Ian Haynes has kindly provided some troubleshooting documentation for the central locking. Sadly it seems to fail at every hurdle, and so suggests either a rogered control unit, or some shorts in the leads. Today is windier and generally less pleasant than yesterday, so I clean up the door to A-pillar connectors and when that doesn’t help I give up, pulling the fuse on the central locking. At least this way I know where I stand and it won’t lock my passengers out or prevent me from putting in any fuel. The shared fuse does prevent the interior lights from coming on when the door opens though, so it’s a bit of a reterograde step as it makes the car feel a bit less friendly.

I clean the interior of both cars, and investigate why the driver’s seat won’t hinge forward. An internal seat cable has snapped, and someone has tried to bodge it together – quite why is beyond me as the part is only about three quid. Something for the shopping list then.