Power door lock issues

[Greenspan]

Ever since I bought my 98 Sport I've never been able to get the power door locks to work. They are always stuck on unless the fuse is removed. I swapped out both the door switches and no luck. Today I was replacing the dome light and figured out if I disconnect the RKE board that fixes it and they stop running all the time. I lost the Fobs long ago so may just keep it disconnected.

But now the problem is when I go to lock/unlock the doors using the power locks I can hear all the motors running but only the passenger door lock actually moves.

Is there a track or something the power lock motors can come out of? I suspect when this fist broke (with PO) and the door locks got stuck on they probably got stuck on for at least a couple of minutes before they pulled the fuse so I wonder if the locks being held on like that for that long they may have came out of a track or stripped a gear or disconnected themselves from the lock mechanism somehow. Also are the power locks supposed to be a single click like every other car or do the motors continuously run as long as the button is held down? Mine continuously run which seems odd.

 

[halmca]

Each door lock -- there are five, counting the rear hatch -- has a small electric motor that locks/unlocks the doors, depending on the polarity of the input. The mechanism by which they lock/unlock the doors is pathetically inadequate and made of plastic. They break and permit the motors to run until the operator releases the switch. And they do so w/o locking or unlocking the doors.

When they are operating properly, you will hear a 'clunk' sort of like what a solenoid would make, but they are not solenoids. When you hear them running on -- humming, no surprise, like electric motors -- they are broken. The 'clunk' you hear when they are working properly is the hardware that must move as the doors lock and unlock, not the electric motors.

It seems to me (a non-engineer, to put it mildly) like a ridiculously complex and expensive way to control door locks. Lastly, my hard-won knowledge of these puppies coms from my experieince with a '98 Sport.

Lstly, when you get 'em fixed, a very short flick of the switches will do. Don't hold the switch in position because that causes the little half-a$$ed clutch to slip. And you want to minimize that unless you like to replace these things. I got three from ebay at about thirty skins a pop.

They are a bad design in an otherwise well designed car.

 

[Greenspan]

Okay thanks that helps a lot. It's good to know that I should be hearing a 'clunk' and not motors whirring so I know for sure probably all the motors are broken.

Reading other posts it seems like people reccomend the "universal" motors on ebay because they are cheaper. It sounds like I have a new project!

 

[halmca]

Okay thanks that helps a lot. It's good to know that I should be hearing a 'clunk' and not motors whirring so I know for sure probably all the motors are broken.

Reading other posts it seems like people reccomend the "universal" motors on ebay because they are cheaper. It sounds like I have a new project!

I didn't think to replace the motors. Please post your results. I am not at all confident that the used lock assy's I bought will last forever.

I am confident that a VERY SHORT actuation of the switch will help with their longevity.