Mk2 xantia Estate Boot lock won't lock.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Hi,
this is a problem that has been ongoing for a while the estate boot lock quite often won't lock on my mk2 xantia estate

does anyone have any ideas is the actuator to weak for the job? I have heard a while ago that many locks were replaced
in the early days of the estates.

I find if i have a fully charged battery it will behave for one or two cycles then it will pack up again

or it locks and you can't unlock it I have tried striipping the boot door down and cleanning all the earths and even lubricating the actuator with pencil lead as I was told not to lube it with wd40 as this jams up the shaft n the magnetic coil of the actuator/solanoid.

It just about has me beaten now I really don't know what elese to try, I am not even sure of the componants to look for if I was to by a new solanoid/actuator and try that.

Being as the engine is being rebuilt at the moment I could do with some ideas to sirt this one once and for all.

any ideas please?

thanks in advance

regards
Nigel.

[ecohouse1]

Hi Nigel

I have had this on my S2 Xant and put it down to the mechanism being sticky. I think the area attracts a lot of gunk from the road, salt and debri, plus its often overlooked for a drop of oil.

I sprayed the ratchet bits & levers you can see, with release oil then spray grease and I have never had a problem since and thats over a year ago. I discovered mine wasn't locking when the alarm went off. I also found when it was sticky, that operating the locks with the driver door central locking that it usually worked 100% of the time but was hit or miss on the plip!

[falling-out-with-my-car]

I don't know which model you have but on the hatch it is easily solved by the boot lock button being oiled with wd40 as it gets
stuck when you push it in and the lock barrell wont come out again. I have tried spray grease on the lock mechanism.
The estate doesnt have the luxury of a seperate lock button however I have been locking the car with the key in the drivers door for a while as the remote buttons failed about a year ago, I still think even after lubing the .lock mechanism that the solanoid/actuator is weak in the boot door it just doesn't look up tyo the job of throwing the lock or releasing it.
I am ashamed to have an otherwise up together motor that is significantly younger than my Dads VSX hatch which has beautifully working locks and central locking remote or otherwise,

[citroenxm]

Is it a mechanical fail with the latch, or is the solinoid not working, I cant make out clearly which is giving you an issue.

Ive had to remove the boot lid trim inside and clean up all pivots related to the lever in the lid..

HOWEVER, if its an electrical fail, then check the wires betwee the boot hatch and car roof. The Lock solinoid feed wire is in the DRIVERS SIDE grommet... Check the wires for breakage/intermittent connection. Broken wires are even MORE common on estates then hatch;s...

[falling-out-with-my-car]

errr wires check out ok on both sides which is why I am a bit perplexed i suppose
I think its mechanical failure. I think Ill have to take the solanoid out and put a voltage across it to see if it works or not.
its definately as though the solanoid is weak as it works after turnning the key in the dorr several times activating and deativating the central locking when it finally clicks the rear door lock closed.

[citroenxm]

XM suffer from that..

Lock solenoid a good check. If its the small square type solenoid shout there's about 5 in the shed!!! ALL work

[falling-out-with-my-car]

its a small square solanoid witha 6mm shaft sticking out of the solanoid with a light spring around it.
when I get the car home it will be my first job to fix, although I dont cherish undoing all the torx bits
holding on the inside door panel, grrrrrrrrr.
I want to get this finally sorted.

[VertVega]

When I saw the topic I searched for the thread where I had the same problem.
It was interesting to see that last message there belongs to you falling-out-with-my-car

In mine the solution was a "new" solenoid from a scrap car (Xantia Estate).
Estate and sedan solenoids have different alignments/holes for the two fixing screws.

Check out this this thread which also has the pic showing the inside mechanism of the solenoid.
It must be kept in mind that the covers are welded (ultrasonic/heat) together and it would not be
possible to put them together again.

---> Tailgate lock problem

According to what I have seen from the mechanism, lubrication actually doesn't help much.
As you can see there is no spring in it. Small electric motor is carrying the white plastic notch
forward and backward in the next turn.

I have also lubricated the locking mechanism with grease. There were traces of rust on the metal parts.

[RichardW]

although I dont cherish undoing all the torx bits
holding on the inside door panel, grrrrrrrrr.

Torx bit in electric screwdriver. Job done

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Vertvega,

Thanks for that this must be it.

[VertVega]

Thanks CitroJim's message has very useful information and explanation there.
After doing the job I appreciated it even more.

Also Don't forget the important notice about the tailgate plastic membrane seal.
Otherwise you might start a Xantia flooding thread

[falling-out-with-my-car]

I learn't that the water passes down past the rear windscreen seal a while back and used a very thin bead of body panel glue (black)
along between the seal and the rear windscreen, it has always been dry inside my boot door since. and no need for the plastic liner any more either.
I thought I had cracked it back then evidentally Not. I think its the motor but we dont have any xantias on our scrap yards,
fortunately I have found a garage breaking a couple of them.

[Timmo]

ive recently had to redo my boot lock after someone decided to try and break in to the boot when on a recent trip to mothers, - Most annoying bit is that was the first time in a coupe of years i'd actually locked the car!! Never bother down here, partly due to nothing of value in it and also due to Cost to repair being more than cost of whats in it!!
i had to temporarily fix it at mothers (side of the road with only the small end bits you get for the sets!), but almost created more problems than solved!! stripped it all down when at home with an elecy screwdriver that helped Massively! but found i'd adjusted it a bit too Tight on the bars meaning when the locking motor fired it moved the rods the wrong way and made the boot open! 10 mins sat in the boot tinkering with the clamp height down at the catch and has got it shutting first time everytime and locking when locked properly!

may be in no way connected to whats happeneing on yours but worth a look??

[isisalar]

I had trouble with the boot lock on the old VSX estate. The job was done by a local mechanic so I can't give chapter and verse on what was done but as I recall the assembly attached to the tailgate was found to be worn out and was quickly sourced and replaced. I think the part cost £19.
Cheers
Paul

[stormbringer]

Yeah; like falling-out I had my estate boot lid not locking for periods. Locking motor tried but failed to push the lever all the way. Grrr...

Finally - after temperatures crept up to above freezing point, I took the mechanics apart and had a go at fixing it.

Motor is a black plastic box, heat welded shut and impossible to take a part in a nondestructive way.

Handle & actuator taken out, cleaned and proactively silicone-oiled (most of this stuff is plastic) or oiled as approipriate. Put back in. I learned that the 'locking' is actually a disabling of the link between handle and actuator rod, not a locking as such. Oh well.

Turned my attention to the motor box as it hung there in its wires. It sounded sick when activated
Hmmm...
With the linear actuator rod protruding (shrouded with a rubber bellow of sorts) being all white plastic, I decided to try lube it up with beforementioned silicone rather than regular oil. Carefully pry off the rubber bellow from its little flange and inject silicone spray oil into the box where the actuator rod sticks out. Lo and behold - it sounded better and worked somewhat quicker and more effortless. A bit more silicone lube, refit the bellows, refit the whole mechanism to boot lid and voila - works perfectly, quickly and considerably less noisy.

Parts used: None apart from silicone spray lube, a dab of regular oil, kerosene & soap for cleaning up stuff and of course a couple of hours.


Putting it all back together, I failed to apply a fresh butyl rubber lining at the bottom of inner plastic water deflector seal. WillDo later - no more time today. Yes, I know it's important as I've already had a minor flood caused by previous owner neglecting to do a proper job. Which is why I now have butyl rubber sealer on stock