Hi, I have recently bought a 2013 Ducato motorhome and it has a sliding door lock problem. The sliding door can be opened and closed normally from inside and outside, but if I lock all doors with the remote and then unlock them the sliding door wont open, it appears to still be locked. If I reach in from the passenger side door I can open the sliding door from the inside handle. Any suggestions? Thanks very much.

I would start by cleaning the contacts on the door frame - and checking the pins are free to slide in and out. Perhaps this isn't the most likely thing but its the quickest to do.
If it still doesn't work, take the door card off, follow the wires to the lock and check the moving parts are free to move.

Thanks Reg, I cleaned the pins and checked they were clear today. Both door cards were removed and checked. I also removed both upper and middle door strike/catchs and while the door obviously opened the electric door release did not engage. Interestingly while the door was free of both locks I pushed the door in at the middle a few times and let it come back out (there was lots of play due to strike/catches removed) while pressing the remote unlock.... AND twice I heard the door unlock. Still couldn't fix it though, but it sure seems like some sort of electrical connection issue.

AllanT66,

I own an x244 PVC to which the information that I have relates. We use the sliding door almost exclusively, and I am therefore very interested in your problem.

Fiat eLearn for the x244 shows all of the lock motors connected in parallel, but I accept that the x250 could be different in this respect.

The sliding door lock motor is a two wire device, with reversed polarity pulses for locking and unlocking.

Your cab door locks function normally, and the sliding door locks.

Logically, the above would seem to suggest that the wiring and door contacts may not be at fault.

Is it possible that the lock assembly is stiff at the end of the locking stroke, and the motor is unable to generate the starting torque to overcome the friction?

Before stripping the door, may I suggest applying a brief pulse at 12V via a suitable fuse (7.5A?) direct to the sliding door contacts. One direction of current flow should lock the door, and reversing the polarity should unlock it.

eLearn for the x250 is available from the downloads section of this forum. It is a large compressed .rar file in several modules, but when you learn how to use it, reveals much info. One forum member said "like peeling the layers off an onion".

Hi Communicator,

Thanks very much for your reply. I've downloaded the eLearn for the x250 and as you say its a very informative document.

The x250 is the same as the x244 for door locks, reversing polarity for locking and unlocking. Your comment "Is it possible that the lock assembly is stiff at the end of the locking stroke, and the motor is unable to generate the starting torque to overcome the friction?" is on the mark I think. When I press the unlock button I hear what sounds like a solenoid kick in but not the normal louder unlock sound. This would suggest as you say the electrics is ok and there is some resistance to the gears that open the lock.

So I think the problem is in the actual lock mechanism itself (as I've tried this without the strike plate being engaged). So the next thing is to remove the lock and have a look at it. Unfortunately being a motorhome the internal cabinetry gets in the way so its not the easiest to get at, although the eLearn manual has already helped with this showing how to remove cables and lock etc.

Thanks again.

I just corrected my sliding door closing properly on the weekend.

When you cannot unlock from the outside...will it unlock using the key in the lock on the sliding door?
Mine works independently to my other door locks when the key is used after the keyfob is used.


I just replaced the two docking latches which do wear out and gone.
They help position the large door.
But you also can adjust the top right pin.
2 people are required for this fiddly job. 1 person to close the door from the outside.
But it closes fully and properly now.

There are 2 pins at the bottom right of the sliding door which make a contact when closed
also. I assume the contacts were for the central lock?

I was most interested in your issue as I want my door to operate the way you have it.

My sliding door does unlock with the driver and passenger door using the keyfob remote.
I definitely do not want that!
I am having to manually lock my sliding door after the initial unlock.

Already had a incident.

AllanT66 I would say it is deliberate and for extra security of your cargo area.

IceVovo said:

@AllanT66 I would say it is deliberate and for extra security of your cargo area.

Click to expand...

Peter,

With respect, I think that you have missed the fact that the vehicle in question is a motorhome (PVC?), as is mine. We use the sliding door almost exclusively, so we would want that lock to operate from the key fob.

There are no key contacts connected from the sliding door lock, hence no central locking from that door.

If your wish to disable the central locking on your sliding door, it should be possible to remove, unplug, and replace the door contacts. Doing it this way leaves the accessable body contacts available for any future fault testing.

Yes my sliding door has no key locking facility and it should open with the remote key the same as it locks. Once i get time I'll remove the lock but keep it connected, close the door so the contacts are engaged and using the remote key I should be able to see and hear what's going on with the lock, hopefully.. cheers and thanks.

No keylocking from the outside???
Wow!!!

Motorhome "feature"!!! lol

Ok...that is different.