Power Lock Switch not working..help plz.

[lilsweets3138]

I have another problem with my car . Well all the sudden the powerlock switches are not working right. They will only lock but NOT unlock. I thought it might be my security /keyless alarm system but I took the car back to circuit city and they said "no it's not the alarm". So that's out of the way. I checked all the fuses and they are all okay.I owned the car for 9 years and never had a problem like this. My door panels have been removed from my car now for about a month in a half because I am doing work on those.. so the lock switches were just hanging there.Could it be that maybe the switches were "blown" by touching the metal part of the door? Please help! It's dumb that the switches aren't working and I have a keyless alarm..so let me know what you think it might be. Again,thankyou guys.

97 Cavalier

[J-Ri]

Is there any sound when you press unlock? I've seen a few vehicles where the actuators just "get tired" and don't have the power to unlock the doors but still click when you press the button. Have you tried both switches? I wouldn't think there'd be any live part of the switch exposed, so I doubt having them hanging there did any damage to the switch. It would be possible that the wires wore through the insulation if they were rubbing bare metal. Without looking at the wiring diagram, all I can tell you to check is the voltage to the lock actuators (both at the switch and then on the actuator if there is +/- at the switch). They should have +12v one way and -12v the other.

[lilsweets3138]

Thankyou for the reply. There is no sound when I click UNLOCK on both switches. When I click LOCK there seems to be a doble locking sound. All the wires are intact and no wire covering has been rubbed off.

I will try the voltage testing to both the switch and actuators next. Hopefully this might solve my problem.

Another question, is there a solenoid for the switches and If so how many? Someone mentioned this to me.

Thankyou again with all your info J-Ri ! :-)

[Classicrocjunkie]

start with the switches, they are cheap if you can find em at a PNP.....

... this is one reason I enjoy manual windows and locks on my cavalier...

.. But I do enjoy the power windows and locks on the sunfire. Ha ha...

[lilsweets3138]

Yeah, I will go to the junk yard later today(after midnight here)hehe. Get some new switches. But so you know I got a volt meter and placed it on the actual switches and ground and the meter did not budge. If there was no power,how come I am still able to only lock the doors??

Well g'nite everyone.I'll let ya know what happens.

-Christina

[ponchonutty]

The solinoid is the lock motors themselves. That's what a solinoid is. Your locks should be reverse polarity like was mentioned before. You should have a light blue (lock) and white (unlock). These wires are mastered by the passenger switch. So, I'd check the wiring over on the passenger side. Also, if the passenger switch is bad, it'll mess up both sides.

Does the lock/unlock work fine on the aftermarket alarm? If so, my guess is you have a broken wire inside one of the door boots.

[lilsweets3138]

No the keyless alarm feature does not work either and the passenger switch only locks the doors which is the samething it does on the driver side. Both switches were tested and power is flowing to where it needs to go. Wires were also tested and there is power .

Would you happen to know where the powerlock relay is?? A mechanic said to check that.
And does the powerlock relay have anything to do with the ABS relay? Because I can't find anything on the powerLock relay in my manual only the ABS.

[ponchonutty]

It's been a while since I've messed with an older Cavalier. I don't think there are relays for the locks. They are reverse polarity from the switches. You said you checked the power but did you also check the grounds?

In most of those older GM vehicles if they did have relays, it'll be up under the driver's side dash somewhere around the column or gas pedal and theres usually 5 wires going into it.

[lilsweets3138]

Just wanted to let everyone know that it was the switch on the passenger side. Went to the junk yard and got a spare and ta-da! All fixed. Thanks for the help. And sorry for making two posts about this.

[muff34]

Originally Posted by lilsweets3138

Just wanted to let everyone know that it was the switch on the passenger side. Went to the junk yard and got a spare and ta-da! All fixed. Thanks for the help. And sorry for making two posts about this.

Good deal. Congrats!