Central Locking Failed - Cannot Open Tailgate

[nigelbb]

Our 1998 LHD Ford Galaxy was unused for a few months & has now been brought back into service but it appears that the central locking has failed which also seems to mean that the tailgate cannot be opened. I cannot see any blown fuses but cannot find the manual so may have missed a fuse box (I can only find one under the dashboard on the left).

 

Any suggestions where to look for the cause of the problem? & a fix?

 

Cheers

 

Nigel

[blagger1]

Have you tried opening the driver's door first?

 

My 02 Alhambra has a security device which prevents the tailgate opening until the driver's door has been opened.

 

Also, mine won't open if the battery is disconnected because the lock is electronic.

[nigelbb]

Thanks for the quick reply. That's a good idea but I don't believe that any such safety function is present on my car. I just went out & double checked by opening various doors & still the tailgate is jammed.

 

On reflection as the car had been laid up for some time the battery was dead when we came to restart it. So the battery had to be recharged & subsequently replaced as it wouldn't hold charge. The battery is now new, OK & fully charged but the central locking doesn't work either with the remote or by locking or unlocking the driver's door as it used to. From what I can gather the tailgate lock is electronic & as a security feature locks when power is lost e.g. if the battery is dead but also as in my case if there is no power at all to the central locking because a fuse or some other component has failed.

 

Cheers

 

Nigel

[gregers]

you might have to take the rear door card off,im sure there are instructions on here somewhere,so you can gain access to the lock etc.

then once opened i would check the wiring in the rubber boot top right hand corner instructions in the faqs in the technical section of the forum.

[studsmassive]

my boot does not open by handel i have to use key which bypasses the the boot release you will strugle to remove boot card as there are a number of screws on the bottom which you wont see when boot closed

[mk2vr6]

you dont need to remove it fully to gain access to the locking mech, with the panel pulled away at the bottom of the rear screen to gain access, if you reach down into the rear door you can manually trip the lock and open the rear hatch :(

[nigelbb]

I fixed it! My wife found the manual (in a passenger seat back pocket where I hadn't seen it). This guided me back to the fusebox under the dashboard for fuse 30 a 10A one. I hadn't seen this when I looked as it is tucked up right out of the way above some relays & not in the line of 20 odd fuses that you see when you remove the fuse box cover. Replaced the fuse & all is fixed.

 

I was pleased that the blown fuse wasn't caused by a problem with the wiring in the rubber boot in top right hand corner of the tailgate frame. I had previously found wires with broken insulation there but bodged a repair with some insulating tape which still looks OK. I shall check out the FAQ but replacing that looks either fiddly & tedious or expensive or both.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

Cheers

 

Nigel

Edited February 28, 2010 by nigelbb