I've had intermittent problems with the power locks on my
2000 Jetta for a while now. For a long time, the driver's door lock would usually not go down when the lock button on the remote was pressed. The other 3 would work okay and the alarm would arm like it thought all the locks were down, but the actuator never fired for the driver's lock. Thus I'd have to unlock and relock several times to get the driver's lock to operate. Kind of annoying, but no big deal. I'd get to fixing it one day, when I felt like tearing the door apart. I figured it was some sort of switch or sensor that tells the system that the lock was down being stuck or jittery.Well, the other day the whole central locking system went dead. Nothing. Zip. I couldn't even pop the gas tank door to refuel. Checked the fuses. Sure enough, the 15A locking fuse was blown. Replaced it. Trunk, gas door, right-rear passenger door, and alarm work normally again, BUT the other 3 door lock actuators are totally dead, and 2 of them weren't even ones I was having problems with! WTF?
The Bentley manual says that all the lock modules wire back to a central "comfort system" module mounted on the steering column and it has several fused power sources: 2 on the main fuse panel, and 2 more on the relay panel. I've checked all of these fuses and they're all good. The book also says that the Comfort Module ties into the main computer, so I tried disconnecting the battery positive cable for about 30 seconds in an effort to "reboot" the system. No effect.
Anyone have any ideas? All other Comfort Module functions seem normal aside from the 3 door locks. I'm thinking of two approaches: 1st, disconnect the driver's door from the connector in the left footwell area. Perhaps a fault there is causing the problem. If that doesn't work, remove the module (If I can get to it without tearing too much apart) and crack it open and look for pad parts (I do electronics repair professionally, so I'm not afraid to do this.)
I suppose if the module is bad, I could replace it, but I suspect, by its nature, it's something that would have to be re-keyed by a dealer, and thus cost an arm+leg to do. I wonder if I could get one at a junk yard and just swap out the chip from mine that makes it unique. (EEPROM, perhaps?)
Thanks in advance... ...Sean.