[DML] Re: Pass door lock malfunction

["ryanpwright" <yahoo1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dani,

One of two things, probably:

1. Your door lock controller could be "sticking" on the relays. I
recommend a rebuild or replace with Lockzilla.

2. I had my doors apart last night for the installation of new
lightweight lock actuators from DPNW. I noticed that my forward
release lever was "flexing/bending" when I tried to open the door.
This caused the whole mechanism to shift somewhat, and about half the
time it shifted just enough that the doors would lock due to the
lock/unlock "sensor" (just a moving piece of metal that grounds
different terminals) touching the lock side. Took me awhile to figure
this one out. I readjusted things and it works great now.

Your solenoids are fine, as they're locking and unlocking the door.
Your problem is either in the door mechanism or the lock controller.
I'm leaning toward the door mechanism, personally, because if it were
the lock controller you'd be having the same problem with the driver's
side.

I recommend taking the passenger door panels off and checking all of
the linkages. Have you ever had your door panels off before? There are
an awful lot of rods running back and forth to facilitate opening and
unlocking/locking the door. They all work together. In that mechanism,
toward the middle-back of the door, there is a little metal piece that
looks like a U. It moves back and forth, making contact with two
different points when you lock and unlock your doors. The lock module
uses this to "sense" when you manually lock or unlock the door so that
it can actuate the other door for you.

What's probably happening is that your linkages are bent or otherwise
aren't working properly. So when you unlock the door, it unlocks just
barely enough to open, but not enough to fully move that little sensor
thing. So you let go of the lock button, or try to open the door, and
the "sensor" is so close to the "lock" ground that it makes contact
and locks your door for you. 

Open your doors and take the panels off. Manually close the latches
that hold the door shut (the metal things on the inner edges of the
doors - they shut around the door posts and latch). You can use your
finger or a flathead screwdriver to move them until they "click"
closed. This is to prevent damaging the mechanism. Now you can cycle
your door locks all you want, with the door opened, without damaging
things. Don't forget to reopen these before you try to close your door
- do this by holding the door handle in the open position and moving
the latches back with your finger/screwdriver.

Cycle the door locks back and forth and observe the mechanism. I bet
your lower rod, that heads toward the front of the door and moves that
latch for you, is binding up enough to prevent the lock/unlock
"sensor" from moving far enough away from the lock position. It may be
loose somewhere, or bent, or something like that. 

Also, might be a good idea to disconnect your lock controller before
getting in there. :)

This was probably long and confusing, but I hope it helps.

-Ryan


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Dani B" <5n-@xxxx> wrote:
> Ever since I got my car, I have this problem with the passenger side
> lock only. Heres the symptoms: It seems to "Stick" in the locked
> position frequently. If I hit the switch to unlock on the pass door,
> it will unlock part way and jump back to lock-causing the drivers lock
> to lock with it. I can try to force the switch down as hard as I can
> but it will just jump back to locked. Sometimes if I used the key in
> that door it will unlock sucessfully and work for a while until it
> freezes in the locked position again. I have had to disconnect the box
> inside the relay compartment twice to unlock the door. Also if the
> passenger side is unlocked and I try to open the door from the
> outside, it will suddenly jump to locked causing the door to jam. The
> drivers
> side doesn't do this at all, in fact if you hold the switch or key in
> the unlocked position while the other side jumps back to locked,
> drivers side will stay unlocked (thank god!). So what gives? Is there
> some kind of adjustment I need to make or is it the solenoid? It's
> really frustrating and embarassing when someone is trying to enter on
> that side!






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