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  #1  
Old 07-04-2003, 11:44 PM
DavieGravy DavieGravy is offline
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Unhappy Door lock stuck! Please help!!!

My driver's side door lock is stuck in the unlock position, meaning I can't lock my car! Not from putting the key in or pushing the lock down manually. Does anyone know why this might be? I took the interior panel off, briefly, and didn't see anything. Could this be the actuator (lock motor)? I just padded my locks and I might have put excessive stress on the motor.

Also, every time I start my car, it turns over really slowly meaning that my battery doesn't seem to be charging. To me, this means that the actuator could be running constantly, trying to pull the lock down when the car is turned off hence it's running down the battery.

Either that, or my alternator, or the battery itself, is about to fly the coot. When my car is idle at a stop light or whatever, the dash lights dim, then brighten when I take off and rev the engine. Also, the steering wheel shakes when I make sharp turns. Can this car run on a dead battery, or is this a sign of alternator failure, or could the lock motor be draining the battery faster than it's charging?

I would be ecstatic over any help.
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  #2  
Old 07-05-2003, 08:14 AM
lee lee is offline
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Several people have had this problem, myself included. The fix isn't always the same, but in my case the problem was inside the door lock actuator motor itself.

two ways to address my suggestion, but both require you taking the door lock assembly out.

First way: Take assembly out and disconnect motor from lock assembly by separating pin from motor. This leaves you without power locks - and may have an impact on the passenger side lock since it gets triggers from the drivers door lock position.

2nd way, in two parts:
a) get a new door lock motor and replace it.
b) open motor housing and note location of two or three copper strips that make contact with a rotating gear. The thinest of the strips sometimes bends outward just enough to lose contact at the right place. Put just a bit of pressure on the thin strip to make it move toward the center of the gear. If you look you'll note the gear has a raised portion that causes the thin strip to bounce up and lose contact (it's a kind of electrical stop signal). Anyway, this also causes the strip to get a sideway load each time it hits and eventually the strip has gotten enough pressure applied to it to bend ever so slightly out a bit. You don't want to put enough pressure on the strip to see a bend or crimp (that's replacement time for sure), just enough to get it back in place. Has worked on mine for a few months.

Alternately, there is a door lock timer module (on my 92) behind the glove box and then behind the security module. It has two relays. It could be this module, but it's less likely.

I'm not always good with wordy explanations so ask away for what you didn't get on the first go around.
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  #3  
Old 07-05-2003, 10:28 AM
DavieGravy DavieGravy is offline
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Lee, thanks for the response.
I've alomst got the assembly out, but there's a few things I can't figure out.

1. There's a metal rod that goes from the exterior door handle assembly to the lower portion of the actuator. How do I remove that rod from the actuator so I can take the whole thing out. Here's what I'm talking about.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/fil...ravy/10024.JPG

2. How do you disconnect this plug?

3. Last thing. Would simply disconnecting the power from the motor (which I've already done) alow me to lock and unlock? Is it even necessary to take the whole thing out?

Last edited by DavieGravy; 07-05-2003 at 10:40 AM.
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  #4  
Old 07-05-2003, 11:48 AM
lee lee is offline
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1. Have to pop loose the green tab at the edge of your circle, then slide the bar out of the hole (same for all the rods). I used a small flat-bladed screwdriver to push the tab off the rod. Don't worry the tab won't go anywhere - just don't use the BFH style of getting it loose.

2. I always had a hard time with that plug. There is a tab on it somewhere that has to be depressed to get them to separate, not much room for hands huh? Good pics considering.

3. Don't know, never tried it that way myself.
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  #5  
Old 07-05-2003, 01:20 PM
DavieGravy DavieGravy is offline
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Lee, THANKS VERY MUCH! It's members like you that make this site so great.

All three copper wires were making contact with that gear, so I think the motor is f**ked. I took the pin out for the motor and now the lock mechanism is working fine.

Last edited by DavieGravy; 07-05-2003 at 01:25 PM.
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  #6  
Old 07-05-2003, 02:08 PM
lee lee is offline
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you're very welcome.

One clarification. I expected all the wires to be making contact. There should be one thin one. Try putting a little pressure on it to make it bend slightly back toward the center of the gear. It isn't that it bends over time so it doesn't make contact, it's that it bends so it isn't contacting the right part of the copper plate on top of the gear. The result is that instead of coming out at 90 degrees from the side it comes out at like 91 degrees - enough to screw it up.

Anyway, it can be tested out of the car by plugging in the harness and watching it work (or not). At this point it's a free test, so....
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  #7  
Old 07-05-2003, 02:25 PM
DavieGravy DavieGravy is offline
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OK, I see what you're saying now. I think what happened though was I padded the locks about a week ago and it put too much stress on the motor. Could the act of padding the locks have caused that middle wire to move slightly out of place?
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  #8  
Old 07-05-2003, 03:03 PM
lee lee is offline
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Sorry, I have no idea.
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  #9  
Old 07-05-2003, 08:59 PM
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subymtnguy subymtnguy is offline
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padded locks...

Davie,

When you say you padded the locks, what do you mean?
Was it to stop a rattle?

BTW: Thanks! your fix worked! Outlook express is gone! You computer wizard, you!
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  #10  
Old 07-05-2003, 11:32 PM
DavieGravy DavieGravy is offline
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Re: padded locks...

Quote:
Originally posted by subymtnguy

BTW: Thanks! your fix worked! Outlook express is gone! You computer wizard, you!
Yeah, I know.

What I did was I took the interior door panels off and attached little 1'' square pieces of Velcro to the back side of the door locks. I used tape because the sticky side of the Velcro wouldn't stick. Plus, you couldn't see the tape when the interior panels were put back on.

Unfortunately, however, when I did put the interior panels back on, the locks seemed stiffer than they were before when sliding them up and down. This was due to the friction of the Velcro against the door panel. I may have used too many pieces of Velcro but given the somewhat hollowness of the locks, more than one piece seemed necessary as the first piece would sort of sink into the back of the lock, leaving the edges to tap against the panel.

What didn't occur to me at the time is that the extra force required by actuator to move the locks up and down would wear it out eventually! I guess I learned the hard way and now I don't have power locks.
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  #11  
Old 09-27-2003, 09:57 PM
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Earthworm Earthworm is offline
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Has anyone tried just replacing the door lock knobs to eliminate the rattle caused by them? The last time I had my door panel off I took a look at the knob and there are 2 little guide pins on the sides. These pins had 2 flat spots which I can only assume happen from usage.

I have new knobs on order and will test out this theory myself.
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