FAQ: Power Door Lock Problems

albertj wrote:

By the way, now when you hit the lock button and it dings, it will lock itself ~5 seconds sfter all the doors are closed. So you could push the button, get out of the car, and walk away - the car will lock itself and arm its theft deterrent...
Albertj

Gee, I wish I'd said that... Oh wait, I did.

Eldo wrote:

albertj wrote:

By the way, now when you hit the lock button and it dings, it will lock itself ~5 seconds sfter all the doors are closed. So you could push the button, get out of the car, and walk away - the car will lock itself and arm its theft deterrent...
Albertj

Gee, I wish I'd said that... Oh wait, I did.

uh-huh, thanks for poking it out.

Albertj

On my 97 Riv, when I hit the lock/unlock button, the passenger door locks/unlocks no problem, but the drivers door doesn't work at all, I checked the wires and it's getting power when the button is pushed, and I have changed the lock/latch in the door with two different ones from the boneyard, could it be that I got 2 bad ones ? or could it be something else????

maximum wrote:

On my 97 Riv, when I hit the lock/unlock button, the passenger door locks/unlocks no problem, but the drivers door doesn't work at all, I checked the wires and it's getting power when the button is pushed, and I have changed the lock/latch in the door with two different ones from the boneyard, could it be that I got 2 bad ones ? or could it be something else????

Did you check the wires at the connector or at the lock/latch?

Albertj

at the lock/latch

there's a d/door lock relay under the back seat, if it was bad, could the passenger door lock ,but not the driver door ????

time to get *new* (not boneyard) latch......

Albertj

ok I took the latest latch that I got, and pluged it in on the passenger side, and it works !!! so theres got to be something going on, on just the drivers side ?

no one knows if the relay could be causing this ???

maximum wrote:

no one knows if the relay could be causing this ???

Assumed you swapped the relay with a known good one already.

If not, try that.

Albertj

its different from any of the others !

maximum wrote:

its different from any of the others !

Without actually looking for myself I'm not so sure.

Anyway - for a relay to swap, try a junkyard or NAPA/CarQuest/Advantage/PepBoys. I got a number of spare thermal fuses last tiome I went the the pick n pull - they charged me I think a buck for the pocketful and I think that buck went in the jar by the coffeepot... even new, relays are not free but also not very pricey.

got a new one, have to try it out later and see if that works....keeping the fingers crossed

found 3 wires broke int the rubber boot between the door and body, fixed them and now everything works as it should, Thanks for the help

I would love if you could do a write up on the change, since my pax door is doing the exact same thing, when you hit the button the lock in the door doesnt rotate all the way allowing it to stay unlocked. I imagine replacing the actuator will solve this..

I dont have any more photos of the change so cant really explain other than in plain text. Needless to say its quite fiddley and awarkward.

The only part i found really hard was fitting the new actuator boot into its socket. You have to make sure you dont force it as you do not want to split the boot again, I dont know where you can get the boot from withoout the actuator.

Since both items are technically 'options', I don't know which would be which, but my best guess is that between the 'main' arm, and the add-on dimple piece, one of them is the disarm-switch for the alarm/content-theft-deterrent, and the other is the switch that unlocks both doors if you hold the key over for a couple seconds...

ok soo my drivers door will not unlock automatically... i can open it and unlock it.. but when i use the "unclock and lock button" on the door or the fob there is a click noise under the dash.. Umm I'd really like to fix this.. if you can help me.. give me a call if you know my number call or text me... SRSLY... THANKS!!!!

Or ill try to check this post.. but ya i'd like to have this done by 8pm

Travis

fuse? relay? if its not that the only other thing that i could think of is something broke or the motor is dead

If the door switch and the remote both click under the dashboard but don't work the lock, I'd say that everything is good up to the BCM, but you either have a broken door wire (not uncommon) or a bad actuator.

Eldo wrote:

If the door switch and the remote both click under the dashboard but don't work the lock, I'd say that everything is good up to the BCM, but you either have a broken door wire (not uncommon) or a bad actuator.

hm alright. ill check it out. thanks

ive had this problem before. tear open the door and examine the "arm"that actuates the ,open/close mech.hard to explain but,the end of the "arm" sets into a white rubber kidney shaped gasket thingie,this gasket over time developes a tear at the corner,allowing the :arm:to pop out of the gasket. check it out. mine made the same noises and i figured that i could hear the mech activate then the problem lay elswhere....

robotennis61 wrote:

ive had this problem before. tear open the door and examine the "arm"that actuates the ,open/close mech.hard to explain but,the end of the "arm" sets into a white rubber kidney shaped gasket thingie,this gasket over time developes a tear at the corner,allowing the :arm:to pop out of the gasket. check it out. mine made the same noises and i figured that i could hear the mech activate then the problem lay elswhere....

kkk brahh.. ill check it out tomorrow.

I am new to the forum and to owning a Riviera. I love the car and I think its the best car I ever purchased. Now I have a problem. My driver side door will not open. I used the remote and the key and tried manually from the inside and I can't get it open. My mechanic started messing with the rods inside and he could not get it either. He said he will have to play with it for a while to figure out how to get the door open.

Also, I may loose my interior door panel as a result of the fix. If anyone know of a good aftermarket dealer that sales door interior panels that would be helpful too. Sorry for the long question. I just want my Riviera looking and performing good again. That car is my baby. Please help and thanks in advance.

EliteOutlaw

Unfortunately, no aftermarket companies make door panels for these cars so you're stuck finding a used OEM one. I suggest your local JY or trying moradparts on ebay. If you're talking about the whole interior door skin, that might cost some $$$$ to send.

Sorry I couldn't give you better info.