door locks

[LanceB]

My 81 automatic door locks quit working alltogether. They always seemed like they were trying too hard to work. Anyone know the best place to start looking for a solution?

 

[wishuwerehere82]

The wires on the switch connectors can get fatigued at the pins that make contact at the switches, or the switches themselves go bad. That would be a good place to start looking. The paper backing on the connector can be pryed loose to get a good lok at the connector pins. You can solder any wires that are broken off and melt the plastic pins that hold the paper with a soldering iron to re-attach them.

 

[LanceB]

Thanks, I figured that is where I need to start. I hate taking my door panels off, they are so old it seems like they get wore out the more I handle them. My windows are getting slower and slower too, so maybe replacing the motors on those will be a simultaneous project. Looks like my winter project!

 

[mike weyman]

oil the tracks of the windows and they will run like new.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Seven screws takes off the door panel. The rest is just time and money. $20.00 a piece for new switches.

 

[1980corvettegibson]

Im having door lock problems too with my 1980 Corvette. Its got electric locks and they used to work when i pushed the inside button, but the key never would open them, so i never locked them. But now they dont work at all and i dont know where to start either. One night i pushed the button down manualy while inside and liked to never got it pulled back up. I dont know if its the wires, or cylinder or what.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

If you take the door panels off, the linkages can be seen after taking the cover off the top corner of the door access opening.
You could start by spraying some lithium grease on the linkages and pivot points to loosen up the lock mechanisms, both manual and power. The actuator for the power locks is waaaaaaay inside the door and so I would leave it as a last resort when troubleshooting the problem.

If your doors do not unlock from the outside, there is probably not enough travel in the locking mechanism rods to actuate the lock/unlock lever on the release mechanism. This can be adjusted by pulling off the retainer clip with a long nose pair of fishing pliers and rotating the rod to the proper length. It's not easy, kind of like building a ship in a bottle.

If the electric locks are not working with either door switch, it's probably a broken wire at the switch connector, or the switches themselves. They are tied together through the wiring harness to grounds on the passenger side door panel.

When mine quit working, the drivers door would lock but not unlock, finally it quit working both ways. And the alarm system would only disarm on the passenger side. So I got in on the passenger side and unlocked it with the switch on the passenger side, then walked around and got in from the drivers side. Then the door latch on the drivers side wouldn't unlatch from the outside. After about a year the passenger side electric door locks quit working too.
I ended up pulling everything apart, lubing everything, putting it back together, then adjusting all of the linkages until they worked easily manually. Then I resoldered a wire that was hanging on by one strand on the passenger side switch connector, and replaced the switch on the drivers side. Everything worked after that!
I could get in the doors from the outside.
I could unlock and disarm the alarm system from both sides.
And both electric locks worked.

 

[mr mctavish]

same problem too.