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Qmulus · 03-24-2016, 06:51 AM

I had the same issue and fixed it last week. I also had an issue with the latch assembly as it was improperly reading the status of the latch and lock.

I replaced the regulator, which was a pretty straightforward. Had I had the bike cable part, I wouldn't have hesitated to give it a try, but I had a good used regulator so I just used that one.

I wasn't too excited about buying a new latch and thought I would give a shot at finding and repairing the problem. There is a small circuit board inside the latch with a couple of microswitches, as well as a micro switch clipped onto the mechanism. The internal switches tested out fine, but there were cold solder joints on connector pins, which I cleaned and resoldered. The switch on the outside door handle tested out fine. The external microswitch had a few tenths of an Ohm more resistance than the rest, so I carefully disassembled it, cleaned the internal switch contacts and added a dab of Stabilant 22 "contact enhancer". Now the resistance on that switch reads lower than the rest. I think the root of the issue was the solder joints on the circuit board in the latch assembly, but the external microswitch could also have created an issue at some point as well. The alarm system is happy once again!

For what it is worth, I had borrowed a PST-2 and found that there were codes in the alarm module for the door switches in the passenger door, and by watching the status of the signals at the latch it was apparent which switch(es) I needed to look at. All in all, finding the source of my alarm problem took just a few minutes. A Durametric tool may also have the functionality to provide the same information. Without the diagnostic tools, troubleshooting the alarm system would have been very difficult.

While I was there I also cleaned out some broken glass, and repaired the vapor barrier that was obviously damaged by the glass installer who decided to cut around the air bag and not vacuum out all the glass when the window was replaced at some point. I really hate having to go back and fix things that someone was too lazy or careless to do the right way the first time.

03-24-2016, 06:51 AM	#9
Qmulus inveniam viam aut faciam Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Arvada, CO Posts: 440	I had the same issue and fixed it last week. I also had an issue with the latch assembly as it was improperly reading the status of the latch and lock. I replaced the regulator, which was a pretty straightforward. Had I had the bike cable part, I wouldn't have hesitated to give it a try, but I had a good used regulator so I just used that one. I wasn't too excited about buying a new latch and thought I would give a shot at finding and repairing the problem. There is a small circuit board inside the latch with a couple of microswitches, as well as a micro switch clipped onto the mechanism. The internal switches tested out fine, but there were cold solder joints on connector pins, which I cleaned and resoldered. The switch on the outside door handle tested out fine. The external microswitch had a few tenths of an Ohm more resistance than the rest, so I carefully disassembled it, cleaned the internal switch contacts and added a dab of Stabilant 22 "contact enhancer". Now the resistance on that switch reads lower than the rest. I think the root of the issue was the solder joints on the circuit board in the latch assembly, but the external microswitch could also have created an issue at some point as well. The alarm system is happy once again! For what it is worth, I had borrowed a PST-2 and found that there were codes in the alarm module for the door switches in the passenger door, and by watching the status of the signals at the latch it was apparent which switch(es) I needed to look at. All in all, finding the source of my alarm problem took just a few minutes. A Durametric tool may also have the functionality to provide the same information. Without the diagnostic tools, troubleshooting the alarm system would have been very difficult. While I was there I also cleaned out some broken glass, and repaired the vapor barrier that was obviously damaged by the glass installer who decided to cut around the air bag and not vacuum out all the glass when the window was replaced at some point. I really hate having to go back and fix things that someone was too lazy or careless to do the right way the first time. __________________ '03 S, manual, 18" Carrera wheels, PSM, PSE, Litronic, 996 Cluster, + Last edited by Qmulus; 03-24-2016 at 07:02 AM.