Morris Minor Owners Club

Don't know what heading this should be under, if at all!

I've just successfully fitted a £20 ebay remote central locking kit to Molly, my Traveller, and am dead chuffed with it!
These systems are designed to work on the modern type of car doors which tend to have a vertical locking "button" to push/pull. Obviously the Minor has no such mechanism, and investigating inside the door panel it was apparent that no handy part of the lock could be accessed.

I have overcome this by using the solenoids to actuate simple domestic door bolts which in turn interact with an M5 screw fitted in a hole drilled in the rod running to the internal door release. When the doorbolt is clear of the M5 screw, you can operate the door release. When the solenoid pushes the bolt into the path of the screw sliding past it, you can't open the door from inside or outside! A similar principle was adopted on the tailgate upper latch rod, by crossdrilling the rod in a suitable position.

I appreciate that the use of domestic doorbolts is something that no motor company would ever contemplate using anywhere on a car (hold on, though....), but it works exceedingly well, and using remote locking then opens the way for keyless use. After all- you have all fitted ignition immobiliser switches, haven't you?, so why bother with an ignition key!!

By making this locking mechanism seperate to the existing door locks means that even if the vehicle is entered, by breaking a window or unscrewing the tailgate hinges, you would be unable to open the doors from inside without dismantling the door, and if you don't know what you are looking for anyway then this becomes a deterrent to casual theft!

Ultimately, if someone wants to steal your car they will, but I feel this is head and shoulders above the security of the standard locks, especially after 40 odd years!
The obvious criticism is what happens if the battery goes flat? Having given this some thought, I sited the control unit in the engine compartment. If the worst happens it is possible to open the bonnet from outside (no details!). The control unit has a live and earth feed which could easily be "jumped" whilst you are "jumping" the battery. If the control unit packs up, the feeds to the door solenoids are directly accessible also!

Oh, the joy of walking back laden with shopping, and opening the tailgate as you approach the car <br><br><br><br><br><br>
Sorry about the paintwork quality on the door panels, out of sight, out of mind!<br><br>

Interesting ! So - are the locks spring loaded closed - and only energised when you want them to be unlocked ? Does this mean they have to remain energised all the time they are unlocked - or are they flip-flop style ie - they need energising to lock (and then remain locked without any power) until they are again energised briefly to unlock (and reamin unlocked etc ) ??

bmcecosse wrote:Interesting ! So - are the locks spring loaded closed - and only energised when you want them to be unlocked ? Does this mean they have to remain energised all the time they are unlocked - or are they flip-flop style ie - they need energising to lock (and then remain locked without any power) until they are again energised briefly to unlock (and reamin unlocked etc ) ??

They are flip-flop- the control unit sends a pulse to actuate, and a reverse polarity pulse to de-actuate. Simple, powerful solenoids, no current drain, no hidden springs, no clockwork override!

Sorry to call them solenoids, they are actually motor driven racks with about 1" throw, but their operation is more akin to a solenoid than a motor! Lovely heavy "thunk" when they operate, just like a modernish system. Oh and if you stuck a couple of cheap relays next to the feeds, it would flash your indicators as well!

Nice job.
I'd assumed people meant the bolts would act directly between door and post when they suggested deadbolts.

I recently bought a similar system and had been planning to use bell cranks or some such to operate the inside handles in the 'normal' way.

Needs another approach for the drivers door though and your system would be ideal.

Nice one!

yes MarkyB, that's what I thought, entirely seperate to the usual locking mechanism.

This way it locks the door opening mechanism, not the door. (/pedant mode!) It's a very cunning plan.

Looks really good, how strong is it?

Andrew

very clever indeed.. off to flebay now!

eastona wrote:Nice one!

Looks really good, how strong is it?

Andrew

Stronger than the leverage available by the handle! As I said, if someone wants to pinch your car they will, and considering the general security levels of any old car, the inability to a/ open the door from outside, and b/ open it once you have climbed in by other means, ie locked in the car you are stealing, is probably quite a good deterrent!

The term deadlock was explained to me by a locksmith as locking a lock, ie making it inoperable by a means other than the primary one. Maybe that's wrong, but I'm not worried what the definition is, just the effect

Very good point about not opening from the inside.
No breaking a quarter light or other window for easy access to the interior of the car.
Much better than my idea in terms of security.
Though mine would be more of a spectacle.

If the car battery dies, or any other fault caused loss of electricity to the circuit, how do you gain access? Is it possible to pop the bonnet from outside the car in order to change the battery?

MarkyB wrote:Very good point about not opening from the inside.
No breaking a quarter light or other window for easy access to the interior of the car.
Much better than my idea in terms of security.
Though mine would be more of a spectacle.

Was that by any chance the connecting mains voltage up to the steering wheel??

A silly, silly idea

But....how about connecting a second ht coil, fed from the contact breaker, to the steering wheel, so when you start the engine.....

Steve- As I explained initially, yes, that is why I mounted the control unit under the bonnet!
Not permitted to tell you how to open the bonnet for security reasons, but it wouldn't take much investigating of the mechanism to work it out.
I'm guessing that anyone mechanically capable of making and fitting this locking system would be able to figure it out! (no offence intended!)

I'm not worried what the definition is

no, me neither really

A cracking idea. Stand by for a flood of copycats.

Unfortunately (for me)Mrs E saw it and also thought it was a good idea.

Andrew
(adding it to the long list of traveller jobs)

Tech tip of the year!!
Mods, can you make this a 'sticky'?

ingenious!

Are these solonoids (or motors) powerful enough to open the boot?

dp wrote:Are these solonoids (or motors) powerful enough to open the boot?

Tried rigging one up to a spring balance, seems to be in the order of 2lb pull, but rather difficult to judge without a proper jig!

I dont know if your rods are the same as ours bu if i stop the internal rod moving with my hand the outside handle still operates as per normal because the internal rod has a slot in it at the lock.

How have you overcome this

Libbor

libbor wrote:I dont know if your rods are the same as ours bu if i stop the internal rod moving with my hand the outside handle still operates as per normal because the internal rod has a slot in it at the lock.

How have you overcome this

Libbor

Yes there is a slot in the rod, and yes this allows the outside handle to move when the rod is locked, but not sufficiently to operate the door lock on mine, or two others I have now done! Afraid I can't comment on yours if it is excessive, maybe shortening the slot a little will acheive the desired result! Thanks for your interest and feedback

Excellent idea! Can you make the indicators flash when you lock/unlock?

How about cars with trafficators? Can you make them pop in and out when you lock/unlock?

On a serious note. A Great idea