RFU rescues a Rover 620ti - Bodywork done!

5,724 · June 2

@RoverFolkUs If it fits and solves your problem, excellent. @Wibble can claim the pint if he meets you first. His comment about some Vauxhall / Opel commonality set me on the Honda train of thought.

8,529 · June 2

54 minutes ago, RayMK said:

@RoverFolkUs If it fits and solves your problem, excellent. @Wibble can claim the pint if he meets you first. His comment about some Vauxhall / Opel commonality set me on the Honda train of thought.

Cheers Ray, it’s yours. I was about to suggest Honda but you beat me to it 🙂

21,392 · June 5

This looks handy...

Looks like a match!

Shiny!

And evil amber glow of doom be-gone!

Happy

8,529 · June 5

Result!👍

16,291 · June 5

1 hour ago, RoverFolkUs said:

This looks handy...

Looks like a match!

Shiny!

And evil amber glow of doom be-gone!

Happy

As I was driving home tonight in the XM, the thought went through my mind that a normal* person probably doesn't find driving a car with all the warning lights out a novel experience. I then spent a half hour hoping that a light didn't come on and ruin my enjoyment of a peaceful dashboard.

Well done for getting it sorted! I caught up on this thread the other night, you've done a brilliant job with this car.

21,392 · June 16

The bloody central locking system has bitten the dust again

It started off by not responding to the remote key fob again. Unlocked the driver's door using the key barrel, central locking didn't operate and it set the alarm off.

Drove off, alarm started going off again while driving. Then went off by itself

Parked up, disconnected battery, left for 10 minutes. Reconnected, still faulty (last time this resolved it)

Once again the driver's door locked with the key, but the others remained unlocked. Upon unlocking, the alarm went off again.

From the third attempt onwards, everything is completely dead. Driver's door locks and unlocks, but central locking doesn't work. The alarm doesn't even go off now.

I'm wondering if the switch within the driver's door lock assembly could be faulty? (Not the door ajar switch, the one which tells all the other doors to lock when the drivers door is locked) - I don't think this would explain the inoperative fob but it might explain the central locking.

I've contemplated fitting a universal central locking system from eBay, but I would prefer not to have wires running everywhere. Other option is to tap into the wiring loom from the existing control module and utilise the existing locking motors, but this just feels really bodge-like.

I've checked the HBOL and the only things in common on the central locking system are the control module and the driver's lock assembly.

I think I've checked all the fuses for the central locking/alarm ECU and they're all intact. I'll have to verify power is getting to the relevant pins at the ECU, but as far as I understand the alarm ECU is technically a comfort ECU which also controls the windows, which are working fine.

Remote key fob aside, I can't see any other reason the central locking wouldn't operate even if the remote aspect has packed up,

If the control module has borked, I can get a second hand one online relatively cheaply but I'm then probably going to have to send it off to a specialist to pair a new fob to it as the current fob won't work with it

Joy

June 17

Had a similar experience with our Rover 416 Tourer, turned out to be the offside rear door 'light' switch i.e the one that makes the interior lights come on when opened ... replaced switch - normal service resumed !

28,467 · June 17

I'd also be very, very carefully inspecting the loom where it goes through into the driver's door. Broken/chafed/shorted wires in there could cause all sorts of havoc.

11,728 · June 17

A client had a McLaren , went to move it and it decided it was being stolen and the windows went up , and it dead locked him in , and imobilised the car ! Luckily he had his phone , so called McLaren... and they unlocked it by wi fi or something so he could escape ... They came and took it away , and took quite a while to fix it and bring it back ..Suppose it was on fire ? Or a really hot day ... or freezing cold ...and you didn't have a phone ....you'd die !

2,063 · June 17

17 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

The bloody central locking system has bitten the dust again

It started off by not responding to the remote key fob again. Unlocked the driver's door using the key barrel, central locking didn't operate and it set the alarm off.

Drove off, alarm started going off again while driving. Then went off by itself

Parked up, disconnected battery, left for 10 minutes. Reconnected, still faulty (last time this resolved it)

Once again the driver's door locked with the key, but the others remained unlocked. Upon unlocking, the alarm went off again.

From the third attempt onwards, everything is completely dead. Driver's door locks and unlocks, but central locking doesn't work. The alarm doesn't even go off now.

I'm wondering if the switch within the driver's door lock assembly could be faulty? (Not the door ajar switch, the one which tells all the other doors to lock when the drivers door is locked) - I don't think this would explain the inoperative fob but it might explain the central locking.

I've contemplated fitting a universal central locking system from eBay, but I would prefer not to have wires running everywhere. Other option is to tap into the wiring loom from the existing control module and utilise the existing locking motors, but this just feels really bodge-like.

I've checked the HBOL and the only things in common on the central locking system are the control module and the driver's lock assembly.

