Hi all,
I have a 1996 VDP 60K miles garage kept. Near flawless.
So until today the door locks worked fine.
Then for no apparent reason the drivers side rear door lock just failed to lock with the keyfob. Of course the car tried three times to lock the doors and then beeped and left everything unlocked. If I lock the rear door manually then as long as the door remains locked the other doors will lock and unlock normally. So the sensor/switch is working correctly.
The lock operates smoothly manually. No sticking. But will not lock or unlock
electronically. If locked the door latch handle will not unlock it. You must unlock
it manually before the handle inside or outside will open the door.
I have opened up the door to check all the linkages and connections.
I have disconnected and reconnected the cables,

I have checked the fuses and the relays. I have swapped the purple relays around
in the foot board and nothing changes. I am a little loath to remove the entire
door lock assembly if there is something else I could check first.
I have seen a post or two on the forum about battery issues and hard reboots.
So far I have and no other electronic anomalies except a non functioning up and down steering wheel adjustment. (I have two other XJ6's 96-97 and
so I'm well aware of what is coming with this one)
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ok, I tried the battery, computer reset.
Now the computer does not see the door at all. I can lock or unlock all the other doors
and nothing happens with this one. It's as if it is not there.
Now the computer thinks I have a 3 door car.
Steve

 

It looks like you'll be removing the door latch assembly. The black box electric actuator that is attached to the mechanism has some plastic parts in it that sometimes break. Sometimes those pieces will jam up the manual lock/unlockability of the door too, but apparently not in your case. Do you hear any electric noise from that latch assembly when you use the fob or dash button? Sometimes it will make a buzzing noise as the plastic gears slip.

You will have to search for a used assembly. Keep in mind that the black actuator box is the same on every door of the car. The actuator box is easily removable from the mechanism but its unlikely you'd find one separately. It is advisable to remove the assembly first and verify the actual problem. Maybe only a wire came loose. If the door panel is still off, it is not too difficult. Only a little difficult! Lube up the little ball joints and carefully pop off the control rods.

Or you could just live with it if you don't use the door much. But if you ever want to use it, it is a real pain to reach the pull-up button back there.

Several old threads are out there. Here's one:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...chanism-190433

 

Hi,
Thanks for the response.
It does not make any sound at all it is as if dead. I assumed a fuse or relay problem but couldn't find one. No click, no buzz nothing. I am going to disconnect the wires and check for voltage when locking or unlocking the door. And now after the "reset" the computer does not even seem to know there is a 4th door. Previously, the other doors would only lock if the rear door was already locked. Now they lock and unlock whether it's locked or not.
Steve

 

Well I finally found the culprit. The little motor inside the actuator was DOA... I split the actuator open and when I spin the gear with my finger you could hear parts rattling inside the motor flopping and grinding. So I ordered a new lock, stripped the actuator off it and put everything back together. All working now... had to reset the computer again however... no biggy.

 

Nice work Steve. Save the extra parts from the old actuator, and the microswitch, just in case. Usually it is the plastic pieces that cause trouble. Now you have extras. The rest of the latch is built like a tank, right? Thanks for the update.