Central Locking
I fitted the kit from German Car Company. You also need to buy a couple of rubber boots to run the cables from the actuators in the door to the computer unit inside the car, unless these have been fitted during an ICE install. I got a couple from a car audio dealer for around £10.
The kit I fitted was the two door type, without the additional remote. The kit is supplied with:
I found some of the self tapping fixings to be useless, so I replaced them with bolts and nuts of the same size.
Actuators
Remove the door cards from the doors. To do this you must remove the window winder, the outer surround to the opener, the knob and gaiter for the mirror internal adjuster and the large plastic handle. There are also a couple of screws holding the card to the door, just below the mechanism of the lock. Pull the card away carefully, from the bottom edge first.
Peel back the plastic sheet from the inside of the door. The inside door skin has two large cavities cut in it, with a strengthening rib running horizontally between the two across the door. The actuator fits below the lock pin, right on the edge of the cavities in the door. It fits inside the door, with the top of the actuator attached to the top of the strengthening rib of the door skin (drill a hole to fit the supplied fixing screw). The positioning of the lower cavity in the door skin is such that the bottom actuator fixing is in the middle of the cavity, so use the fitting strip to bridge the gap and fix it to the bottom of the cavity (drill another hole for the other fixing screw).
Make sure you have fitted the actuator so that it does not interfere with the window or lock mechanisms. It is a very tight fit, so there is virtually only one place you can put it. Also make sure that the actuator is as close to being directly beneath the lock pin as possible, so it will pull AND push the lock pin properly.
Once the actuator is mounted, use the link rods to attach them to the lock pins. This involves fitting the rods to the lock pins behind the door skin, and is a fiddly job, but make sure you cut the rods to the correct length to take in the range of movement of the lock pin. You should now be able to lock and unlock the door by moving the actuator up and down by hand.
Wiring
Now the fun part - drilling big holes in your car! The wires that go to the actuator from the loom are supplied bare, so you can push them through the door, then fix them into the plug that plugs into the actuator. I used a hole saw (circular saw blade mounted on a central drill bit) to drill a hole large enough to fit the end of my rubber boot, in the shell of the car. I sealed one end of the boot in this hole, and the other end in to the bottom of the hole in the door around the hinge. That way I only made one hole! Make sure you position the hole correctly to let the boot fold up when you close the door.
That is the hard stuff done! Just run the wires through to the actuators, and fix then all together. I ran the wiring under the lip in the bottom of the dash, and located the computer behind the central console. To get power, use the piggyback connectors provided to splice into the ground and 12V lines running underneath the dash to the steering column. They are wrapped in black tape, along with about 20 others, so make sure you get the right two! Be careful not to break the original connection with the new connectors.
Word of Warning!
Whenever power is connected to the central locking system it will lock the doors. So whenever you play with the battery remember that the doors will lock when you reattach the power!
Also, if you are thinking of buying the kit that includes an interface to the alarm so the alarm remote will activate the central locking, bear in mind that most alarms auto arm. So if you leave your keys in your car for more than 30 seconds, the doors will automatically lock, leaving you looking like a right Muppet!
Tools needed:
To fit central locking to your car you may need up to 5 hours to do the job properly, but a vast technical knowledge is not needed-just patience. The following is based on the fitting of a Sempal deadlocking kit for under £100.
Remove door panel
To do this, remove the inner door handle cover. Do this from the bottom of the cover- this is more difficult but any damage caused is less visible. Behind this you will find 2 large Phillips screws. Undo, pull off the mirror adjustment cover and twist handle out. Behind window winder cover you will again find another Phillips. Remove the inner mirror cover carefully. Try not to twist this as the lugs are easy to break. Remove the door release handle surround by sliding it back towards the rear of the door. At the rear of the door panel along the vertical edge you will find 2 Phillips screws. Now pull the top edge of the door panel away prising the lugs under the window rubber if needed.
Remove the outer door handle
Using a small flat screw driver prise off the cover. behind this you will find a Phillips screw. There is also a screw in the inner edge of the door handle above the slam catch. Slide the handle towards the front of the car and pull out.
Remove inner weather cover
Carefully peel plastic sheeting on the top left hand corner of the door to the bottom. try not to damage it -you may need to heat up the glue. It is important that this goes back properly otherwise you may find your carpets soaked the next morning.
Fitting of the solenoid
This is the motor that locks and unlocks the door. Grab the fitting strip (the strip of metal with the holes) and position at the left edge of the large hole in the inner door skin far left bottom corner). Screw holes to secure and do so with bolts. Fit rod to solenoid and slide securing block (brass block with 2 or 3 screws) onto rod so that the screws will face the aperture for the outer door handle. You then need to adjust the rod so that when fitting the solenoid, the rod comes up parallel to the rod from the door lock pull. This is tricky and is what takes up the most time. The rods will bend quite easily using waterpump pliers or mole grips.
You then need to drill a hole through the a-post. This should be about 10mm diameter. I find the easiest place for this is above the pin switch where there is east access to the inside of the car. You should fit a rubber o ring to prevent damage to wiring etc. You May drill a hole in the door edge but do so above or below the hole in the a post to allow for stretching when opening the door. I find it easier to run through the hole above the check strap. Loom the wiring to that solenoid (if you have looming tape use it otherwise insulation tape) and feed through and connect- you can use crimps but soldering is better as there is alot of moisture inside the door. Refit plastic sheeting and refit door panel.