I think I've checked all the fuses for the central locking/alarm ECU and they're all intact. I'll have to verify power is getting to the relevant pins at the ECU, but as far as I understand the alarm ECU is technically a comfort ECU which also controls the windows, which are working fine.

Remote key fob aside, I can't see any other reason the central locking wouldn't operate even if the remote aspect has packed up,

If the control module has borked, I can get a second hand one online relatively cheaply but I'm then probably going to have to send it off to a specialist to pair a new fob to it as the current fob won't work with it

Joy

I watched this the other day and thought of this thread:

https://youtu.be/nj-jFnwbE7Q?si=TwN6B32dRjqyRv0u

42,425 · June 17

3 hours ago, Christine said:

Suppose it was on fire ? Or a really hot day ... or freezing cold ...and you didn't have a phone ....you'd die !

That's exactly why I chose a 26 year old Avensis over a McLaren.

Safety first, and all that.

1,822 · June 17

The door switches do cause problems but i don't think they affect the alarm, just stop the interior light from coming on.

But the central locking was very troublesome on them, i think there is a module in the boot near the aerial that controls the remote part of the central locking, you used to have to replace that and the remote with a second hand one, good luck finding one now though.

Edited June 17 by camryv6
Let's see how many people pick up on grammar mistakes and spelling mistakes ?

21,392 · June 23

I've put the central locking on the back burner for now, I've already got used to locking and unlocking it the "old school" way 😅

Now the weather is a bit warmer, I've decided to have another go at tackling the bodywork.

Went to a specialist paint suppliers and gave them the fuel filler flap to help match up something better than the previous cans I was supplied elsewhere.

I found a high spot on the nearside, to the left of the fuel filler flap, which explains the awful finish I had previously. Not sure how I didn't notice it before, although admittedly I was rushing around prior to the MOT trying to get it road legal and out of the way. This is warpage from where I'd welded in the new panel. I gave it a gentle* and precise** love tap with a rubber mallet which nicely popped the panel back to create a low spot I can rectify with filler.

Is this ideal? Of course not. But I'm doing this with a spend of about £50-60 so my expectations are minimal.

There was a horrible low spot on the offside, just above where the bumper finishes before the arch itself. I think I've levelled it adequately with a skim of filler, and I've now smoothed it off ready for a coat of high build primer tomorrow.

21,392 · June 26

Spent a fair bit of time on the offside trying to get it smooth and level.

Layered up with high build primer, it's looking much better. Not perfect when you look close, but I'd say 90%. Which is actually better than the rest of the car anyway.

Gave it an initial dusting of base coat and the colour match looked a lot more promising this time.

Applied the final coat of base coat

And then lacquered up. I'm much happier with the colour match! Top marks to this paint supplier for getting it this close. (Ignore the white reflection in the middle of the panel)

That'll be ready for a wet sand and polish tomorrow

Turned attention to the nearside:

There's quite a bit of panel warpage here unfortunately so combined with my questionable filler skills, it's proven a bit challenging.

My final attempt. Much better than it was previously. I decided to give it some high build primer at this point.

I'm not totally happy with the finish here, there are a few impressions in the filler which I don't think the high build primer is able to deal with. I'm probably going to end up rubbing it back and trying again.

Tried another layer of primer and I'm still not totally happy. I'll decide tomorrow on whether to give it some base coat or rub it back and do another skim of filler.

The grazes on the front bumper were bugging me, rubbed them back with 120 grit sandpaper, to make them flush with the bumper surface. Skimmed the gouges with filler then smoothed it all off with 400 grit.

Gave it a localised dusting of base coat. Much better! It would probably benefit from another dusting but I'm very happy with this for the minimal effort required.

That's all for today, just a bit more to go tomorrow and over the weekend and hopefully it'll be looking much better and I'll finally put the sill covers back on!

8,529 · June 26

Great work, very impressive and, as I’ve said before, when can I book in the Senny?🤣

You have too many skills to leave the trade and I hope something comes up soon that lights your fire again.

21,392 · June 29

Reconvened by wet sanding and polishing and offside quarter

And then a few coats of base coat on the nearside.

While I had the bumper off I thought I might as well do something about the cracked paint

And scuffs

Didn't go totally overboard, just rubbed it back and dusted a coat of base coat on it. Didn't bother lacquering it, was just looking for an easy improvement

It's not perfect, but nor is the car.

Lacquered, wet sand and polished the nearside quarter.

And here's the final result!

(Yes, rookie error, I forgot to paint the fuel flap 😂😂, I'll do that another time if it bothers me enough)

Finally refitted the side skirts and gave the car a wash, then followed up with a machine polish all over. I'd say I'm pretty pleased with how good it looks now! The paint match on the rear quarter panels is nearly spot on. I've still not done an absolutely perfect job but I'd say it's about 90%. Not bad considering I'm only using rattle cans

The worst areas are now the bonnet and roof, the rest of the car is relatively ok considering it's age. The paint seems to have gone all crazed, there was a tiny improvement after using the machine polish but realistically I think it's too far gone and needs at least sanding back, or simply repainting.

