passenger power door lock issue

98' passenger front door lock issue.
Not sure if this was an issue prior to me having the XJ or not. The day I picked her up the window regulator failed and the window fell down inside the door. I replaced the regulator and the door lock hasn't worked correctly since.

Has power, hear it trying to actuate. It's hard to explain. ... the rocker on the door panel has resistance and won't move when the door panel is in place.

With the rod disconnected from the panel, I can move the lock mechanism.
Thought I might have bent a rod when replacing the regulator so picked up several sets from a boneyard. no difference.

Then I had an idea.... rod disconnected, door closed, still wont lock electrically.
resistance to key when locking manually.

give me a direction here guys, I'm baffled.

Rod is bent. It's easy to do. Just gotta open it up, bend it a bit, and repeat till it works

Thanks,
Still trying to understand why I have resistance on the key with the rod disco'd

I want to say there are three rods: one for the handle, one for the lock button inside the cab, and one for the key cylinder.

On my '98, there are two rods for the door. Perhaps it could be a bent rod, but at this stage in the age of your XJ, I am going to bet on a faulty door actuator.

They do fail to the point where you can "barely hear" them work, but the actuator doesn't go through the full cycle range.

I've replaced all my door actuators, except for the rear passenger side one, which somehow still works just fine. I buy up a spares on Ebay, as they pop up; as they will continue to fail, and become harder to find....