Central locking

[Remyd]

Hi,

Just out of interest, has anyone fitted central locking on their cars?
What do you think of it in term of improvement and how easy was it to fit?
Which one would be best?

Remy

[Mnripley]

Remy
Fitted them to my roadster a few years ago. I had installed an immobiliser which had the electrical output for driving the solenoids. If you look on eBay you will see that the majority of suppliers are using the same solenoid. Fitting was a bit tight as not much room because of the screen and screen mechanism, mine are mounted just below the quarter lights with the push rod connecting to the mechanism behind the door internal opening handle. Had know problems

[Remyd]

Mnripley,

Thanks! How did you feed the wiring from the inside of the car to the door?
Where would I have to get the power from? Someone on a social media forum said that he wire it to the battery which is what I might have to do as I have a cut off switch fitted.

[Mnripley]

Not a problem with the wiring used the same grommet for the speaker cables into the door.

Think you will have to take a direct feed from the battery would recommend a fuse as close to the battery as possible for safety.

[Remyd]

Thanks,

I haven't got speakers in mine, it's a 71' GT, so I'll have to figure out how to feed the wiring to the inside of the door. Thanks for the tip about the fuse, I wouldn't have thought of that. What kind of fuse should I use?
Anyway, I had a condition inspection done yesterday at MGOC, looks like I'll need a new exhaust system, it's blowing, rear leaf, they are weak, and radiator as the core is in a bit of a state! Enough to keep me busy during the winter, just need to find some money to buy it all!

[Ian F]

Remy,

I'm not sure how central locking might work on the BGT tailgate? Different lock from the doors - no rods involved.

Ian F

[Mnripley]

Hi Remy

Sorry should have seen yours is a 71 car. will take a photo for you to show the cable run on mine. The wires pass through the top door hinge openings you will probably need to drill a hole from the footwell area to allow the wires to pass into the hinge area with a rubber grommet to protect the cable from chafing on the metal. When you buy the actuators they will come as a kit including the control unit and wires long enough to reach from door to door, there will be a positive cable which will have an inline fuse included plus an earth cable. In your case you could remove the fuse extend the cable to reach your battery and add the fuse as close to the battery as possible.

Haven’t seen a kit for the rear door hatch that would have to be a more sophisticated control unit allowing you the two different functions to open doors or the hatch as fitted to modern cars.
Hope this helps.

Michael

[Mnripley]

Remy

Pictures of my car cable run. Ignore the volume of wires you see as my car has electric windows. The grey spiral wrap is my addition but the original speaker cables where just bare wires, I have also tie wrap the cables to the hinge which I think is better.

[Ian F]

Remy, an afterthought to this discussion.

I have a battery isolator switch fitted to my BGT on the bulkhead behind the passenger seat. I always remove the key when parked, a safety feature and a theft deterrent.

I guess the fitting of central locking would mean the electrics have to be left "live" when parked so a battery isolator switch could not be used.

Ian F

[Remyd]

HI Mnripley and Ian,

Sorry I haven't replied earlier, I only just seen your messages on the forum.
Thanks for the info and pictures, I'll have a look at how to wire it so it can be live even when the switch is off if at all possible.