Central Locking Twinge

Any ideas, please, Folks? Now and again the central locking on my 92 Torslanda has a twinge where the key feels stiff when turning it in the driver's door . It happens more when locking rather than unlocking. It still works but, on one occasion, it was particularly stiff and when tying to lock it; the the inside lock knob stayed up on the driver's door but all others flipped down into closed mode. A few more attempts got it to work properly. So far, this has happened only once. Might this be the beginning of something more serious? Many thanks, Dave

Hi Dave , Think it would be a good idea for you to strip the inner door panel off and lubricate the door locking mechanism inside the door. Also the door locks, you can put the key half in and squirt wd40 in past the key to oil the inside of the lock.

Thanks, Georgerov- I'll give it a go. Dave

I occasionally get this on mine - which way up the key is can affect it. I also found that if the key is turned the opposite way first if resistance is felt always cures the problem. NEVER FORCE THE KEY! Mike

The barrel that the key goes in is secured rather feebly with a sort of plastic cable tie and some of that sticky grey stuff they use for securing wiring looms. The clip can come loose so that the mechanism isn't located properly. The keys are surprisingly fragile. Mine broke once. It seemed to have just crumbled internally just at the shank, and was only held together by the plating.

Thanks Mike & Clifford- I'll try the spares and see if that makes a difference. I guess the key can get slightly bent in one's pocket- especially on a ring with a few other keys. Dave

My drivers door lock isn't exactly stiff, but it does feel as if the key is moving a hell of a lot of metal, a great deal of inertia, if that makes sense. I'm always a little careful not to force the key, and once it starts moving, everthing seems smooth and free, just 'heavy'! All my keys are aftermarket recuts, so I can't comment on the quality or otherwise of the original Volvo keys.

That's it. The serated black plastic you can see at the bottom is like the clamp on a wiring clip. The plastic can lose its spring so that it doesn't stay clampted tight, so you get a lot of play in the system before the key actually turns anything. It can trigger the electrical circuit, but still be reluctant to operate its own mechanical lock. I think I have mended one by putting a clip round the whole thing, held on with mastic.