Malfunctioning Door Locks
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 102
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From: Florida
Malfunctioning Door Locks
Ever since I purchased my '97 993, the driver's door would not lock. I searched the archives and read all the posts about the solenoid, etc. Well, I finally got around to taking the door panel off and fixing the problem. The reason I'm writing is that what I found wasn't in any of the previous posts that I read. 
There was nothing wrong with the solenoid. When I disconnected the linkage, the solenoid would activate just fine. So, I started trying to determine what the problem was. I could not get pictures (the area is too tight). The solenoid pulls (pushes) on a plastic arm. The other end of the arm is attached to a 'ball' that is part of a pivoting linkage. When this linkage pivots, it moves a plate with a ramp on it. Another linkage rides against this ramp and this linkage is what actually 'locks' the door. In my case, the solenoid let the pivoting linkage rotate too far toward the top of the door which in turn let the piece that rides against ramp fall over the edge of the plate which then blocked the plate from rotating.
All I had to do to fix the problem was to manually rotate the one linkage out of the way and pivot the plate with the ramp into a 'proper' place, then attach the solenoid arm and tighten the solenoid screws to hold the solenoid in such a position that it could not rotate the linkage to far toward the top of the door. (There are two slots in the door that allow you to slide the solenoid up or down.) Now it locks and unlocks just like it is supposed to.
I know this is rather wordy and probably confusing .... If you want better detail, PM me with your phone number and we can talk.
I hope this helps someone else avoid the 3 hours it took me to figure this out.
There was nothing wrong with the solenoid. When I disconnected the linkage, the solenoid would activate just fine. So, I started trying to determine what the problem was. I could not get pictures (the area is too tight). The solenoid pulls (pushes) on a plastic arm. The other end of the arm is attached to a 'ball' that is part of a pivoting linkage. When this linkage pivots, it moves a plate with a ramp on it. Another linkage rides against this ramp and this linkage is what actually 'locks' the door. In my case, the solenoid let the pivoting linkage rotate too far toward the top of the door which in turn let the piece that rides against ramp fall over the edge of the plate which then blocked the plate from rotating.
All I had to do to fix the problem was to manually rotate the one linkage out of the way and pivot the plate with the ramp into a 'proper' place, then attach the solenoid arm and tighten the solenoid screws to hold the solenoid in such a position that it could not rotate the linkage to far toward the top of the door. (There are two slots in the door that allow you to slide the solenoid up or down.) Now it locks and unlocks just like it is supposed to.
I know this is rather wordy and probably confusing .... If you want better detail, PM me with your phone number and we can talk.
I hope this helps someone else avoid the 3 hours it took me to figure this out.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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Dave:Thanks for the info. I've had a similar problem. intermittently, the car will not lock- the lights flash and the horn beeps signalling a fault. I was about to have it fixed at the dealer and all of a sudden it started to work. Now its faulty again. I think I have narrowed it down to the passenger door since the "knock" you hear when the lock engages and disengages is absent on the passenger side. So it seems that the lock mechanism is stuck and doesn't move. Does any of this sound familiar? I am not much of a DIY kind of guy but I am learning. I also don't want the dealer to rip me off by repalceing things that don't need replacing.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 102
Likes: 0
From: Florida
The symptoms are similar to mine except that I could never get mine to work. I'd hear the solenoid try to kick in, could hear the passenger door lock, then the horn would beep. Unfortunately, the only way to find out for sure is to take the door panel off, disconnect the solenoid linkage and then use your remote to try an lock the doors. If the solenoid activates, then I'd guess your problem is similar to mine.
