Help! Central locking problem!

[FoxMulder]

Hey Guys, I have a 1994 ED XR8, and the only real problem that I'm having at the moment, is that the central locking in the front doors is not working properly.

What happens is, when I lock the car with the remote, it appears to have locked the car, (the little inside lock thing goes down), but the car is still unlocked. I can lock the car with my keys, but when I do, it doesn't affect the central locking at all.

I had a look at the door, and cannot for the life of me figure out how Ford designed the central locking system. Either something had broken or it was seriously misaligned, but the central locking was in no way connected to the actual locking mechanism of the car.

All I saw was these two little plastic tabs, that move when I lock the car with the key, and they are located next to the rocker thing (where the plastic rod connects to for the interior lock tab) which when moved affects the central locking, but they do no touch at all. Besides I think ford would have had something a bit sturdier than two little tabs a couple of mm thick.

The rear doors work without a hitch, but it's just the two front doors.

Has anyone come across this problem before? I was inclined to think it was just random, but with both the front doors showing the same symptoms, it makes me wonder if this has happened before.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how to fix it, other than take it to a mechanic?

Thanks.