Technical Driver door not locking post window regulator replacement

[Neracles]

Hello, I acquired a 2008 Fiat Panda a few months ago, and had been made aware by the previous owner of the driver side window not working. I got an aftermarket window regulator and replaced it myself (there was a bit of wood propping the window up from the owner's initial self repair attempt). I managed to install it bar the bolt not aligning with the larger hole on position 1 on the diagram attached (the aftermarket window regulator is more vertical and uses the same hole for the bottom part of the regulator at position 2, but another larger hole for position 1 which doesn't allow the screw part of the regulator frame to poke out enough for a bolt to be able to be screwed on). This part about the window regulator not screwing in fully isn't the main issue, but I thought I'd mention if if anyone has any experience with aftermarket window regulator replacements on fiat pandas.

So when it came to putting the door card back on, the driver side door handle on the inside of the car still worked, but wouldn't lock when the central locking button was pressed (central locking would try to lock, detect the driver door was "open" and unlock again). The handle was not as springy as the other driver doors too, and would remain in the position it was left in. I was able to push the handle in towards the door card however and it would manually lock the door from the inside, so I would be able to lock the car this way (by locking the driver door from the inside, getting out from the passenger side and then locking all other doors by the key fob via central locking).

I attempted to dismantle the internal door handle to see if the latch was catching, etc, and found that where the wire is a bit bent towards the wooden part of the door card in the picture attached, the wire is frayed, as I've tried to illustrate. Mechanically the door handle works fine to open and close, but after I put the handle back on and re- attached the door card once again, the internal door handle can't manually be closed by pushing it towards the door card (exposing the red square on the handle). I suspect it's likely due to the door assembly and motor itself working, but the frayed wire not functioning. I am unsure about whether I should buy and install a new lock assembly, if this would fix the issue?
Alternatively, I wouldn't mind removing the driver door from the central locking, and locking it by key, whilst I can unlock the other doors by key fob, but I don't know how to do this - any advice and/or schematics would be greatly appreciated!

Alternatively, if this might be a difficult job, or require specialist knowledge/tools (as I'm no mechanic, fixing the window regulator is my first foray into fixing anything in a car), would it be easier/more feasible to completely disable the central locking and unlock by key only? And if so, how would this be done?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

In my opinion the frayed cable is the cause of the problem, as it can't operate freely in both directions.

I'd say the easiest would be replacing the cable.

I don't know what the Panda mk 3 is, I assumed it's the Nuova Panda produced between 2003 and 2009, which should be correct as you put 2008 as the production year of your car.

If so, that should be the correct diagram and part number (number 4 I think):

70129/00 - SIDE FRONT DOORS

FIAT NUOVA PANDA (2003-2009)

eper.fiatforum.com

 

[Neracles]

Hello,

In my opinion the frayed cable is the cause of the problem, as it can't operate freely in both directions.

I'd say the easiest would be replacing the cable.

I don't know what the Panda mk 3 is, I assumed it's the Nuova Panda produced between 2003 and 2009, which should be correct as you put 2008 as the production year of your car.

If so, that should be the correct diagram and part number (number 4 I think):

70129/00 - SIDE FRONT DOORS

FIAT NUOVA PANDA (2003-2009)

eper.fiatforum.com

Hello!

Thank you very much for your insight! Do you think something like the black cable from this would suffice:

FIAT PANDA 2004-2012 DOOR LOCK ASSEMBLY Front Door Lock Assy w/o Remote Central | eBay

2009 FIAT PANDA 5 Door Hatchback Door Lock Assembly 51917880 2004-2012. FIAT PANDA Petrol 999999 Miles. 2009 51917880 Front Door Lock Assy w/o Remote Central Locking Right 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12. Details are from the car the part was removed from.

www.ebay.co.uk

(Not to advertise anything, if this is against the rules).

 

[the green vanper]

Looking at the diagram and the part number from your link I'd say no, this lock won't work.

