Broadway EL external locker lock

We've had the Broadway for 3 months now. We had difficulty unlocking the external locker at the showroom, but they greased the locks, and although they were still hard to open, we did manage it. And continued to do so for a couple of months. Then one day, as I tried to lock the locker, the entire lock assembly on one side came straight out with the key in it. As a result we're now locked out of the external locker. I've tried to get the lock assembly back into the hole, but I can't get it to stay there, and still can't unlock that side of the locker.

Has anybody else had this problem? Any suggestions on how to unlock the side of the locker with the lock assembly missing would be greatly appreciated. If we can manage to open the locker, we might be able to see what has gone wrong inside, and either fix or replace the locks. Not to mention retrieve the levelling blocks and some other things trapped in there!

Hopefully you have some form of warranty that can be called upon especially as the dealer had knowledge of this particular problem at point of sale? Regards.

can you access the locker from inside the van? is it underbed?
if so, just reach in and slide back the catch(es) and the locker door should open....
then you can have an easier look at fitting the lock barrel back in...
failing that, there might be some thin plastic 'rods' that hold the hinges together (we had these on our old Bolero) which you might be able to slide out?
good luck.

Is it the push button type of lock or the turn type ? If it’s the turn type and the barrell has come out you might be able to get a screwdriver into the housing and turn the lock.

If its the one where you just turn a key, its the same as the ones we had in the Windsor.  When it came out I gave the lock a very good clean and light machine oil then replaced it. Dont know if this was good luck but it never came out again and worked fine.

It's the turn type. We're going away with it for the weekend. When I get it this evening I'll have a look and see if the screwdriver trick will work. Interesting to see that we're not the first people this has happened to.

If it's any help for the future, ours have always been iffy.

I've found that the key needs to be jiggled a bit to make sure it is inserted fully into the lock, then it works quite well.

Ours has never fallen out, but the screwdriver trick would be my first thought too. With a powerful torch you may be able to see into the hole well enough to decide if it will work.

One other thought . . . it could be worth the hassle of parking on a steep slope with the locker door on the high side. Then give the top of the door a few good smacks with the palm of your hand. The stuff inside the locker can move around on a journey and foul the locking lever, preventing it from turning. A good smack should knock it away so you have a better chance of success.

Yes, very easy to get stuff fouling the lock inside. 

Again, if it’s the same type as described above, the locking bit is a flat turning lever. Pushing the locker lid in may relieve some of the pressure and make it a bit easier to move the locking lever inside (assuming you can get to it).

Thanks for the replies. I had a look into the hole, and it was in fact easy to get a screwdriver in there and unlock the cover manually. However no amount of fiddling around would persuade the lock to go all the way back in. It looks as though it's the tumbler furthest back that is stopping it, and whilst my key retracts all of the other ones, that far tumbler stubbornly refuses to budge. Elsewhere somebody pointed out that the dealer will have a special key that will retract all of the tumblers. Come to think of it, I think he removed the locks to give them a good grease when we had problems with them during the demo, so the dealer obviously has that key. For the time being I can lock and unlock that side with a screwdriver.

Id does seem a pain to travel 60 miles there and back for something so trivial (if you have the correct key), but as the fridge now seems to have given up the ghost as well, I may be forced to make that journey anyway. (The fridge isn't showing any error messages, but isn't cooling down at all. Maybe it's like me and can't stand the heat. We didn't have any problem with it until yesterday.)

UPDATE: The fridge worked again once we got home. Probably due to a sloping pitch.

You need to red removal/insertion key, which depresses the rearmost pins, used to lock the barrel in the housing.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zadi-Vecam-Caravan-Motorhome-Door-Lock-Barrel-Red-Removal-Key-Tool-PO388-/173160901907?clk_rvr_id=1598684151594&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=twenga&utm_campaign=twenga&utm_param=eyJlcyI6MCwicyI6OTcyMDIzNywiY2kiOiIwMzA1OThhNDE1NjYzYzRjYzYxNjNkMjhlMWZlYTdlMCIsImkiOiI0NTg1NjExMzAzNzkxOTg1OTUwIiwidHMiOjE1MzE2NjIxODMsInYiOjMsInNvIjoxNTAwLCJjIjo3NjA2Nn0%3D&rmvSB=true

One on order. Thanks!

I would not use grease on locks particularly in that location, any dirt or grit gets stuck in the grease and wears the lock mechanism. I use a dry powder graphite lubricant, comes in puffer pack and just squirt it into the lock and then operate the lock a few times to work it in.

Mike

Mike beat me to it, powdered graphite, never grease. Surprised dealer greased it.

Wow! Never thought I'd beat you to a post Paul!!  

Mike

Mike187 wrote:Wow! Never thought I'd beat you to a post Paul!!  

Mike

It happens, I'll get over it !

Well the key arrived. Now I have to figure out how it works. I did see a YouTube video on another forum which gives instructions. But it's a bit too hot for my frazzled brain to work it out at the moment. Until I get my brain round it, I can lock and unlock it with a screwdriver.

If you put the key into the lock barrel it retracts the end pins allowing the barrel to be inserted into the housing. Removing the key releases the end pins and locks the barrel in place.

When I inserted the red key - with difficulty - it didn't retract the inmost pin, so the lock couldn't be fully inserted. And the key only came out again with a very firm pull.

As I say, I don't fully understand how the key is supposed to work. The video seems to suggest that you insert the lock with the red key in the "unlock" position - which will not be all the way - then replace the red key with the actual key and turn to lock. Somehow it claims that this will cause the lock to become fully inserted. This is the bit I can't get my brain around at the moment.

This is a link to the video I'm talking about:

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/zadi-vecam-lock-barrel-replacement-guide-rapido.131143/