Power door locks 1981
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 33
Likes: 3
Power door locks 1981
We are having trouble with the power door locks on our 81 Corvette. We have purchased a new door lock and new actuator but it still does not work. It is not getting power to the switch for some reason. Has anyone had the problem? Do you know which fuse we should check? We tried to check the ones under the dash but did not find one that appeared to be bad. thanks in advance for your help.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 4,747
Likes: 1,642
From: Fairfax Virginia
Have you tried cleaning off the old white grease that they used at the factory? I had issues with my power windows on my 1968 C3 and the windows and door locks. After pulling the door panel I saw why. The grease gets old and turns into a hard material that will not help the parts move smoothly (or at all). I found the same stuff on the door parts of my 1988 C4 as well. It was making the door actuators work way harder to move the parts as the white grease was more like cement.
I used a hot air gun to warm it up and then I removed all of the original grease and replaced it with new grease. Now the windows and locks both work without any resistance on both of the Corvettes. There are other ways to remove the original grease but for me the heat was a easy way to soften it up to make it remove without fighting it. I did clean the parts with a solvent before putting the new grease on the parts. The old grease left some kind of residue on the plastic and metal parts.
If this was not the problem then I would verify that you have a good clean ground connection to ensure the full power gets to the actuator.
Best regards,
Chris
I used a hot air gun to warm it up and then I removed all of the original grease and replaced it with new grease. Now the windows and locks both work without any resistance on both of the Corvettes. There are other ways to remove the original grease but for me the heat was a easy way to soften it up to make it remove without fighting it. I did clean the parts with a solvent before putting the new grease on the parts. The old grease left some kind of residue on the plastic and metal parts.
If this was not the problem then I would verify that you have a good clean ground connection to ensure the full power gets to the actuator.
Best regards,
Chris
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 33
Likes: 3
It appears that it is getting fire at the passenger door switch only. It is not getting power to the drivers door switch or either actuator. I am lost - How should I proceed? As I said earlier, I have a new switch and new actuator. Also, the fuse is good.
