On my 82 vette I am looking for the location of the power door lock relay. I replaced the switch and also the receptacle to the switch, then I bought a new actuator for it. Before installing the actuator I plugged it in, didn't work. So I put a voltmeter to the connector and found it to be showing a very small voltage when operating the switch, like -.17 V and + .17 volt, depending on which way the switch was switched. So the only thing I am suspicious of now is the relay, but can't seem to find it.

 

There is NO relay for your power door locks. VERIFY that you are getting 12 volts to the orange wire in your switch connectors....if not...then I would be looking at all of the connectors on the inside of your hinge posts and if the fuse is actually allowing 12 volts to pass through it.

AND REMEMBER...just because you are getting 12 volts...does not mean that it will work....because if the wire has 20 stands in it...and 18 of them are broken...it will still show 12 volts when checked...but when the amp draw is required to operate the actuator...it can fail due to 2 strands may not be enough to supply the amps to make the actuator move.

The actuator work as such. The actuator does NOT need to be grounded...because the power door lock switchs the power and ground on the two terminals via the switches....and YES..you need to have both switches in working order to get this system to function..

DUB

 

I did mine a few months ago. Keep in mind that if something is amiss with one door, the other will not work, either. Both actuators were burned out on mine which threw me off at first. Also, if you have not replaced the pigtails yet, almost guarantee you that you have an issue there. When I opened mine with an exacto knife I couldn't believe the blue-mold looking corrosion. The copper (before the OEMs used thin gold plating) turned to moldy looking cheese. The wires on the new ones matched up to the old, including on the drivers side which had a unique wire/color.
And, while you are in there, go to the effort of foam wrapping or otherwise insulating both the door lock and door opening rods. This, along with adjusting the door window anti- rattle pads on each door will greatly improve the sound of your doors closing. Use spray-lithium on all the moving sliders and gears while you are in there. As well.
Dave

 

The switches are in series. Both will not work if one has failed.

Make sure both have power. You will notice one has more wires going to it then the other.

Jim

 

Thanks, yes I got new pigtails, switches, and actuators for both sides. Looks like what I did was just did the drivers door without fixing the passengers as well. It looks like that is what I am missing. I spent the rest of the weekend on other tasks so I'll tackle that next weekend. Thanks!

 

Looks like you're on the case. There's a good feeling about hearing that positive engagement 'POP' sound that you will soon hear again.
Also, lubing everything in the mechanisms for the first time since the car was built and getting the doors to quietly close was a double bonus.
Good luck!

 

GREAT...BUT...THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!

Please keep in mind I repair Corvettes and this issue is VERY COMMON.

ALSO...what occurs is that when the door lock actuators begin going bad...they begin to bind up and be hard to move by hand...EVEN THOUGH they work electrically...manually they are hard to move.

IF..your door lock actuators are hard to move up and down by hand (even with the linkage disconnected at the latch)....but yet they work electrically...I would replace them.

I have gone through a dozen NEW AC Delco actuators until I found 2 good ones that are VERY EASY to move the plunger in the actuator. I feel the actuator plunger and I want it to take little to no effort for me to go up and down with the plunger...and the REASON IS....when you are going to UNLOCK your door....your door key has to move this plunger....BUT...and here is the "KICKER"...your door is SMC and I have had to repair MANY doors due to the door lock cylinder had spun and broke the SMC...so NOW...the door lock cylinder is useless....and this was caused by a binding actuator.

I have found that the DORMAN actuators are the best..because I can rock my hand back and forth and the plunger moves freely.

What I also do...which I would advise you to do..because if you do not do this ( obviously ..your choice) and you break your SMC....you WILL wish you had. I clean/lube the latch mechanism...and when I have installed the actuator and linkage...I remove the linkage from the latch and test the door key and feel it and it will lock/unlock the door freely...then I connect the linkage from the actuator assembly and test it again. IF EVERYTHING is GOOD...the effort to lock and unlock the door is well within acceptable torque vales and I finish the job. SO...this is why it is IMPORTANT that the actuator...EVEN IF NEW....is easy to manually move. If you feel like you are beginning to grit you teeth waiting on the door lock to move and unlock the door...that is too much effort and you may want to re-investigate it again.

ALSO...if this condition has been going on for a long time...I have had to replace the door lock cylinders due to the metal pawl that clips on the backside of the door lock cylinder actually eats a groove in the pot metal cylinder end...which thus changes the turning radius and sometimes will not work at all or dis-arm the alarm system.

The black plastic water diverter shields are IMPORTANT...Correctly sealed and installed will aid in other issues down the road...water/dust/dirt related.

DUB

 

If you don't mind, do you have any other valuable experience & insights as this? Good stuff and hardest earned experience, it sounds like.
Dave

 

VOLUMES!!!!!

What do you need to know...specifically.

DUB

 

I have a weird power door lock problem .The drivers side switch will lock the locks but will not unlock them.The pass side will.I changed the switch and the drivers side actuator and still does it.Sometimes it works ok.Any ideas?
?

 

Try the switches on opposite sides and see if the problem moves to the other side.

I could be the other switch or one of the wires. The switches work in series.

Check the tan and gray coming from the driver side actuator. They go from the driver side switch to the driver side actuator, then from the driver side actuator to the passenger side actuator. As you click the switch you should get the same thing on the same color wires at both actuators. If so the these wires are good.

The driver side switch has a black that is the ground and runs to the passenger side switch. The passenger side switch black grounds on the passenger side...it acts as the ground for both. Makes sure the ground on the passenger side is good.

 

A lot of impressive talent and experience on this forum

 

Thanks so much for your advise. Just ordered a Dorman actuator for my 79 corvette. Bought two on sale for 34 bucks a pair. Both moved as hard as the ones I took out. My problem was/is that I can't operator the door lock with the key when actuator is in place. Unhook the actuator and key works fine. Thanks again.