Compared to what I started with - the wrong colour and questionable filler work!

21,392 · June 29

On 26/06/2025 at 22:58, Wibble said:

Great work, very impressive and, as I’ve said before, when can I book in the Senny?🤣

You have too many skills to leave the trade and I hope something comes up soon that lights your fire again.

Thank you, if I was doing this sort of work for a customer I'd spend far too long on it for what I'm getting paid to do the job trying to make it perfect 😂

8,529 · June 29

1 minute ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Thank you, if I was doing this sort of work for a customer I'd spend far too long on it for what I'm getting paid to do the job trying to make it perfect 😂

Precisely why I’d want you to do my Senator🤣

June 30

Paint looks great, top job.

8,920 · June 30

She's looking better with every updated great stuff!

13,747 · June 30

You?

8,529 · June 30

1 minute ago, stuboy said:

You?

Different wheels on that I think.

21,392 · June 30

14 minutes ago, stuboy said:

You?

Not me, that one has a spoiler which mine doesn't yet have fitted, although will soon

12 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Different wheels on that I think.

Well observed!

21,392 · Thursday at 14:58

Finally had a chance to investigate the central locking which has been inoperable for a few weeks now, first I pulled the driver's door panel off as this was my prime suspect area.

There's a micro switch behind the outer door handle which gets operated by that eccentric cam on the back of the key barrel. I tugged on the wire and and fiddled with the position of the switch, lo and behold the central locking starts working on the key again! Very happy.

The remote fob is still dead as a dodo, but I think I can live without this. There's a service online to get a new one supplied and paired to the central locking module, but this is around £100 and feels like an unnecessary expense. They were always prone to failing so I think I'll just leave it at the moment.

Did a bit of research and found a replacement new old stock microswitch for £15, ready for when it invariably will decide to play up again

Ordered.

Next up was the electric retractable aerial. The one that was fitted to the car when I acquired it simply hummed away but didn't do anything. I replaced it with another unit from a breaker, but it soon stopped working again.

Ah, that might be why...

I found another 600 being broken and asked for the aerial mechanism. The seller said it was broken but I'd be welcome to it for the cost of postage.

I found it was in much better condition, in fact it looked like a relatively new replacement part, but the aerial itself was broken. Crucially, when I plugged it in, I could here the motor running, so I knew I should have enough spares between these 2 units to make a working one.

Stripped my old unit down and extracted the aerial from the motor/gearbox and transplanted it into the donor unit.

Forgot to take a picture, but I now have a working aerial

I love fixes like this.

I still have the 3rd aerial unit which was working electronically so I may be able to make another good spare unit between that and the water damaged one.

3,583 · Thursday at 16:48

we neeedz spoiler pix!!

21,392 · Thursday at 16:58

9 minutes ago, bezzabsa said:

we neeedz spoiler pix!!

Haven't got around to painting it yet, watch this space 😎

2,980 · Thursday at 22:29

7 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Finally had a chance to investigate the central locking which has been inoperable for a few weeks now, first I pulled the driver's door panel off as this was my prime suspect area.

There's a micro switch behind the outer door handle which gets operated by that eccentric cam on the back of the key barrel. I tugged on the wire and and fiddled with the position of the switch, lo and behold the central locking starts working on the key again! Very happy.

The remote fob is still dead as a dodo, but I think I can live without this. There's a service online to get a new one supplied and paired to the central locking module, but this is around £100 and feels like an unnecessary expense. They were always prone to failing so I think I'll just leave it at the moment.

Did a bit of research and found a replacement new old stock microswitch for £15, ready for when it invariably will decide to play up again

Ordered.

Next up was the electric retractable aerial. The one that was fitted to the car when I acquired it simply hummed away but didn't do anything. I replaced it with another unit from a breaker, but it soon stopped working again.

Ah, that might be why...

I found another 600 being broken and asked for the aerial mechanism. The seller said it was broken but I'd be welcome to it for the cost of postage.

I found it was in much better condition, in fact it looked like a relatively new replacement part, but the aerial itself was broken. Crucially, when I plugged it in, I could here the motor running, so I knew I should have enough spares between these 2 units to make a working one.

Stripped my old unit down and extracted the aerial from the motor/gearbox and transplanted it into the donor unit.

Forgot to take a picture, but I now have a working aerial

I love fixes like this.

I still have the 3rd aerial unit which was working electronically so I may be able to make another good spare unit between that and the water damaged one.

Would transplanting this work for 600?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/375500960183

I put one of these in Yugo Cabrio

21,392 · Thursday at 23:05

35 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Would transplanting this work for 600?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/375500960183

I put one of these in Yugo Cabrio

Ah yes, I expect it would! A great option going forwards for such a time I run out of working units thanks for sharing

RFU rescues a Rover 620ti - Bodywork done!

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