My driver door actuator was not locking the other doors on the car,
though all the other doors could be locked with a key in the passenger
side doors, but that wouldn't lock the driver door.

So I replaced the driver door actuator with a new one. No change.

Where do I look?

Thanks,

Jim

On Mar 22, 2004, at 11:49 AM, Woten, Rodney wrote:

> Chris asked:
>
>
> -SNIP
> if it is indeed a bad drivers actuator, then why does it open from the
> RF
> pass door?
> chris
> -SNIP
>
>
>
> Chris,
> The actuator is actually a two way street.  Acting as a "master", it
> can send a voltage to the other actuators, causing them to reverse
> their orientation (lock/unlock). This happens, to THAT actuator,
> whenever you use a key in it or move its lock button up or down from
> the inside. On the other side of the coin, it can also receive a
> voltage from another actuator, which causes it to match the actuator
> that has just changed its state (the master).  In the first case a
> slider (a switch, really) inside the actuator reverses polarity
> causing the motor to reverse and send a signal to all the other
> actuators.  The second case is the receiving end of that signal, which
> reverses the motor, causing the slider in that actuator to move to the
> same position as the "master" actuator.  At the end of the process all
> polarities should match, and the whole system is static until a
> polarity change is initiated with the operation of a lock.
>
> Your case tells me that you driver's door lock is working properly as
> a "slave", since it will actuate whenever you lock/unlock another
> door.  It appears however that you driver's door actuator is unable to
> operate as the "master".  Usually that's because the contact points in
> the slider are either worn down or corroded to the point that they no
> longer make contact.  Because of the system's design, the slider is
> not needed for an actuator to function as a slave, but is essential if
> it wants to be the master.  Mine were doing the same thing.  I took
> mine apart, built up the contacts with solder and filed them back to
> their original profile.  I re-lubed the whole mess and resealed the
> seam with silicone before reinstalling it into the door.  Since the
> existing accordion boots/bellows were crumbling, I also fashioned a
> new boot using a mt. bike inner tube, zip ties and some shoe goop.
> They've worked ever since.  P-mail me if you have an questions.
>
> Good Luck!
> Rod Woten
> '87 Westy
> Des Moines, Iowa
>