Power Door Locks

This small tutorial will show you how to remove and install factory VW vacuum central locking system on your car. This system came out of a MKII Scirocco and went into another. Instructions are written based upon memory and with the idea that the car from which the system is being removed from is a parts car.

Tools Required

Parts Recovered / Required

Removal - Cargo Area

  1. Remove the cargo area lid and properly secure hatch.
  2. Remove padding along passenger side wheel well.
  3. Locate vacuum pump (behind wheel well) by tracing hose and wiring harness.
  4. Remove grounding screw and unplug wiring harness and vacuum hose (pump ONLY) and remove vacuum pump.
  5. Trace wiring harness and hose, detaching clips along the way as necessary.
  6. Detach the hose running across the cargo area from the plastic cross piece. The hose and wiring harness should now be loose up until the rear seat area.

Removal - Rear Seat Area

  1. Remove the two screws holding the rear seat bottom in place.
  2. Remove driver side foam padding to access wiring harness and hose.
  3. Remove the three black clips holding the carpet in place and peel carpet back. Note the layout of the hose and wiring harness.

Removal - Front Seat & Dash Area

  1. Remove the retaining bolt at the front end of the driver seat adjustment bar.
  2. Remove the black plastic trim piece on the inner seat rail.
  3. Move seat back until the posts have cleared the rails.
  4. Unplug seatbelt sensor wire from the bottom of the seat.
  5. Remove the seat from the car.
  6. Remove the black clips holding the carpet to the floorboard.
  7. Gently peel up the carpet to access the wiring harness, following it up to where it enters the door and fuse panel.
  8. Replace carpeting and remove the driver side knee tray (three posts up front; one screw on both right (center console) and left (near hood release lever)).
  9. On the passenger side, remove the two screws holding the knee carpet in place.
  10. Locate vacuum hose and disconnect at a rubber connector. Cut 'zip strips' as necessary.
  11. Pull the hose from the rear seat area and remove it from the car.
  12. Trace the wires running from the harness to the back of the fuse panel. Unplug or cut wires as necessary.

    Note: There seem to be two types of wiring that were used. One was wired directly into a large plug which went into the back of the fuse panel. The other was a more simplistic plug style. In either case, remove as much as possible to keep the wiring harness complete and intact.

  13. Remove the three pins and two screws holding the passenger-side kneee pad.
  14. Disconnect wiring harness from control module and remove wiring harness.
  15. Remove the two screws holding the control module in place and remove the module.
  16. ---Remove the instrument cluster.
  17. ---Remove the speed sensor located on the back of the speedometer.
  18. ---Remove handle & wires.

Removal - Doors

The procedure for both doors is pretty much the same. The only difference is that in the driver side door runs the wiring harness. The passenger side only has the vacuum hose.

  1. Remove the inner door handle be removing the screw hidden behind the cover at the base.
  2. Remove door handle trim ring by pressing it backwards.
  3. Pull out the power window switch and unplug the switch from it's wiring harness.
  4. On the driver side door, pull out the power mirror control, unplug, and remove the control from the door panel.
  5. Remove the knobs from the lock rods.
  6. Remove the various screws holding the door panel to the door frame.
  7. Remove inner door panels.
  8. Remove plastic from the door being careful not to tear it badly if it is going to be reused.
  9. Trace wiring or hose (as applicable) to actuator, disconnecting the clips along the way.
  10. Remove the two Allen bolts holding the door latch in place and remove the latch (pushing a sloted screwdriver into the bottom of the latch will allow easier removal of the inside release rod).
  11. Locate the two screws holding the actuator to the door and remove them.
  12. Pull the actuator to a position where the wiring harness / hose can be removed and disconnect the two.
  13. Remove the wiring harness / hose from the door by pulling it through the rubber boot running between the door and the body (it may be necessary to disconnect both ends of the boot). The wiring harness / hose should be completely ready to come of the car now.

Removal - Hatch

If the car is equipped with a rear window wiper, it may be necessary to loosen or remove the wiper assembly.

