Driver Door lock won't work?

[MojaveJoe]

All of a sudden today my electric driver door lock quit working. Will not work by remote, not by door switch, not by outside handle, not by finger pull on post, not by key in door lock. The only way I can get the lock to open is to lift door handle from inside. Release handle and lock finger post goes back down into the locked position. Affected only the driver door. Been driving on rough rocky roads lately. Lots of chassis vibration recently.

Need ideas on possible solution. Any and all advice and experiences welcome.
Joe

 

[seafish]

Your problem is very possibly a broken wire in the black rubber wire loom that runs between the A pillar and the door.
It is also likely and possible that there are other wires in there also about to break.
Importantly, sometime the broken wire is only broken UNDERNEATH its insulation...so instead of simply looking for a broken wire, you aslo MUST palpate/feel along the length of each wire and try to locate the hard, brittle spot...THAT is the wire that is broken and/or failing from metal fatigue from the repeated open/closing of the door. You CAN splice, solder and shrink-wrap each wire to fix it, or get another door harness from Dorman...it uses wire that is more flexible then the oem door harness made for Mopar.

 

[seafish]

OOOPS, please simply IGNORE my previous post...it sounds like the locking rod has some become disconnected or jammed inside the door, as opposed to a broken wire which would NOT affect manual operation of the door lock. That benign said, if you ARE in fact taking the door apart n order to find the fault and fix, it would be a good idea to LASO check for breaking wires the way I described.

 

[Ozymandias]

Jep, sounds mechanical.
Open the door and examine.

 

[Wayne M.]

I agree it’s a mechanical issue. My bet it’s the latch/ lock which is all one piece.

 

[CVR222NV]

My driver's side rear door will not open with remote but I can open it with the post so it is likely mine is an electrical problem as described by Seafish?

 

[Ozymandias]

My driver's side rear door will not open with remote but I can open it with the post so it is likely mine is an electrical problem as described by Seafish?

99% Broken Cable Harness at the Door, buy a new one, Dorman makes them.
Had to do both rear doors that winter, several broken or almost broken cables on both doors.
Open the door and pull back the rubber cover, you'll see it immediately.

 

[seafish]

99% Broken Cable Harness at the Door, buy a new one, Dorman makes them.
Had to do both rear doors that winter, several broken or almost broken cables on both doors.
Open the door and pull back the rubber cover, you'll see it immediately.

LOL!!! Lost in translation???

You mean WIRE harness and broken WIRES, eh ??

 

[Ozymandias]

Would fit better yes.

 

[CVR222NV]

99% Broken Cable Harness at the Door, buy a new one, Dorman makes them.
Had to do both rear doors that winter, several broken or almost broken cables on both doors.
Open the door and pull back the rubber cover, you'll see it immediately.

No translation needed Ozy! I ordered the Dorman from Summit and it should be here by the weekend. Looked at a bunch of You Tube videos all of which were repairing the wires but show enough that it seems to be a pretty easy install. I guess speakers also go out for the same reason. I checked out the passenger side rear door and everything is still working fine probably because that door does not see as much action as the driver's side.

 

[MojaveJoe]

All good info guys. Thanks bunches.
Iam contemplating ordering a new lock/latch actuator. Just wondering how to differentiate cause of my problem being actuator or wiring?

 

[Ozymandias]

No translation needed Ozy! I ordered the Dorman from Summit and it should be here by the weekend. Looked at a bunch of You Tube videos all of which were repairing the wires but show enough that it seems to be a pretty easy install. I guess speakers also go out for the same reason. I checked out the passenger side rear door and everything is still working fine probably because that door does not see as much action as the driver's side.

Thanks
Its pretty easy and straight forward, the only thing where it is difficult is the connector right at the door lock, this one is hard to reach to disconnect it. Take your time with this.

 

[Ozymandias]

All good info guys. Thanks bunches.
Iam contemplating ordering a new lock/latch actuator. Just wondering how to differentiate cause of my problem being actuator or wiring?

open it first, it is maybe only a linkage that is disconnected, zero repair bill with some luck.
definitely not electrical because your mechanics doesn't work either.

 

[CVR222NV]

Thanks
Its pretty easy and straight forward, the only thing where it is difficult is the connector right at the door lock, this one is hard to reach to disconnect it. Take your time with this.

I got the new harness installed and everything is working again. Three broken wires, two cracked with wires exposed, three partially cracked. That connector on the door lock is tough to get to. Finally got it started with a pair of needle nose pliers being very careful. What a sweet sound when you hear the "click"! I imagine I'm on borrowed time on the passenger side but it doesn't get the use of the driver's side so we'll see. Thanks Seafish and Ozy for the posts!

 

[MojaveJoe]

Well...Well,
Replaced the door lock mechanism and everything is back to normal operation.
A couple install tips:
1) Check each plastic connector hole for clearance. Run one of the rods into each hole to assure easier insertion of the wire rod end when you can't see what you are trying to align.
2) Wet each wire rod end with saliva to make connections slippery for easier snap in.
Used Youtube video for easy instructions.
Good Luck with your repair.
Relatively easy.

 

[MojaveJoe]

Great, fixed the front door switch, now the rear driver side door will not turn on interior light, or activate my electric steps. Im thinking broken wires between door and door post. All advice and experience for fixing this new problem welcome.
Thanks