Door solenoid suppliers (or donor car suggestions!)

[paolo]

Hi all,

I am attempting to go down the route of fitting solenoids in the doors to operate the locks. I have found some old posts with others that have done this, but I'm now struggling to find a supplier!

Reel Steal were suggested in one, but they claim to only have a "dock locking kit" at £55

Maplin also came up at a supposed £10 a side (much more like it) but looking online they seem to have stopped doing them.

Googling the interweb didn't come up with much either. Anyone else know who might supply these for a sensible price? Ideally I'd like the sort that have a short cable coming out the end as it'll make fitting easier.

Failing that, are there any suitable donor bits I could salvage (say from a boot release mechanism). I saw some Vectra central locking solenoids on eBay but they were massive!!

[dingocooke]

Not sure why you'd want them, its all added weight and complexity, but Im a minimilist, each to their own!
I'd go down the scrappies and pick a donor car with a good reliable system and strip that out, something Japanese or maybe A4/Golf?
Good luck
Steve

[mark_biddle]

I have a pair from a Shogun kicking around in the garage. If you want them, you can have them for nothing, glad to get rid of them !

[paolo]

Mark, you're a star! You've got PM...

[tonym]

i found when i looked into this that normal car ones where open with current and close with current meaning when you energised them they stayed in the open position which was no good for what we want them for. give me a few days to get back online properly and i'll hunt some down for you

[snake_bitten]

I have used the boot solenoids from a Jag XJ40/X300 for the doors and the complete boot lock system from the X300 for the boot. (small key hole behind No plate if battery goes flat)

[ti]

I used the realsteel ones -
work a treat !

[scubie]

Hi,

I got some off ebay, try putting in door or boot poppers theres normally a good selection, usually £10-£15 per door.

[paolo]

Terry - I phoned Real Steel but they said they only do a kit @ £55! Having said that the guy on the phone wasn't the shiniest tool in the box so maybe he didn't know what he was looking for...

Don't suppose you have a part number?

Chris is kindly posting me some spare solenoids from a Shogun he had so hopefully they'll do the trick, otherwise it'll be a trip to the scrap yard or evil bay

[mark_biddle]

I put the Slowgun ones in the post this morning. With no power they are closed, so power will open them. Also there is a fair few wires coming from them, so might take a bit of tinkering !