V70 Body/Trim: Fuel Flap Lock Mechanism Repair

[ASt85]

Repair of fuel flap lock mechanism.

My apologies if this post is too long.

The lock actuator mechanism is buried behind the off side cargo area internal trim.
Access is gained by removing, but only folding back the side rear interior trim
1) Remove cargo cover by compressing the plastic end cap towards the middle of the load area, away from the seating in the side panel.
2) Partially fold forward the off side rear seat back.
3) Undo and withdraw the set screw located in the cargo cover seating point using a 10mm socket.
4) Remove the carpeted tail lamp cover and the hard card protector located beneath it.
5) Remove the upper plastic rear air vent strip from the side frame (the carpeted facing remains attached to it) gently pulling towards the centre of the car starting from the end nearest the tail gate and working your way towards the rear o/s door; the plastic strip is held in position by moulded spigots that are part of the plastic strip – take care that the pull is perpendicular to the side of the car, to avoid overstressing and breaking the lugs.
6) Remove the power point connector if fitted and fold the side cover almost flat – it is not necessary to remove it completely.
7) Compress and remove the three split plastic fixings which hold the hardboard backing in place.
8) Fold the soundproofing over the wheel arch back slightly, by folding a few cms of the lower rear edge under.
9) Fold the hardboard backing upwards, the fuel flap mechanism is exposed.
10) Using your fingers, locate the locking mechanism spigot, it feels like a small plate triangular plate attached to the lock shaft, and pull back towards the body of the lock.
11) This action frees the lock, by rolling back the actuator, and the fuel flap can then be opened.
12) Detach the electric connector from the mechanism – you could check for the pulsed voltage by connecting a bulb to the connector plugs, operating the key fob and waiting for ten or so minutes to see if the lamp lights – if it does, you know the electrics to the connector are probably OK if the central locking is also working without a problem.
13) Remove the 2 Torx screws (use the larger Volvo Torx driver) under the fuel flap that hold the mechanism in place.
14) Withdraw the mechanism moving it out of its locating holes and back towards the rear of the car.
15) The lock is attached to a black locating plate and can be detached by removing the 2 size 2.0 Torx screws.
16) Before going any further, check the resistance of the actuator using a multi meter. If open circuit i.e. max resistance is shown, (on digital voltmeter usually shown as 1 or “out of range”) push the actuator arm in and out and check the resistance again, as you move the actuator rod in and out, you should hear a whirring noise which is the motor inside the device being moved which can clear any commutator debris. If you leave a multimeter connected to read Volts, you should see a reading rise and fall in one direction, then a reverse voltage when the rod is moved in the opposite direction – if readings are seen on the meter, the motor is OK.
17) Remove the three Torx screws on the white plastic casing using a 1.5 Torx bit.
18) GENTLY lift the top casing away from the lower, be careful not to dislodge a yellow neoprene thrust block – its half the size of a Tic-Tac mint!
19) If it does fall out, it fits into the casing where the black axle passes through the case – it can only fit one way round – {it’s almost but not quite idiot proof, because it can in fact fit in about 5 different places – it just won’t do anything useful!}
20) Check the gear wheels for dirt, and if clean re-use the clear grease found inside the casing and on the black axle and actuator drive bearing.
21) I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE GREASE IS but it could be something like Molykote which is a grease formulated for plastic and metal parts.
22) If still no reading, try operating the rod a few more times, this may well clear dirt on the motor commutator. If not the motor has probably got damaged brushes/windings etc. and consider replacing it with one from somewhere like Maplins. If you’re feeling really brave, you could take it apart and clean it........but they’re s**s to put back together!
23) To re-assemble the unit, reverse the previous instructions.
24) Re-check voltage output as previously or with the actuator rod at the mid position, apply approx 9vDC for a fraction of a second. If all’s well, the rod will move in or out, reverse the connections, and if the motor is fine, the rod will move in the opposite direction. Push the actuator rod all the way back in.
25) Having tested and satisfied yourself that the lock mechanism is working correctly, (by reconnecting the car’s electrical supply and operating the key fob, waiting ten minutes or so to see if the rod moves out, then unlock using the key fob and the rod will move instantly)
26) At this point I attached about half a metre of very strong nylon (from a strimmer) to the actuator plate (there is a small hole in the triangular plate on the actuator rod), sealed the two half-blood knots used with a flame and re-attached the connector before re-fixing the mechanism to the body of the car, passing the nylon back through to the light inspection cover to provide an emergency opener (like the wire loop on the 850’s)
27) Apart from the step above, re-assembly is the reverse of the strip out procedure used.
28) Total time taken including testing was around two hours including the photography.
NB
I was surprised by the flimsy nature of the actuator arm i.e. a fairly thin plastic rod being used as the means to prevent the opening of the fuel flap – one good tug and it would probably break. Given that a tank of fuel is costing around £90 or more, the investment in a locking petrol cap at £15 + VAT seemed like a good idea.
Please feel free to suggest improvements to this repair process.

ASt85

[john493]

Good post - thanks - any chance of re-loading the photos ?

[ASt85]

Originally Posted by john493

Good post - thanks - any chance of re-loading the photos ?

I think there's a backup on SWMBO's laptop which I used to upload from at the time I will check later and upload them if they can be found

In the mean time I found this video in YouTube - a how to repair the mechanism actual - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhMeW5-5Ao0

[ASt85]

Located and reposting

[ASt85]

Fuel Flap Lock Mechanism Repair

Repair of fuel flap lock mechanism.

My apologies if this post is too long.