  1. Remove the two screws / bolts holding the hatch latch in place.
  2. Remove bottom trim pieces by turning 'screws' 90° and pushing the pieces towards the inside of the car.
  3. Looking up into where the hatch lock assembly is, pull down on the rod gently so as not to break the plastic connector into the hatch lock assembly.
  4. Locate the two screws holding the hatch actuator in place and remove them.
  5. Push the actuator forward so as to bring some of the rubber connector through the hole. Then pull the actuator back a little so the rubber connector can be detached. Remove the actuator and rod.
  6. Remove the hatch lock assembly by removing the two screws holding it in place and pressing in from the outside.
  7. Locate the rubber boot on the passenger side of the car, running between the hatch and the body of the car. Remove both ends of the boot and remove the grounding screw in the hatch.
  8. In the hatch, disconnect the rubber connector running to the hose that goes to the hatch.
  9. Carefully pull the hatch hose from the hatch (where you removed the boot).
  10. Run the hose through the boot (removing the rubber connector as necessary).
  11. Pull the hose out through the hatch area.

Removal - Gas Flap

  1. Remove the gas flap by removing the two screws holding it to the body of the car.
  2. Using the drill on the inside, drill out the three pop rivets holding the actuator bracket in place.
  3. Remove the actuator and bracket with the remaining rubber connector from the car.

Installation - Hatch

  1. Remove the cargo area lid and make sure the hatch is properly secured.
  2. Lift the passenger-side trunk liner.
  3. Secure the vacuum pump inside the foam container with a length of electrical tape.
  4. Connect one of the rubber connectors and wiring harness to the vacuum pump and place the pump in the rear corner of the car (under washer fluid tank, if applicable). At this time, connect the rubber 'cross' piece to the end of the hose.
  5. Run the vacuum hose across the rear of the car, following the wiring harness for the tail lights. Do the same with the wiring harness for the vacuum pump, inspecting it for tears or rips in the tubing. Patch as necessary.
  6. After running wiring harness and vacuum line to driver-side of the car, attach the vacuum line and wiring harness to body with zip strips.
  7. Thread vacuum line and wiring harness to where they disappear into the back seat and zip strip as necessary.
  8. If not done already, plug vacuum hose into a rubber connector and then into the 'cross' piece.

Installation - Gas Flap

This part will require a little body work to make the gas flap lock work properly. If you elect not to do this, then you'll have to find a way to plug one of the holes on the 'cross' connector.

  1. Install gas flap.
  2. Close gas flap and press hard to make a mark on the body where you'll need to drill the hole.
  3. Drill a hole 1/4" in diameter, using the mark as the center.
  4. Inside the hatch area, pull the passenger side wheel well cover out of the way.
  5. If you look at where the bracket should mount, you should see the holes already pre-drilled. If you elect to use something other than rivets you'll most likely need to resize the holes to your needs.
  6. Line up the bracket and insert the three rivets.
  7. Run a rubber connector from the gas flap actuator to the 'cross' connector.

Installation - Rear Seat Area

  1. Remove the rear seat by unscrewing the two screw in the front and lifting.
  2. Pull wiring harness and vacuum hose underneath rear seat, attaching to tail light wiring harness as necessary.
  3. Run vacuum hose to the center of the car and zip strip there.
  4. Remove black caps holding the carpet in place.
  5. Run the vacuum hose under the carpet, up past the break in the carpet separating the front piece from the back.
  6. Run the wiring harness up the driver side edge of the carpet to the break in the carpet.
  7. Replace the rear seat.

Installation - Front Seat Area

  1. Remove the front seats by removing the bolts with the 10mm wrench and sloted screwdriver. Lift handle and push seat all the back.
  2. Run the vacuum hose up the center of the car (by the emergency brake and shifter) to where the front seat and back seat carpeting meet.
  3. Run the wiring harness along the driver-side of the car up to the fuse box.

    4. Note: You may want to pull up the carpeting to run the harness and hose. Now would be a good time to consider replacing the carpet and checking for leaks along the floor of the car, if necessary.

Installation - Dash & Center Console Area, Pt. 1

  1. Remove the screws holding the driver-side knee trays in place and remove the trays (repeat on passenger-side if necessary).
  2. Remove the black posts holding the under-dash panels underneath both the passenger-side and driver-side of the car. Remove the driver-side panel (the passenger-side panel does not need to be completely removed).
  3. Remove the screw by the shifter holding the center console and the screw on each side of the console.
  4. Run the vacuum hose up through the center console, allowing the end to stick out.
  5. Run the wiring harness up behind the fuse panel.

