sliding door wont close properly

[Juliette ryan]

Help we are suppose to be going away tomorrow. The door closes up to the bit when the electric cuts in and closes completely. Any suggestions? I am not electrically minded at all so apologies if this has been dealt with another thread.

Think it's called the 'soft close' - anyway it's not working - panicking as holiday planned !!!

 

[flying banana]

fuse ? also check and clean the contacts on the door

 

[Juliette ryan]

thank you - and where would I find that particular fuse? Sorry - as I said not electrical but ready to learn.

 

[flying banana]

theres a fuse list by LOZ somewhere on the forum download section. fuses are behind the bottle holder. under the passenger seat and in the engine bay near the battery

 

[Jabberwocky]

Hi, the fuse lists are mostly for the T6. I had a quick look in "Resources" and could only find the layout for the T5 Beach not for an SE. Did the Beach have a soft close option? If not this may not be much use but worth a try.

Technical Guide - VW California Beach T5 Fuse Layout

VW California Beach T5 Fuse Layout / Flow diagrams Jan 2015

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Good luck.

 

[Juliette ryan]

Thank you - I'll have a look - then may pop down to local dealer.
I've tried lubricating the parts - cleaning the contacts - slamming the door hard - all suggestions from this forum from way back - reassuring to know it's not only my Cali.

 

[WelshGas]

Thank you - I'll have a look - then may pop down to local dealer.
I've tried lubricating the parts - cleaning the contacts - slamming the door hard - all suggestions from this forum from way back - reassuring to know it's not only my Cali.

Short these contacts in the socket on the rear of the B Pillar. Use the key blade or a screwdriver. Do you hear the Lock Motor ?

 

[Juliette ryan]

No I don't.

 

[WelshGas]

No I don't.

Motor or fuse then I’m afraid.

20 amp Fuse, position 8, in upper section of the Dashboard Fuse box, under cup holder tray.
But this can vary, just check any 20 amp fuses, ideally with a multimeter or swap them around. Sometimes can be difficult to identify a blown fuse.

 

[ArunAlec]

Is your door a manual or powered door?

 

[TwoDogs]

Probably won't help you, but I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago - I went to close the sliding door and it wouldn't "lock". It was parked on my drive which is moderately steep. I drove it off the drive onto level ground, and it worked fine. It had never done that before, on or off the drive, and hasn't done it since!

 

[Juliette ryan]

It's a manual door with soft close.
Thank you once again to this great forum. I managed to get a VW person to have a look at it and he checked the fuses which are ok - thank you WelshGas for location advice - and thinks it could be the seals - something about a pinch zone - but he's going to have a proper check next week. In the meantime the door can lock so it's safe - just slightly draughty - large pillow can sort that - and trip still on.

 

[Juliette ryan]

Late update. - the door started working again and still is - very strange but very happy. And grateful as we endured Storm Dennis at Highlands in Dorset.

 

[RichardThorpe]

Late update. - the door started working again and still is - very strange but very happy. And grateful as we endured Storm Dennis at Highlands in Dorset.

Hi Juliette,

is you soft close still working? Mine stopped and only worked again after a heavy rain. It has since stopped working again.

 

[Juliette ryan]

It turned out to be the motor in the end!
Very expensive - my usual mechanic recommended going to the VW people for it as they had to take door off etc and investigate - they reckoned it was condensation in the motor and I ended up having to get it replaced - £800!!!! But now works beautifully and my consolation was it’s the only thing I’ve ever had to spend money on in the 6 years I’ve had my Cali.
Good luck