If you check the diagram description there are 4 locks for the right hand side front door:

You should look for GD + E008 options (the description appears when you move the mouse over the circled i letter). If you buy it, you would need to take the cable out and use it with your lock. The one from the ebay link does not have the remote locking control system (E008).

Use the VIN of your Panda to look for the correct parts on the forum online ePER. You should be more sure that the part would work.

The default settings hide the part numbers that are not compatible with the VIN car, but you can see them if you voluntarily click the option.

Double check and confirm the compatibility before placing the order.

 

[Neracles]

Looking at the diagram and the part number from your link I'd say no, this lock won't work.

If you check the diagram description there are 4 locks for the right hand side front door:

View attachment 449841

You should look for GD + E008 options (the description appears when you move the mouse over the circled i letter). If you buy it, you would need to take the cable out and use it with your lock. The one from the ebay link does not have the remote locking control system (E008).

Use the VIN of your Panda to look for the correct parts on the forum online ePER. You should be more sure that the part would work.

The default settings hide the part numbers that are not compatible with the VIN car, but you can see them if you voluntarily click the option.

Double check and confirm the compatibility before placing the order.

I greatly appreciate your tutelage green vanper! I used ePER and compared the VIN of the vehicle this part below has come from, and it appears to have the same remote controlled locking system (E008) code as my Panda, though no manufacturer part number is listed in the advert. Would this mean this is the correct part, if I am using the VIN correctly?

FIAT PANDA 2004-2012 DOOR LOCK ASSEMBLY Front Door Lock Assy w/Remote Central Lo | eBay

2008 FIAT PANDA 5 Door Hatchback Door Lock Assembly 2004-2012. FIAT PANDA Diesel 163403 Miles. 2008 Front Door Lock Assy w/Remote Central Locking Right 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12. Details are from the car the part was removed from.

www.ebay.co.uk

Thank you very much for all your help btw green vanper, I didn't know about parts classification and using VIN prior to this.

 

[the green vanper]

The manufacturer part number is printed on the factory paper sticker with a barcode + on the housing. Strange it's not the same part number: the label says 51826978 and the ink print on the housing says 51826979. The first one in unknown to ePER. But the second one is there. The ePER says it has been replaced by part number 51917888:

51826979 - LOCK | FIAT ePER - Online spare parts catalogue

eper.fiatforum.com

The ink printing says also SX, in which S stands for sinistra (left in Italian) describing the driving side (contrary to DX - destra). In ePER it is represented by GS/GSX (guida sinistra) or GD/GDX (guida destra). When you look at the first diagram I posted yesterday you will find this part number described as the left hand side door handle (LH) and strangely GD (driving seat side right hand drive). Which is totally confusing. Guida can be understood as steering wheel, but also the side of the road on which we drive...

I'm really confused right now. The car with a steering wheel on the right is ment to be used in a left hand side traffic (as in the UK).
The car with a steering wheel on the left is ment to be used in a right hand side traffic (as in continental Europe).

@Wiltshire Chris, can you please explain how SX/DX and GS/GD should be understood in ePER?

My van is a right hand side traffic van with a steering wheel on the left hand side and is described correctly in ePER as GSX (guida sinistra), so I assume the guida is relating to the steering wheel position in the car / van.

@Neracles you can check with your car's VIN number, Start a search by VIN, then in List of vehicle details you should see a hyperlink at the bottom:

When you click on the hyperlink, it will open the parts list with a description in the 2nd line. The side is at the end:

Leaving this aside and again based on the forum ePER, the 51917888 doesn't have the remote central locking

But the seller label with the QR code says on its bottom: with remote

​

As a supplementary information I will also add that the factory label (with the barcode) states also the coded model number (169). And the same number should be present in the VIN as the first three digits after the coded manufacturer represented by three letters (ZFA169xxx).