The lock actuator mechanism is buried behind the off side cargo area internal trim.
Access is gained by removing, but only folding back the side rear interior trim
1) Remove cargo cover by compressing the plastic end cap towards the middle of the load area, away from the seating in the side panel.
2) Partially fold forward the off side rear seat back.
3) Undo and withdraw the set screw located in the cargo cover seating point using a 10mm socket.
4) Remove the carpeted tail lamp cover and the hard card protector located beneath it.
5) Remove the upper plastic rear air vent strip from the side frame (the carpeted facing remains attached to it) gently pulling towards the centre of the car starting from the end nearest the tail gate and working your way towards the rear o/s door; the plastic strip is held in position by moulded spigots that are part of the plastic strip – take care that the pull is perpendicular to the side of the car, to avoid overstressing and breaking the lugs.
6) Remove the power point connector if fitted and fold the side cover almost flat – it is not necessary to remove it completely.
7) Compress and remove the three split plastic fixings which hold the hardboard backing in place.
8) Fold the soundproofing over the wheel arch back slightly, by folding a few cms of the lower rear edge under.
9) Fold the hardboard backing upwards, the fuel flap mechanism is exposed.
10) Using your fingers, locate the locking mechanism spigot, it feels like a small plate triangular plate attached to the lock shaft, and pull back towards the body of the lock.
11) This action frees the lock, by rolling back the actuator, and the fuel flap can then be opened.
12) Detach the electric connector from the mechanism – you could check for the pulsed voltage by connecting a bulb to the connector plugs, operating the key fob and waiting for ten or so minutes to see if the lamp lights – if it does, you know the electrics to the connector are probably OK if the central locking is also working without a problem.
13) Remove the 2 Torx screws (use the larger Volvo Torx driver) under the fuel flap that hold the mechanism in place.
14) Withdraw the mechanism moving it out of its locating holes and back towards the rear of the car.
15) The lock is attached to a black locating plate and can be detached by removing the 2 size 2.0 Torx screws.
16) Before going any further, check the resistance of the actuator using a multi meter. If open circuit i.e. max resistance is shown, (on digital voltmeter usually shown as 1 or “out of range”) push the actuator arm in and out and check the resistance again, as you move the actuator rod in and out, you should hear a whirring noise which is the motor inside the device being moved which can clear any commutator debris. If you leave a multimeter connected to read Volts, you should see a reading rise and fall in one direction, then a reverse voltage when the rod is moved in the opposite direction – if readings are seen on the meter, the motor is OK.
17) Remove the three Torx screws on the white plastic casing using a 1.5 Torx bit.
18) GENTLY lift the top casing away from the lower, be careful not to dislodge a yellow neoprene thrust block – its half the size of a Tic-Tac mint!
19) If it does fall out, it fits into the casing where the black axle passes through the case – it can only fit one way round – {it’s almost but not quite idiot proof, because it can in fact fit in about 5 different places – it just won’t do anything useful!}
20) Check the gear wheels for dirt, and if clean re-use the clear grease found inside the casing and on the black axle and actuator drive bearing.
21) I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE GREASE IS but it could be something like Molykote which is a grease formulated for plastic and metal parts.
22) If still no reading, try operating the rod a few more times, this may well clear dirt on the motor commutator. If not the motor has probably got damaged brushes/windings etc. and consider replacing it with one from somewhere like Maplins. If you’re feeling really brave, you could take it apart and clean it........but they’re s**s to put back together!
23) To re-assemble the unit, reverse the previous instructions.
24) Re-check voltage output as previously or with the actuator rod at the mid position, apply approx 9vDC for a fraction of a second. If all’s well, the rod will move in or out, reverse the connections, and if the motor is fine, the rod will move in the opposite direction. Push the actuator rod all the way back in.
25) Having tested and satisfied yourself that the lock mechanism is working correctly, (by reconnecting the car’s electrical supply and operating the key fob, waiting ten minutes or so to see if the rod moves out, then unlock using the key fob and the rod will move instantly)
26) At this point I attached about half a metre of very strong nylon (from a strimmer) to the actuator plate (there is a small hole in the triangular plate on the actuator rod), sealed the two half-blood knots used with a flame and re-attached the connector before re-fixing the mechanism to the body of the car, passing the nylon back through to the light inspection cover to provide an emergency opener (like the wire loop on the 850’s)
27) Apart from the step above, re-assembly is the reverse of the strip out procedure used.
28) Total time taken including testing was around two hours including the photography.
NB
I was surprised by the flimsy nature of the actuator arm i.e. a fairly thin plastic rod being used as the means to prevent the opening of the fuel flap – one good tug and it would probably break. Given that a tank of fuel is costing around £90 or more, the investment in a locking petrol cap at £15 + VAT seemed like a good idea.
Please feel free to suggest improvements to this repair process.

ASt85

[mellor]

Thanks for the write up on the fuel flap lock, very helpful.
Unfortunately cleaning and greasing the worm drive didn't work reliably on my lock so delved further and found the connector pins for the motor were a push fit into the motor. There was a black discolouration on the pins and points where they entered the motor. Cleaned this up (used Deoxit d5 but switch cleaner should work) and it's worked fine since.
Pic shows pins and motor after cleaning before reassembly, (ps take note of how they fit into the casing before disassembling )


v70 fuel flap lock motor.jpg

[GregP]

Thanks for the detailed write up and pictures, made this a very quick and easy job that spared me from destroying my locked fuel flap in frustration.

Similar to mellor above my issue turned out to be a loose push fit pin going into the motor. Bit of a flimsy design but at least a simple fix. I found a good belt and braces fix for this courtesy of BestGear which I'll undertake should the problem occur again:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=194334