Door won't lock - springs back open

Hi, sorry if this has been posted elsewhere but I can't find anything.
Okay so the rear drivers door won't shut, the lock engages but doesn't hold the door shut it springs back open. If I push the lock into lock position it holds but I can easily flick it back open. Doing the same on the other door it doesn't unlock unless I pull the handle.
So my question is, is the lock itself the problem or the locking mechanism from the handle?
The door won't lock with central locking button on the dash or the key. Thanks in advance

C3three wrote:Hi, sorry if this has been posted elsewhere but I can't find anything.
Okay so the rear drivers door won't shut, the lock engages but doesn't hold the door shut it springs back open. If I push the lock into lock position it holds but I can easily flick it back open. Doing the same on the other door it doesn't unlock unless I pull the handle.
So my question is, is the lock itself the problem or the locking mechanism from the handle?
The door won't lock with central locking button on the dash or the key. Thanks in advance

Hi C3three,

It sounds like the door solenoid pack that is bad, the solenoid pack is the part that does all the locking and unlocking for the rears.

Its not too bad to change yourself if you are a reasonable DIYer.
This is the part I think would be at fault Citroen C3 rear door lock.

Have a read of removing the door card

and removing the door solenoid pack to get an idea of the work involved.

Hi, thanks for the info, very comprehensive. Just one more thing, I forgot to mention in original post. The door won't actually "latch" when I close the door normally, it just springs back open. That's without me using the central locking etc. The solenoid would only work when using the fob and central locking, is that correct? I'm thinking it must be the lock itself rather than the solenoid then? Thanks again in advance.

C3three wrote:Hi, thanks for the info, very comprehensive. Just one more thing, I forgot to mention in original post. The door won't actually "latch" when I close the door normally, it just springs back open. That's without me using the central locking etc. The solenoid would only work when using the fob and central locking, is that correct? I'm thinking it must be the lock itself rather than the solenoid then? Thanks again in advance.

The whole latching, locking, unlocking and deadlocking is all in that solenoid pack.



The other thing is the door handle. That's pretty much all that is in there. If you remove the door card and find something broken, then this is probably the reason, other than that, the solenoid lock pack is the only other thing left.

There is a very nice write-up about repair the door solenoid when it bounces back and won't stay closed, thanks to heyhoesilver, in the tips section here - Repair door solenoid pack (bouncing open door).