tivver

I got it off in the end. See the update in the original post...

Thanks for the suggestions - even if they are confirming most of my fears. I'm fairly sure that something has dropped off as I can't feel the normal resistance when operating the key in the lock. I'll have a go at removing the door card, but I'm really not sure there's enough room to pull it away enough to disengage the clips and lift it up. I guess I should start looking for a new door card now! Wish me luck - I'm going in...

I have a MK I Galaxy and it the front passenger door is locked shut. My wife reports that she heard something drop off inside when she tried to open it with the key. I suspect that one of the rods for the lock or the central locking actuator has dropped off. Anyway, the upshot is that the door cannot be opened from the inside or the outside. Strangely, the fault seems to flatten the battery within a couple of days too and the central locking behaves oddly. All the other doors lock and unlock from the drivers door, but neither the LED or the indicators flash, and you can unlock but not re-lock from the tailgate. I have successfully removed the drivers door card in the past to deal with a broken mirror. It's tricky enough with the door open, but I can see no way of doing it with the door closed as the door card is bigger than the surrounding trim in most directions. Ideas anyone? UPDATE (5 Feb 06): It is tricky but possible to remove the door card with the door closed. 1) Remove the window switch and door release cowl in the usual way. 2) Unscrew the single retaining screw 3) Prise away the door card starting at the bottom front edge - there are a couple of square holes underneath which you can hook something into to get some purchase on it 4) If you have swivelling front seats, reverse the seat and slide fully forwards as this allows a bit more room to lever. If not, slide fully back and recline. 5) Simultaneously lever around the rear edge of the door and tug sharply at the door pocket. With a lot of effort and swearing it will eventually come free. I found a 'tack puller' to be a useful lever for this. 6) Swivel the door card by lifting the back edge upwards and with a little force it will come out diagonally. I only broke one of the plastic posts that locate into the door pull. Otherwise the door card was unscathed. The problem turned out to be that a casting on the back of the lock barrel had disintegrated, jamming the lock in the 'locking' position. This was permanently triggering the auto window closure and draining the battery. I was able to reach in and turn the sleeve on the lock to unlock the door and it then opened with interior and exterior handles. Once I freed it the central locking behaved as normal again. I was able to remove the exterior handle so I can buy the right part - I'm not sure if the broken bit comes with the handle or the barrel! I hope my experience helps someone else...