Installation - Doors

  1. Remove the inner door panels by removing the window crank (if necessary), power mirror switch (if necessary), the door handle, and unscrew the lock knob. Remove the decorative caps and unscrew the screws running around the edge of the door panels (note their position). Carefully pull the bottom of the panel out and lift.
  2. Remove the lock rod and plastic connector.
  3. Remove the door latch mechanism 5mm Allen bolts. Note: It may be wise to have replacement bolts on-hand. It is also possible you may have to drill the bolts out. Remove the latch mechanism.
  4. Insert both rods into the plastic latch sleeve and insert through the outside of the door (so the tabs on either side of the plastic sleeve grip the sides). This will require some adjusting to get the knob rod through the hole.
  5. Attach the actuator (electrical for driver side, vacuum for passenger side) to the rod.
  6. Locate the holes for the actuator at approximately rod-length down and screw actuator into place.
  7. Place the locking mechanism into the sleeve and reattach the mechanism.
  8. Attach the door wiring harness / vacuum line to the actuator and run it the length of the door, zip stripping as necessary (make sure the window still goes up and down).
  9. Running the end of the harness / hose through the rubber boot is tricky and may require you to remove both ends of the boot.
  10. After the harness / hose has been run into the car, you can perform steps 1 and 2 in reverse and put the inner door panel back on.

Installation - Dash & Center Console Area, Pt. 2

  1. Connect the ends of the vacuum hose together inside of the center console (you can now screw the center console back down).
  2. Connect the ends of the wiring harness to the wires on the fuse panel. For the plug style, there may be a small section on the top right (viewed from behind) of the fuse panel where you can attach the wiring harness. If there is not or you do not have the plug style, you will then have to splice into the same coloured wires running behind the fuse panel.
  3. Reattach knee trays and carpet.
  4. Replace both front seats and secure their bolts.

Installation - Hatch

  1. Remove the two screws / bolts holding the hatch latch in place.
  2. Remove bottom trim pieces by turning 'screws' 90° and pushing the pieces towards the inside of the car.
  3. Remove the two screws holding the lock mechanism in place and remove the lock mechanism.
  4. Remove the pin on the back of the lock mechanism while holding the tumbler in (this is necessary if you don't want to have to carry around a separate key for the hatch).
  5. Remove the metal hat on the back of the plunger and slowly let out on the plunger to remove the tumbler.
  6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for the power lock mechanism and replace the tumbler with the original one (it will only go in one way).
  7. Replace the metal hat and pin.
  8. Reattach the lock mechanism to the hatch.
  9. Attach the rod to the actuator and insert into the large hole to the left of the screw holes for the actuator.
  10. Where the hatch hinges, disconnect both ends of the rubber boot on the passenger side.
  11. Run the hose through the rubber boot. There should be bends in the hose to help give you an idea of how the hose is supposed to be run.
  12. Run the hose to the actuator in the hatch (it will be necessary to use a rubber connector to reach from the hose to the actuator).
  13. Attach the rubber connector to the actuator (easiest done by pulling the actuator and rubber connector through the same hole that the actuator was installed through).
  14. Line up the actuator and tighten down screws.
  15. Attach the rod into the plastic holder in the lock mechanism (be careful not to break the plastic holder as the hatch lock will not work without it).
  16. Attach the 's' hook to the lock mechanism.
  17. Attach the 's' hook into the latch mechanism and reattach the latch mechanism to the hatch.
  18. Reinstall the bottom trim pieces.
  19. Run the other ends of the hose down the rear pillar of the car. It may be necessary to curve the hose prior to running it down the pillar.
  20. Reattach both ends of the rubber boot.
  21. Attach a rubber connector to the hose and attach it to the 'cross' piece in the hatch.

Installation - Finishing Up

Test your new power door locks by un/locking the driver side door. If working properly, you will hear the vacuum pump kick on and watch the passenger side lock and unlock correspondingly. Also check the gas flap to make sure the actuator is working properly. The hatch works by leaving the tumbler in the unlocked position at all times.