EDIT: one more thing: you could think how the driving position could affect the lock functionnality. The answer is easy: usually only the driver's side door has a 'master' lock installed. It's more expensive than the passenger's side door lock, so the manufacturers usually put only one of them. It has a possibility to manage / steer the other locks if central locking is present.

 

[Neracles]

The manufacturer part number is printed on the factory paper sticker with a barcode + on the housing. Strange it's not the same part number: the label says 51826978 and the ink print on the housing says 51826979. The first one in unknown to ePER. But the second one is there. The ePER says it has been replaced by part number 51917888:

51826979 - LOCK | FIAT ePER - Online spare parts catalogue

eper.fiatforum.com

The ink printing says also SX, in which S stands for sinistra (left in Italian) describing the driving side (contrary to DX - destra). In ePER it is represented by GS/GSX (guida sinistra) or GD/GDX (guida destra). When you look at the first diagram I posted yesterday you will find this part number described as the left hand side door handle (LH) and strangely GD (driving seat side right hand drive). Which is totally confusing. Guida can be understood as steering wheel, but also the side of the road on which we drive...

I'm really confused right now. The car with a steering wheel on the right is ment to be used in a left hand side traffic (as in the UK).
The car with a steering wheel on the left is ment to be used in a right hand side traffic (as in continental Europe).

@Wiltshire Chris, can you please explain how SX/DX and GS/GD should be understood in ePER?

My van is a right hand side traffic van with a steering wheel on the left hand side and is described correctly in ePER as GSX (guida sinistra), so I assume the guida is relating to the steering wheel position in the car / van.

@Neracles you can check with your car's VIN number, Start a search by VIN, then in List of vehicle details you should see a hyperlink at the bottom:

View attachment 449896
When you click on the hyperlink, it will open the parts list with a description in the 2nd line. The side is at the end:

View attachment 449895

Leaving this aside and again based on the forum ePER, the 51917888 doesn't have the remote central locking

But the seller label with the QR code says on its bottom: with remote

​

As a supplementary information I will also add that the factory label (with the barcode) states also the coded model number (169). And the same number should be present in the VIN as the first three digits after the coded manufacturer represented by three letters (ZFA169xxx).

EDIT: one more thing: you could think how the driving position could affect the lock functionnality. The answer is easy: usually only the driver's side door has a 'master' lock installed. It's more expensive than the passenger's side door lock, so the manufacturers usually put only one of them. It has a possibility to manage / steer the other locks if central locking is present.

This is more comprehensive guidance and information than I could ever have hoped to receive, I am very humbled and grateful green vanper!

I'm also unsure about why the part has SX in place of DX to denote the right hand side, though as you've said, the seller description states it is from the right driver side, and the VIN of the Panda this part is from matches with the remote controlled locking system code of my Panda's VIN (E008), as well as E228 for electric door locking. Not sure why the manufacturer part numbers are changed around too, though based on VIN and seller description, this part looks to be a fit, if I'm understanding correctly?
Also not to overstate but thank you for taking the time to provide such comprehensive guidance green vanper, this was very educational, as I have not looked for parts or done many repair jobs before!

 

[the green vanper]

I'm glad I could help

And I agree, looking only at the information provided by the seller, this lock should fit your car In a worst scenario, you will just replace only the cable

 

[koalar]

Sitting in the driving seat

SX, Left Hand Drive
DX, Right Hand Drive

SN, Left side of the car
DS,Right side of the car

A quick Google search

GD,RHD
GS, LHD.

As with a lot of things with this car different sellers discribe thing differently


MK2 and MK3 for the same 169 panda is common


ePer pretty good, if you hover over the i is normally says LHD or RHD if it matters

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

@Wiltshire Chris, can you please explain how SX/DX and GS/GD should be understood in ePER?

I'll have a check when I get a chance, the whole left side right side thing is something I want to do better in openPer when I get the chance. Unfortunately I'm a bit time deprived at the minute as we've had a run of family emergencies. Wrestling with the ePer database will be a pleasant distraction when the opportunity arises!