Help! - Extremely Stiff Door Lock on Senator Carolina

[Brian_374234561]

Hi everyone
The lock on our 2009 Carolina has become ridiculously stiff, to the point where the key broke away from the key holder itself. No damage to the lock, but I'm now worried about opening the caravan in case it does break - any ideas on how to fix this? A friend has suggested using a teflon type spray to lubricate it as it's all plastic. The stiffness is from the inside of the door where you turn the level from locked to open.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
Thanks
Brian

 

[TINHUTONWHEELS]

Hi Brian
We had a simular fault with the door handle on our Swift. Ended up taking the whole door lock mechanism off and dismantle it so the offending shaft and housing could be filled and sand papered. Ours for some reason went oval ??? as the whole lock mechanism is plastic it does'nt take much to distort the shaft.
Hope this is of help
Kev...

 

[birdman101]

I had excactly same on my Bailey GT60.and done the same as TINHUTONWHEELS. Lubrication makes it worse,it is a common complaint with this manufacture of lock,lots of people on other forums have even had them replaced, but within a few months have had the problem again.I eased mine 2 years ago and been trouble free since.

 

[Damian]

Hello Brian,
There is a simple way to fix the Hartal door lock :
1/ Using the point of a Stanley knife blade prise off the circular red and green plastic screw covers and the grey cover with Hartal written on it
2/ remove the four retaining screws and separate the lock from the caravan door.
3/ On a worktop or bench turn the lock assembly over and remove the circlip and double spring clip to release the locking handle from the lock assembly.
4/Use a round file or sandpaper to slightly enlarge the hole so that the handle moves freely.
5/Add a smear of silicone grease and reverse the procedure.
After the reassembled lock is refitted to the caravan door the handle will move freely and give no more trouble

 

[Dustydog]

Brian
I fully agree with Damien. Our Wyoming had the same problem. In fact we got locked out!!
I did the Damien mod, but so well the lever inside became so loose it could self lock.
In the end my dealer admitted Hartal had a problem and a new lock was fitted. No problems since. Back in th annals of history this problem has been well versed on here .
http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/technical/hartal-door-lock
http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/general/hartal-door-lock

 

[Brian_374234561]

woohoo all sorted! thanks for the tip, worked a treat. To sand the plastic barrel, I wrapped sandpaper around a large drill bit and put it into my drill - sanded it in no time

Thanks again,

Brian

 

[Damian]

Glad you sorted it out OK.
Like a lot of things, once you know how to sort a problem it can usually be done with minimal disruption and wasted costly visits to your dealer.