93 lumina door lock trouble

[gw84]

I've been experiencing trouble with my door locks lately. This is the style they are (early 90s lumina)

To lock/unlock you push the silver strip there. I'm having a couple problems: 1. the "lock" function doesn't work from the drivers door, it only works from the passenger side (I can do the locks manually of course). and 2. when I do hit "lock" sometimes one of the rear doors won't actually lock. I tore a door apart today at the junkyard to try to get this figured out and here's what I found:
I'm assuming this is some kind of actuator It's got what looks like a ribbed condom on it and it pushes the rod, locking and unlocking the door. Is it possible that this is what is causing my problems? There appears to be one of these black boxes on each door. I would have taken one off and brought it home to switch them out but I had trouble removing it (wound up breaking it)...here's how it's supposed to sit: It's got those silver metal rivets(?) that hold it on. Here's what they look like on the back side: (upper left of the picture) There was only 1-2 inches to put my camera to get this shot.

I really should have grabbed one of those boxes so I could have seen if it would work better (although since I broke it off, I doubt it would have worked very well anyway). So I guess my questions are: are these black boxes a likely culprit? How do you remove them without breaking them? It's hard to tell from the picture if a screwdriver could possibly remove them (although there's not enough room to get a regular screwdriver back there to begin with!)

[Greenblurr93]

could be those, or the switch itself is bad. the actuator is riveted in, so youll need to drill them out to remove it. you could take the pass switch and plug it into the drivers side to make sure its not the switch thats bad.

[gw84]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

could be those, or the switch itself is bad. the actuator is riveted in, so youll need to drill them out to remove it. you could take the pass switch and plug it into the drivers side to make sure its not the switch thats bad.

ooh good point! When you refer to the switch, you're referring to this right?


I might try that. So since I can't lock my doors from the driver door, if I connect the passenger side switch into the drivers door and everything works, then it's the switch, yes? If that doesn't solve the problem, maybe it's the actuator? I live/drive in dusty conditions. Whenever I've removed the door panels the plastic sheet and inside it are caked with dust. I did try spraying the moving parts with wd40 awhile back but that didnt help at all

[Greenblurr93]

yup thats what i mean. it will help prevent buying parts you dont need.

[gw84]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

yup thats what i mean. it will help prevent buying parts you dont need.

great ideas! The only thing I hate is that whenever I have to remove a door panel, it never fails that something breaks. Hopefully since I'm just removing/swapping switches first, that will solve the issue without having to tear the door apart again.

Can you elaborate on how to remove the rivets should I need to pursue that further? They're holding in a small plastic piece (is it possible to remove them without breaking them?) and once out, how would I re-install them into my car? Do they make a nut/bolt that small?

thank yoU!!

[Greenblurr93]

looks like you need to drill them out. Ive always just put new rivits back in when done

[gw84]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

looks like you need to drill them out. Ive always just put new rivits back in when done

awesome, ok I will give that a go if the switch isn't to blame. I never really realized that the switch had any electronics in it but I think you can see them on the reverse side of the switch if I recall correctly.

[gw84]

this car has 253,xxx miles so I should be used to things breaking. I've replaced the passenger side door handle (outside), the passenger seat mover handle (not sure why the passenger side went out and not the drivers side). Also, the indicator that shows what gear you're in went over 100,000 miles ago (never have fixed that, seems complicated). The heat/ac box has been replaced a couple times because the lights went out (thats what I get for buying used parts!). hmmm what else, numerous window switches, a couple of turn signal switches. I think that's it

[Tech II]

Uh, let me see....if it locks and unlocks from the passenger switch, do you think it's the actuator on the driver's side?

You either have a bad switch, or a wiring problem on the lock circuit....

[gw84]

Originally Posted by Tech II

Uh, let me see....if it locks and unlocks from the passenger switch, do you think it's the actuator on the driver's side?

You either have a bad switch, or a wiring problem on the lock circuit....

good call, I feel dumb now. Is it possible to repair this if it's a wiring problem?

[Tech II]

First find out if it's the switch......remove switch....disconnect harness....should be a 3 wire connector...orange is usually hot....so, just jumper the orange to one wire and see what happens......then jumper the orange to the other wire.....if the actuator locks/unlocks, then you know it's the switch.....if it only unlocks, then you have to check the "lock" circuit....

[gw84]

Originally Posted by Tech II

First find out if it's the switch......remove switch....disconnect harness....should be a 3 wire connector...orange is usually hot....so, just jumper the orange to one wire and see what happens......then jumper the orange to the other wire.....if the actuator locks/unlocks, then you know it's the switch.....if it only unlocks, then you have to check the "lock" circuit....

perhaps a dumb question, but will I get hurt or break anything if I do this incorrectly?

[Tech II]

You will only be breaking my heart......all the jumper wire is doing is replacing the switch........the switch itself is a jumper for each circuit...