I've got a case of the dancing door lock syndrom. After I bought my 91 348, I installed a remote door lock system with the key fob. Haven't had a problem with it since. But every now and then when I push the button to lock the car, the locks go half way down then back up. Then sometimes when in the car, they do their little dance routine, up & down, up & down. I know where the problem is because i've done enough investigation to find it. The passenger door lock is the culprit. The problem is with the passenger door latch. As shown in the pictures, when the door closes, it's latches push back to form a circle around the door striker securing the door to the jamb. What happens is when the door closes and then latches, the door then relaxes and the latches have pressure against them in reverse of when they are pushed into the striker. That little bit of play in the latches causes the electric lock selenoid to malfunction. My question is how can I fix this problem? If i move the striker, it won't make any difference because the door is already tight and is aligned with the other body pannels, plus the problem is not with the striker, it's with the latches. First pic with door open. Second pic with latches closed (simulated door against striker) Third pic is the little bit of play that won't allow the selenoid to function properly Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mine do that too. I have a Clifford alarm with remote locks. The door must be ABSOLUTELY closed... and closed firm. Then, I need to make damn sure the alarm is 'reset' before arming again. On mine, the remote control is some POS from "DEI". The "I" button locks and unlocks. The "II" seems to reset the system. Or... thats how the she-devil appears to function.
It's funny when I first close the pass door everything is fine. But after a few miles, apparently the door relaxes just enough to allow the latches to come back towards the jamb causing the problem.
The same thing happened to mine. Every once in a while, I couldn't lock the car from the drivers side - locks would pop up. (no remote door lock installed). They typically do that when a door is not properly closed, so I tried slamming the passenger door and the locks would work. A month later the passenger door would not latch - latch was stuck open. I pulled out the latch, cleaned and oiled it but couldn't get it to work. I called a friend of mine that owns a body shop and he came over - within 15 mins of manipulating the plunger and parts inside with oil and his hands, it worked perfectly. He said was a common problem with latches - they collect dirt and tend to stick. In the minor case, the door locks don't work and in the major case, your door doesn't close - luckily it happened in my driveway and not somewhere on the road. Sorry I don't have detailed information - I was the amazed observer.
