know where it is

i know what it is

i even know (well i'm fairly sure) that it is busticated and is what is wrong with my CDL system

but how in hell do i get access to the bloody thing?????

answers on a post card please

Mick

[DeeAitch]

Access? I know what you mean I think there is a bracket bolted to the steering column but I gave up.
Are you sure the module is the problem? After much cursing I managed to change mine but it did not improve things. It ended up being the sub harness in the door God knows why they did it this way but I cut the connecter off, soldered it in place and everything was then hunky dory

[Monty]

I did pinky 1 and IIRC i removed the dash clocks to get access, but it was a T**T to do. BTW it never solved my issue with the central locking

[nitroman]

The problem is with the piece in the door but the fasteners VS where you can get your hands are situated in an impossible geometric configuration. I promise you they assembled the inner workings of the door BEFORE they bonded on the outer door-shell.

[mickmick]

ok, some good info there, confirming my suspiscions that at hethel they have a secret workforce of magic pygmies who are used to put the cars together

so, i'll add some more info:

the CDL has never worked since i bought the car 18 months ago

i have had the door cards on and off many time and pulled the connectors apart to have a look at them and make sure they are clean and bright and as electrical connectors should be

but still no joy


the one thing i do recall was about 2 months after buying the car i tokk my brother for a spin in it, we were tootling along the motorway quite nicely when for about 5 minutes the door locks decided to cycle up and down of their own accord, i say for about 5 minutes, what i mean is in this time frame, the dorrs locked, then unlocked, then locked again about 8 or 9 times

and since then, its been a case of doing it old school


FWIW there IS an alarm fitted but it is turned off as i do not have the alarm fob, there is also an old type of imobiliser fitted, one of thetypes that require a watch battery sort of thing to be pushed against a metal plate to deactivate it. i also had to fit new locks and do a little bit of conection rod re-conecting when i fitted the locks, but all of that was before the CDL did the 5 minute tango.

Whos got some more info on the sub harness that Dave mentioned??

Dave has hopefully

Mick

[DeeAitch]

the door locks decided to cycle up and down of their own accord, i say for about 5 minutes, what i mean is in this time frame, the dorrs locked, then unlocked, then locked again about 8 or 9 times

Exactly the problem I had earlier this year. Went down the same path as you and cleaned the connectors but to no avail. The CDL module was cheap in the Lotus parts clearance so bought one to eliminate that from the equation. Gave up getting the old one out, even after removing the instrument cluster,

Simply tie wrapped the new one onto the old Have since read in Service bulletin 1991/25 (must get around to this mod - anyone done it?) that it is mounted on a bracket which in turn is bolted to the steering column.

Sorry, didn't take a photo of the sub harness (and I am in no rush to take the damn door card off again ) but it will be obvious when you get in there. It has two wires, one black and the other Yellow with a red stripe, covered by plastic sleeving and is clipped to the upper rear of the door aperture just in front of the lock.
It is about 6 inches long and has a nice weather proof (metri pack?) connector at the end nearest the lock and a horrible little unsealed connector - see pic attached- at the other end where it joins the main harness. (I suspect they did it this way because the weather proof connector was too big to route through the door)
This connector was corroded on my car. I did clean it before and after installing the CDL module but the prob was still there so decided to cut the little bugga out and solder the wires together. CDL has been perfect ever since
There is just enough length in the harness to allow this if you cut close to the connector. Use heat shrink tube to cover the soldered joints - insulting tape will come of in time.
BTW if you have an S2 with factory alarm the CDL module might differ -seem to recall reading this somewhere

[mickmick]

bringing this back to the top cos i have had me doors in bits again and found the following:

the little bit of cable mentioned by dave appears to be working fine, it is an extension of the door lock microswitch circuit, that i assume sends the signal to the CDLmodule to activate the acuators.
this bit works fine, but getting no voltage to the actuators themselves, so i'm gonna bite the bullet and buy a new CDL module (they are on sale at SW lotus for £5 , bargain!!), if this doesnt fix the problem then i'm scuppered cos it'll be a real nasty wiring fault and i just can't be arsed to rewire my doors for the sake of the factory fit CDL, i'll find an aftermarket alternative and fit that instead(if there is room to fit it in the doors!!)

Mick

[theelanman]

mick
mine started playing up so I bought a CDL module too......when it came to it and I'd got the doors in bits I found it to be a cracked wire.......
how far have you traced the volts????
or are you getting a reading at the end of the line????
if thats all ok then the cheapest option could be to get a new alarm system with central locking fitted .......I looked at it as an option and for £300 it was a thatcham cat 1 like the one already on it......
it was also due to the fact that the standard lotus door locking mechanism thats on the car was so expensive IIRC about £200 a side
just a thought
cheers
g

[mickmick]

From what i've been able to see, which isnt much as i am not one of the magic lotus dwarfs they use to put hings together, i have got the following going on:

interior lighting all works correctly (so thats the 4 wire conector circuit all ok, its the one above the CDL in the door)

all door lock rods conected correctly

microswitch at bottom of door lock mech works correctly, but have replaced the dodgy conecter anyway.

with door latch in the closed position, and either key or up/down rod moved i get no voltage to the actuators.


===========================================


Now, i know a lil bit about wires and such, it my sort of job thingy in ThArmy, and from looking at the circuit diagrams of the CDL i see that there is an input from the inertia switch, and also that the CDL lock actuator signals go thru the car's alarm system, so my next jobs are going to be(while i wait for my CDL module to arrive):

check the inertia switch, see if it is working ok.

And, try to suss out which wires go thru the alarm box and maybe see if i can bypass them in some way. The alarm fitted to my car has not worked since i had the car, the previous owner thought it was a second imobiliser, and i have removed the key to it from the control box under the bonnet.


Now, if i can prove all the wiring to be good, and the new CDL module DOESNT fix the problem then i'll be going down the same route as G and getting a new alarm fitted that includes CDL.

i'll post again next week when i've fitted the module (and hired a pygmy to fit it for me)

mick

[theelanman]

check the inertia switch, see if it is working ok.

mick,
if you mean the inertia switch thats next to the battery then if it wasnt working then youd have nowt..........
cheers
g

[mickmick]

G,

when you say nowt i take it you mean it would have cut the fuel off and i wouldnt be able to run the engine

my only thoughts on this swith is that it has maybe shorted out so that it is feeding a signal to both parts of the circuit, ie it is allowing current thru to the fuel pump side of things, but also to the CDL.

i really dont think it will be causing my CDL problem, but if its easy to confirm it is working thats one less thing to have on the list of possible faults

Mick

[theelanman]

ah ok see what you mean.......
if the inertia switch isnt faulty then it disconnects everything when it goes off..........

[mickmick]

Sorted at last!!!!!!!!

turned out i didnt need the module, but at a 5er i felt it not too expensive to remove it from the equation, and also, now my setup is working i have left the new module attached and put out of the way cos the old one seems to need a full dash out job to get to it.

Anyway, it turns out that the problem was due to the wiring be all messed up by the fitment of an old alarm system, behind my glovebox and under the dash is a whole world of odd conectors and spaghetti wires, but after 5 hours or so following wires and looms i deduced that half the wires are no longer used and that the feeds from BOTH door CDL microswitches were not conected to the CDL module conector. Some male/female conectors on some extra wire, routed round the instrument area behind the binacle and hey presto, i now have a CDL system that works properly and can now look into having a brand new alarm/imobiliser system fitted when i save up enough pennies(i'm thinking 5-600 quid, and most of that will be paying the company who does it to get rid of my old one, and the physio bills afterwards too)

Thanks to all who inputted to this problem

Mick