ghlkal

C4 gurus,

I’m having an issue with the power door locks on the passenger side of my 1990 ZR-1.

I can lock and unlock the door fine manually. When I use the power locks, the power lock actuator “works” (it does push the connecting rod up and down). Unfortunately, it’s not moving the rod far enough to actually unlock the door.

In the manual, rod #29 passes through a plate that connects to another rod to the actuator. The “opening” in the plate that it passes through can be seen in my two pics (there’s a mirror behind the plate for better visibility).

The “opening” is split at the top and seems way too big (wide) to me. Should there be a plastic clip or guide of some type in there too?

Or, maybe this isn’t really the problem …

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

TIA,

Gary


page from FSM


The plate in question is partially hidden here. Follow the rod from the actually up ... You can clearly see the opening in the mirror. Note the size of the opening and the split at the top.


A better view of the plate. (I think the door is locked in this position) ...

Black LS2

Mine drags on the pass side of my 87 too; sometimes taking two remote hits to lock, but always un locking great. There is no bushing in that slot on mine either.

I have changed the solenoid thinking it was week...no difference. I am wondering about the lock rod to the inside handle lock dragging on the guide (35) or the inner door panel causing missalignment. Newer cars wrap that rod in an extruded plastic tube to keep the door paner from ever rubbing on, and/or binding it. Do you see an operational difference with the inner panel off?

aj1988

I just spent several hours on my pass door and what I finally ended up doing was slightly bend the rod where it attaches at the top. It took a couple of tries to get it where it works but now I can use the remote and lock/unlock the door.

The rod is the one in the second pic. I bent the top down toward the bottom.

WVZR-1

Since your rod seems to operate but just doesn't provide a sufficient effort to complete the task I'd suggest just lubing the latch with Lithium White grease and then do some manual latch/unlatch operations to spread it around. It comes in an aerosol and it's great for hood latches and other linkages that require some lubrication. The latch was lubricated when build and I'd say in 25+ years it's just dried to the point it's having a negative impact on the linkages.

ghlkal

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Good to know there's no bushing there. There was some type of "wrapping" on the rod near the lock handle, but most of it had disintegrated with age. With the panel off, there's no difference in operation.



I was thinking about trying to bend the rod also - that's good to know that it worked for you.


I agree, I am going to spray grease in there and see if that helps.

samsonb

The part that you bent. Did you bend it down where the #29 arrow is pointing at in the diagram in the first pic?

I had a similar problem where manually locking/unlocking the door works fine. But the power door locks didn't fully lock/unlock. So I'd have to hit the button a couple of times.

aj1988

The rod I bent is in the second pic. It comes out of the actuator in an S curve and is what move the rest of the linkage. On mine it is attached at the top with a nylon connector that goes over the rod to lock it in place. I moved it and was able to get the top of the rod out and then the bottom wiggled out of the rubber connector. I then removed the nylon connector and used vice grips and pliers to bend the top down very slightly (couple of tries) till it worked.

ghlkal

Hmm ... I was thinking the issue was with rod 29 in the area I've circled here ...



But you're saying you actually worked on the rod that comes out of the actuator itself up to the point circled in blue, correct?

aj1988

Yep. where the rod goes thru where you circled had a white nylon fitting that clamps to the rod and goes thru the top hole.

Sorry it took so long to answer, I am on a road trip and just drove right at 850 miles. I love these cars.

ghlkal

As it turns out ... I spent some time cleaning and lub'ing the linkages and things do work better. The actuator seems a little lazy, or maybe it's the switch because if I hold the switch just a little longer, it does both lock and unlock fully.

I'm going to do the same to the driver's door and as long as it eventually locks and unlocks, I'll be happy.