[gee6]

Thanks for the info. Relay is, of course, a suspect but I could not reconcile with 'work fine'/'doesn't work at all' situation. iirc the icm (which is what I think you replaced) contains multiple physical relays for different functions. These include one for 'lock' and one for 'unlock' as well as tailgate (which also does not work when fob 'fails'). One relay going bad intermittently I could understand.

Internal lights are good although generally switched off while car not being used much. However, that would be an 'always fail' situation

How did you access the relay?

 

[gee6]

Thanks again. There is one common factor - everything goes to the etacs unit. IF that were the problem I'll live with it as it's not worth replacing! Now I n eed it to stop working, so I can check some other factors - such as does it interfere with the manual door switches? I didn't check those yet. Don't you just love intermittent faults

 

[gee6]

Thanks. I did see that video the other day. In the meantime I have convinced myself (?!?) that it is not the ICM. As before, the issue is slightly different to 'won't lock' or 'won't unlock'. Couple of things I have done:

Decided to go through the whole locking system - found passenger door key cylinder partly seized and tailgate cylinder completely seized. (Insert choice of 4-letter word). Passenger door was an easy fix - wd40 and lube. Tailgate not so. Strip interior trim, remove exterior trim, disconnect locking rod & electrics, remove key mechanism.

Cylinder and barrel were totally corroded, to the extent you could not see the wafers in the cylinder. Easter weekend, of course, and attempts to find out if they could be replaced, repaired, etc less than helpful. a few parts on ebay were either complete ign/door/ecu sets (often called 'lost key sets' if anyone is interested) or a single part that was as bad as mine.

So, hours of cleaning with a spark plug brush, soak in wd40, clean with de-greaser, soak in engine oil, heat, soak, clean - and repeat. FInally the cylinder was able to turn in the barrel (just) and, with a little gentle persuasion, they came apart after removing the exterior chrome trim cap from the barrel. (Oh yes, careful not to lose the very tiny spring and flap that are supposed to keep the dirt out.) You do need the key in the cylinder to get them apart AND once apart the key must stay in the cylinder. That way you don't let the wafers (the bits that determine the key code) drop out!!!! (another 4-letter word or 3). After that, I just had to apply some emery paper to the bore and cylinder (rinse & repeat) to get a smooth(ish) action again. Reassembly is the reverse, as they say.

Moral: Don't neglect regular servicing of the little used key lock system.

The other action was to install a battery disconnect switch. As the Sorento does not get a lot of use (and I don't have a coded radio or worry about the clock) I can disconnect the battery fairly easily and not worry about parasitic drain. Plus I can now put the trickle charger leads direct to the battery without the car electrics being involved in any way - just in case that was an issue.

Only time will tell, but so far everything is OK, (been working properly all the time I was fixing the locks) but only driving it will make certain.

 

[gee6]

Q. Do you get ANY active sound from car, either when turning key in drivers door to lock, by pressing reomte?

That sort of depends what sort of mood it is in. If it's not working, then nothing 'active'. If it works, it works!

If yes, squirt wd40 into drivers door key barrel...(cured my same problem)

Read my previous post about cleaning door locks. You obviously got lucky and just needed routine maint.

If not , check fuse or related relay, under bonnet fuse box...all labelled...

Read the post you quoted. The clue is there.

 

[gee6]

Follow up - hopefully the last
After servicing all the key lock cylinders (see earlier) and modifying the trickle charge connections everything seems to be back to normal. Checking the voltages on the disconnected battery I suspect I will need to get a new charge controller for the solar panel.