p38 drivers door lock wiring

folks, i've had the dodgy 'bouncing' central locking for several years and the motor in the drivers door lock has been making strange noises. so i decided to replace the lock mechanism. found a good deal on a new one and have fitted it to the car. only then did i realise the wiring connectors are different. the old one had 7 wires on a single plastic connector whereas the new one has two plastic connectors - one with six wires and one with just one.
the colours are all the same. does anyone know if i can just remove the plastic blocks and use 'bullett' connectors for each individual wire?
thanks in advance

No reason why not. For added protection against water ingress, you could give them a wrap of self amalgamating tape.

Do a proper job, solder and shrink wrap tube....

only use adheshive lined hs. Or betta still - change the connectors

how do you change the connectors? they look like they're sealed items. please excuse my ignorance...but what is 'adhesive lined hs' ??

zzr1200 said:

Do a proper job, solder and shrink wrap tube....

Click to expand...

That's fine, but what about when you need to remove the latch again ????

I would think that bullet type connectors would be better as they are a pretty tight fit and have more surface area connection wise.
I know that the existing connectors are open to any damp and muck that may find it's way inside the door and far from damp/weather proof.
If amalgamating tape is good enough for the cable connector on my satellite dish, it's plenty good enough for inside a car door and can easily be removed by sliiting with a sharp knife.

Rodent said:

how do you change the connectors? they look like they're sealed items. please excuse my ignorance...but what is 'adhesive lined hs' ??

Click to expand...

There seems to be general agreement that you can go ahead and connect the wiring. The disagreements are on how to do the connections.

The inside of the door can get a bit damp so it might be a good idea to waterproof the connections. Possibly the simplest way is to use whatever connectors you prefer but then wrap them in self amalgamating tape. This tape doesn't stick like insulating tape but once you've removed the protective cover you stretch it until it's about half the width it sytarted and then wrap it round whatever you want. In about 24 hours the coating on the inside of the tape reacts with the back of the layer underneath and it forms a solid, rubbery lump.

OR - you could solder the wires together and cover it with heat shrink. This comes as a tube (a bit like insulation with no wire inside). When heat is applied it will shrink to about half it's starting diameter. So get a size just a bit bigger than the wire you're working with. You put this on the wire, as far from where you're soldering as possible, then once the solder has cooled slide it over the joint and heat it. A gas cigarette lighter is great for this and it shrinks and seals the joint.

OR - you can get heatshrink that also comes with an adhesive inside that guarantees that it will not move. (adhesive hs)

OR - You could buy yourself some pre-soldered connectors that are like a two ended bullet connector, stick one wire in each end and heat it up. The good ones come with a low melting point solder.

OR - You could buy a new multi connector male and female and have a custom fitted plug and socket.

OR , OR, OR

Basically you pays your money and makes your choice or you just go with whatever you know or are happy with. Just remember that it's a Rangie so you might be back in there some time in the future!

wiring differences here

thanks everybody. i think its bullet connectors and amalgamating tape solution for me.
cheers for all the advice. it appears there is 'more than one way to skin a cat'. excellent point that being a p38, i will doubtless have to investigate again some time

Rodent said:

folks, i've had the dodgy 'bouncing' central locking for several years and the motor in the drivers door lock has been making strange noises. so i decided to replace the lock mechanism. found a good deal on a new one and have fitted it to the car. only then did i realise the wiring connectors are different. the old one had 7 wires on a single plastic connector whereas the new one has two plastic connectors - one with six wires and one with just one.
the colours are all the same. does anyone know if i can just remove the plastic blocks and use 'bullett' connectors for each individual wire?
thanks in advance

Click to expand...

hi dont know if you have this sorted by now but my car was doing the same as yours but mine would only work with the alarm botton and the tail gate was not unlocking so i could not get into the boot if i put the key in the door it would only open the drivers door.. wot i did was take the two front door cards off and and swap over the 2 actuators and it seem to be ok. maybe i was just lucky but worth a try if not to late:doh:

update.....i've installed the new lock mechanism using bullet connectors and amalgamating tape. the locks have bounced once over the last few days and twice the information system made that triple bleep sound - with no warning message appearing in the dash.
on the plus side, the tailgate lock works every time, so things are better.
anyone got any ideas about the 'triple bleep'?

Rodent said:

update.....i've installed the new lock mechanism using bullet connectors and amalgamating tape. the locks have bounced once over the last few days and twice the information system made that triple bleep sound - with no warning message appearing in the dash.
on the plus side, the tailgate lock works every time, so things are better.
anyone got any ideas about the 'triple bleep'?

Click to expand...

hi mate im sorry but i think you still have the fault. as mine was the same as yours the locks keeped jumping up and down and the boot would only opened when it felt like it. the locks would go carzy for a few days and then nothing for sometimes weeks:doh:.. the actuator in the drivers door is ****ed chage it for a new one or you can swap it over with the one from the passangers door and problem sorted. if you do swap it for the one on the other side put the broke one back in the passangers door to keep the loop.. and it should work fine. it will take you 30min if that please try that befor spending any money

jamie1210 said:

hi mate im sorry but i think you still have the fault. as mine was the same as yours the locks keeped jumping up and down and the boot would only opened when it felt like it. the locks would go carzy for a few days and then nothing for sometimes weeks:doh:.. the actuator in the drivers door is ****ed chage it for a new one or you can swap it over with the one from the passangers door and problem sorted. if you do swap it for the one on the other side put the broke one back in the passangers door to keep the loop.. and it should work fine. it will take you 30min if that please try that befor spending any money

Click to expand...

:doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh: sorry to say my locks have started messing around agen.. swaping the actuators round has not changed a thing altho it seemed to have worked as it was as good as gold for a few weeks but today the locks have started playing up