RKE

[Reattasteve]

My RKE will open the trunk but neither door. You can hear it actuate but does not fully unlock the door. if I press the lock/unlock button on the drivers side I can see the the silver manual lever go up but not enough to fully unlock the door. 

Is this a lock solenoid problem or linkage. 

 

                             Thanks

[2seater]

I had a similar issue and I removed the door panels and cleaned and lubricated everything I could get to. At the same time, I repaired the splices under the seats, which is where the power comes from and the problem was resolved. Do the red/white lights in the drivers door work?

[Reattasteve]

Yes. I just was outside messing with it and after taking off the panel around the door handle a lubricating I was able to get the passenger door to lock and unlock. When I press the lock, unlock button on the drivers side it unlocks and locks the passenger side, but there is no movement on the drivers side.

 

 

Thanks

[DAVES89]

I am willing to bet that the littlke rubber boots in the actuator arm are tore and the actuator no longer pushes the rod. Either that or the lock/unlock switch is not on the little arm.

The lock/unlock switch can be removed without taking the inner door off. To check out the rubber boot on the actuator arm the door panel has to come off.

Start with the lock/unlock switch.

[Reattasteve]

I already checked the lock/unlock switch. I took the little panel off and lubed it. Both sides. The passenger side lock/unlocks from the drivers side but there is no movement on the drivers side. so you could be right about the solenoid. That's for another day.

[Ronnie]

You might find this helpful. I posted it back in December when I was getting my car ready for spring. If you can keep pressing the lock switch and the chrome handle moves some this might fix your problems. Spraying in the area shown in the last photo helped a lot if freeing up the lock mechanism.

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Posted 12-31-2016:

 

This  morning I was able to cross the door lock sticking off the list. It turned out to be an easier job than I thought it would be without removing the door panel.

 

First I lubed the key lock outside but that didn't make the lock easier to turn although it was probably needed.

 

   

 

Then I lubricated the latch and that seemed to help slightly but moving the manual lock lever was still too hard.

 

   

 

Then I removed the door handle cup and the door lock switch so I could get at the mechanism on that end so I could lube the pivot linkage. That helped slightly but it was still sticking and hard to move.

 

   

 

Before removing the door panel I decided to see if I could look down beside the end of the window and see where the linkage attached to the the outside lock and door latch. To my surprise I could by carefully pulling the rubber cover back on the end of the door beside the window. That got me to thinking - if I could see it I should be able to spray it.

 

So, taking my can of garage door lube that comes with an extra long spray tube - I stuck the tube into the door and sprayed the pivot points on that end of the linkage. After spraying, moving the manual lever and spraying again, the door lock mechanize no longer sticks and works perfectly. Every time I hit the button the manual lever moves to full travel as it should.

 

   

 

 

The garage door lube I used should last for several years to lubricate the locks and keep linkage moving freely. It is thicker than WD-40 but not so thick that it is going to get hard and gum up the linkage. If you have a mechanical problem this probably won't work but if you just have a sticking linkage this should work.

[Reattasteve]

Thanks. The only thing I didn't do was spray the door latch and the linkage at the end of the window.. Will give that a try.

 

Thanks