Rear hatch locked, unable to open- Solved / with pics

[MsTaboo]

1990 Multivan,

My rear hatch lock has decided it doesn't want to unlock.

Power locks, I can hear them cycling, all other doors work fine.

It seems that no matter which position the key slot is in, horizontal or vertical, the latch will not engage. I have tried with key, without key.

Normally the key slot should be horizontal, hit the power locks and push the button, open! Or, using the key, turn to the right push, open.

Like I said, I can hear the lock cycling. But nothings happening.

Because it's a Multivan getting inside and pulling the panel will be very hard, if not impossible due to cabinet. Any ideas??
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Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

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[mightyart]

You don't have a key slot on the button of the rear hatch?

[0to60in6min]

A multi-van with cabinet?

as far as I know, and correct if I am wrong... only full Westy and Weekender have cabinet..

is it a DIY job?

[presslab]

Couldn't you pop off at least the top corner of the rear panel? That should easily allow you to get your arm down there to push the lever on the door latch.

[1621]

Even with the cabinet in the way you should be able to disconnect the passenger side of the rear panel enough to reach down and manually unlatch the lock. It's really a simple lever mechanism, so figuring it out won't take long... just watch for pinched fingers. From there you can decide if it's something you can fix, or requires a locksmith.

*Now I'm basing my information on the non-power lock set-up, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. As for accessing the lock from the inside though, shouldn't be too much of an issue.
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'85 Westy

[OilNBolts]

I had that problem recently myself. Since I was in a hurry (naturally- when else would something like this happen) I climbed over the seat, removed the panel, reached in and opened it.

After that, the problem was gone. A search of the vast Samba Vanagon archive would surely reveal the heart of the malady.
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Current fleet: Vanagons, two '88 GLs and an 89 Bluestar. Beetles, '63, '64, '72 convertible. Plus, four Subarus and three Prius. Too many cars.

[MsTaboo]

0to60in6min- Yeah the Multi's have a rear cabinet. It's stock.

mightyart- Yes, there's a key slot. You normally can open the rear hatch with a key without unlocking the rest of the doors. With the power lock system the rear hatch should also unlock from the front door key, or from the front door knobs. Mine is not unlocking from either source.

OilNBolts- Does your van have power locks? The last time I had that panel off (different reason) it seemed the lock mechanism was concealed. I remember I had a h*ll of a time getting the panel off also. Sort of brittle. I don't want to bust the panel. (yes I know to take off panels, it's just the backer material in this rear panel is brittle.)

Thanks for the replies, I already figured it was a matter of going through the panel, but was hoping it might be matter of electrical manipulation

Too late tonight to fuss anymore, I'll tackle tomorrow.

Thanks Again!
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

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[mightyart]

Do you think it's not opening from ice or cold?
I'm not sure how cold it is there right now.

If it's not cold enough to freeze try this:
Take some WD-forty or some PB-blaster and spray it in the keyhole with the straw thing provided, spray a little on the key.
Then put the key in the slot and start wiggling it around and try to open it, don't force it try to play with it and loosen up whatever might be sticking in there.
If its cold and water might have gotten inside try heating the key and playing with it till it opens.

[syncrodoka]

Power door rear hatch lock has 3 positions. If the lock is in the horizontal position it will be locked and unlocked with the power door locks. If it is in vertical position the hatch will remain locked even if the power lock system is unlocked. The 3rd position is at 2 o'clock- put in the key and turn it like your are starting the car and push it in at the 2 o'clock position. Try it with the van locked and unlocked. Your actuator may be dying/dead or more likely the metal slide that unlocks the hatch needs to be lubricated. There is a upside down horseshoe thing that is moved into position by the actuator that will or won't let the lock do something. Good luck.

[Dogpilot]

The power locking rear hatch lock is different from the non-power model. There is a sliding block the power lock mechanism moves. In the unlocked (via power) position, if the lock is pushed in it will move the lever to unlatch, regardless of the key position.

Your sliding block has probably come apart from the actuating rod, leaving it in a position that no matter what you do, the lock will not unlock. So reaching in through the panel, when pried apart may allow you to move the block to a position you lock works again. Then, once open, you can reseat the rod in its proper place again.

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[MsTaboo]

syncrodoka - Yeah I know how the lock works. I've tried every position imaginable, both with battery hooked up and different doors open! (I know that makes no difference, but shows how desperate I was getting


mightyart- It's not freezing right now, we're having a bit of a Chinook. (warm & wet) The lock itself is working. I can turn with key freely. It's the power actuator inside that has slipped, or is out of sync.

Since I can hear the actuator working, I think it's out sync. I had the rear hatch open when I pulled the old battery, and maybe the hatch got closed in wrong sequence with other locks??
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

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[MsTaboo]

OK, This is the kinda fix I was looking for!

I got out there today and pulled back pad and rug, exposing the lock area. Discovered two small holes to the right of lock mech. Fished around with a thin rod but couldn't get any traction.

So...I went and pulled the rear panel on my Syncro (this is whats nice about having more than one van of same vintage!)

With panel off I could see where lock lever was and sprung!

Here are a couple photos. As you can see from this shot, just prying back the panel from the top and reaching in won't get it done. Too much stuff in theway.

In this shot you can see holes and where the rod needs to go

This is the Multivan with the stuck hatch. I kinda stretched the hole a little fishing for contact. You have to angle upwards (towards window) to engage latch.

Hope this helps someone else in the future.

Now I can get the panel off without destroying it, and figure out where the rod came loose.
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
Help the fight against Truth Decay.
Defend democracy, support Ukraine.

[DirtyBlueVan]

I ended up finding this thread, the Original posters issue Was similar to mine. Power locks and the rear hatch would get stuck in a state where I couldn't open it any way shape or form, and the power lock could be heard actuating.

I got it open (the button would open the hatch again) by lightly pounding around the lock with the soft side of my closed fist. That actually worked.

Once the hatch was back open I removed the lock catch mech with the 3 large allen bolts. Once that is out of the way you can look up at the power lock mechanisim that locks and unlocks the rear hatch. Its sort of a U on a slider. I cleaned and lubricated that. After reassembly, it works. Time will tell if its fixed.
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1989 Syncro Westfalia 2.5 smallcar subie

[silversync]

[Mikeprince]

My rear hatch power lock failed today, and after reading the posts here I pulled the door panel and generously lubricated the lock assembly with wd40 - and the lock started working again!

[16CVs]

I've been chasing this as well. My little bastard was converted from Non power to a factory power set up. I went as far as replacing the sliding lock assembly from VC when they were still available but the problem still persists and my gate has locked up again.
I now realize that I am using a non PDL latch which has a different striker plate. I think I used it from the van not realizing that the strikers are different.
It's odd that it works for a while and then stops. I went looking in the classifieds and see two different types. Can someone confirm the differences between the two. I will buy one and try it but someone else might be familiar with this small detail.


Stacy
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[gschmidt157]

Great thread. I was experiencing the same issue on my 1990 Carat. Sometimes worked, sometimes out of lock sync and sometimes I couldn’t open. Definitely access the mechanism by removing the striker plate with three Allen screws on the bottom on the hatch. The mechanism is right inside and easy to lubricate. You could see it was not moving much prior to the lubrication then moved quite a bit after. Took me 10 minutes. Fixed.

[tjet]

This Gary Lee mod is on my to-do list. Not sure if it works with power locks.