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Like most of everyone with 70 series Volvo's as well as V/S series and maybe some of the older models will suffer from their doors not locking or unlocking upon hitting the key fob to lock/unlock as well as the central locking system. I have seen Robert's video on how to repair this( here!)I feel that it helped my repair but I feel a more detailed write-up should exist.(I apologize if one already exists, I did not find one) The reason these locks "fail" is due to a very small thermal switch located within the motor inside the lock mechanism found within each door that allows and disallows power to the lock based on the temperature of the motor. This was implemented to prevent overheating and possible damage to the motor. This write-up is on how to remove this thermal switch and to replace it to allow current to not be cut off causing the locks to not work.
Note: I am not responsible for any damages caused to your vehicle or self, this is meant to be a guide only.
Tool's
*Note: Most, if not all of these tools are available at local auto store's such as Autozone, Advanced Auto, Lowes, Home Depot etc. If not, I will post a link to a site in which you are able to purchase these tools. Prices may vary from location to location*
T-30 Bit or Driver (Advanced Auto $6.29)
3/4 inch. Drive Ratchet: For your torx bits (Autozone $37.00 High Quality)
Exacto' Blade (Lowes $6.39)
T-25 Bit or Driver (Advanced Auto $4.99)
Optional: Bone Tool (IPD $5.95)
Pocket Knife (Who doesn't have one?)
Patience. If this is something you do not have, better save up
Epoxy or Gorilla Glue, Recommend Epoxy. (Walmart $6.17, Epoxy: $3.91 X2)
Clamps (Lowes $9.99)
Lock Cutter (Or something that breaks metalHome Depot $15.98)
Filer (To file down metal,Walmart $6.47 )
Precision Screw Driver Set (Amazon $10.00)
Finally, Time.
Let's Get Started!
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First of all, diagnose the door which has the problem. Try and unlock and lock all the doors. If you hear them actuate but not enough to unlock the door, you most likely have this problem. Time to get to work!
First off, open the door and remove the inner door cover that covers the bolt to get the door off. Grab your T-25 Bit and your 3/8 Drive ratchet or your T-25 Drive and unscrew this bolt counterclockwise. Get a jar or something to keep all of your screws, be careful to not loose them (cough cough....
)Next carefully lift the frame straight up over and off the door lock button that sticks up. Note: the door may come off in two separate pieces, this is fine.
WARNING! Before you go trying to rip the door off, make sure to disconnect the connector to the window and CLS as well as the electric mirror switch(If on the driver side.), these should just pull out or have a clip; If you are doing the passenger and or the rear doors, these doors have single connectors that run to the individual window switches. Once again, make sure to disconnect these before continuing with the door removal.
Once all the connections to the door have been removed, when lifting the door up off the lock button make sure not to damage any of the white clips holding the bottom of the door as well as the red clip along the side on the drivers side door. If you have a bone tool use it here to carefully pry the door off the clips.
Now that the door is completely off you should be left with something like this:
Next remove the white or black cover to reveal the locking mechanism.
To remove the locking mechanism from the door you first must disconnect the 2 connectors that that connect into the bottom of the mechanism. These connectors remove simply by pressing the silver tab straight in and at the same time pulling it out. Do this for both connectors.
The lock is almost out, now you need to use your T-25 bit and attach it to the 3/8 drive or use a T-25 driver. Pull the two T-25's along the outer side of the door where the locking mechanism attaches to the actual door; careful not to strip them (
)Once these have been removed you can safely remove the mechanism. This is rather difficult due to the window regulator getting in the way so you must maneuver the lock around it (This is where the patience comes in) and pull it out. Finally you unscrew the 4 T-20's with a driver or ratchet, 1/4th socket and bit and disconnect the door handle.
Congratulations! You Removed The Lock! Alas, Our Work Is Never Done! Let Us Continue!
Removal of Thermal Switch
Now this is where things get rather difficult. You must cut along the molding shown here to get to the motor.
What you can do is use your exacto' blade and keep slicing into it until it goes all the way through then you can use a pocket knife that is thicker to pry up the top which should just slowly snap up and off. Careful not to crack it.
Now you should see the motor and some gears, take note of the position of the motor. Lift the motor out and locate the 2 small tabs located along the side of the motor. Pry these up and back with a small knife or a precision driver on either side and pull the casing back and off to reveal the inner workings of the motor. It should look like this:
Next look down into the motor and look for a very thin piece of metal, pull it out and set it to the side. Next find a piece of copper and cut it as close to the size and shape of the switch you removed as possible. What I did was grab a US Penny and clean it off and test its resistance with a multi meter making sure it conducts and I used the lock cutters and cut it and filed it down to match the switch.
Once you have something that looks like this, you simply replace where the thermal switch was and make sure it touches the contacts within the motor.
Now put the motor casing back and press the tabs back in and reinstall the motor back into the mechanism. Use your epoxy or gorilla glue along where the cover was removed and use clamps to hold it in place to dry for an hour.
Finally reinsert the mechanism back in and when reinstalling make sure the circular cylinder goes into the hole triggering the outside handle to pull the lock mechanism. Lastly, the inside door handle should disconnect from the wiring going to the mechanism, reinsert it and re screw the bolts for the handle back in and you are done! Repeat for other doors as needed, I've done this to 3 of my 4 doors on my 00' S70 GLT. Will add pictures later for convenience. Hope this helps someone. If I missed anything feel free to let me know and i'll edit this.
