1998 RR SE - new to me - Door Locks / Remote

[poodlepumper]

Hi all - Range Rover nOOb here.

I just picked up a 1998 Range Rover SE in pretty good condition. As I'm learning the vehicle, I have found a few quirky issues.

Please help if you can!

Door Locks - with the key
To open the driver door, I must use the key. When I turn the key to "unlock," both rear passenger doors unlock as well. The front passenger door and the tailgate do not unlock.

To unlock the passenger door and tailgate, I must enter the vehicle and manually unlock the front passenger door. Note, when I do, the tailgate unlocks.

Occasionally (1 out of 25) all locks will unlock with the turn of the key.

Door Locks - with the remote Batteries replaced yesterday
When I press the unlock button, the two rear passenger doors unlock - but the driver door, front passenger door, and tailgate do not unlock. Same goes for the lock button.

I searched the forum and see several similar issues pointing to possible ground issues so I will start there.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

PP

 

[LROffroad]

wow, thats odd which makes me think it may just be the ecu going bad.... Mine did weird things too like that, and I just lived with it until things got too bad to tolleragte and honestly it never got any worse, but my issues were just random locking and unlocking..... you might wanna keep your eye out for a used ecu and hope that its a good one.... good luck

 

[joey]

Passenger door lock controls the tailgate door lock, so this is normal... you may just have a bad passenger door lock or a wiring issue going to it.

Driver side controls back doors and then passenger front... passenger front controls tailgate.

PITA to change... if you know what you are doing your looking at a 4 to 5 hours job. If you have never done it... count on an all day thing.

 

[tmatteson001]

I had some very odd issues with the locks and windows of my 05 RR. I checked the wiring harnesses to the doors, and the driver's door had significant corrosion. When i sanded the corroded parts of the wiring harness and reattached, everything worked fine. You may want to check that.

However, if the passenger door and tailgate work when you use the unlock button inside the vehicle, it is more likely the ECU.

 

[LROffroad]

I checked the wiring harnesses to the doors, and the driver's door had significant corrosion.

Isn't that corrosion a sign of water damage aka possible flood vehicle???? My bro's D2 had some electrical parts that swelled up and corroded and we think his D2 was in a flood or something before he bought it....

 

[tmatteson001]

Corrosion is definitely a sign of water damage; however, when the only instance is in the wiring harness between the door and the body which is covered by a rubber tube that can become disconnected, I'm pretty sure my issue was not due to flooding. With that being said, did your brother get a CarFax report? Those are supposed to list flood damage.

 

[joey]

CARFAX is only good if something has been reported to the insurance company or there has been a traffic incident that was reported. Other wise it isn't worth the paper it is printed on.