Hello all
'95 Disco 1.
For background, let me explain some of the problems this vehicle has always (as long as I have owned it) with the doors and locks.
1) passenger door will not open from either outside or inside unless: 1 you pull up on the lock button and hold it there while operating the inside handle, or, 2 you insert the key and hold it in the unlock position to force the lock button up and hold it there while operating the outside handle. If you attempt option two without first disarming the alarm (either with the remote or by manually unlocking drivers door with key), it will often sound off.2) Rear driver side door is similar to passenger door execpt that you do not need to actively pull up on the lock button while operating the door handle. It is sufficient to yank it up all the way and then the door will open -- note that the central locking does not raise this lock button far enough for the door to operate properly -- one must yank up the lock button first.
3)rear gate door is the same as the passenger door -- must hold key forcefully in the unlock position while operating handle.Now onto the newly developing problem:
More and more frequently when we push the button on the remote to lock all the doors after parking the vehicle, the locks will all go down, then quickly unlock themselves. IE you can't get the doors to stay locked. Occurrence is completely random, and when it does happen the turn signals still flash three times normally. Also, when this happens, if you open a door the alarm will go off. So the system thinks it is locked but isn't.
It happened so badly today I accidentally set off the alarm three times just trying to figure out what the hell to do to get the doors to lock. Finally, I got INSIDE the car, locked the doors manually, then unlocked manually, got out, then locked with the remote. FINALLY, it stayed locked.
Why not simply lock with the key you ask? Well that's another problem
-- the lock is beautifully smooth using the key to UNLOCK, but using the key to lock the mechanism is so stiff my wife doesn't have the strength to turn the key far enough to make the doors lock. We are already on our second replacement key as the incredibly stiff lock bent and nearly broke the original key. Thus we are forced to use the remote to lock, or risk breaking the key off in the lock. Lubricating the lock is zero help as the stiffness is not coming from the lock barrel -- I don't know WHERE it is coming from.
I am at my wit's end with this vehicle and am seriously considering removing the plate and ditching the truck in the desert.
Sorry for the long post but I hope all the detail can help somebody get a clue what might be going on here.
It doesn't help that I REALLY don't understand how the central locking system works. Any clues?