car won't lock!

[sb01box]

Originally Posted by 97 Boxster

I see what you are saying. Problem is, I have tried two of these door lock mechanisms and both are doing the same thing. I cant help but think its something in the harness itself somewhere. Today when I went out it worked just perfect. Its almost as if when i go down the road and it shakes something in the harness and then the lock button on the dash lights up automatically and then the windows stop dropping as they should and my alarm doesnt work like it should. Its like a trifecta of issues once I am out on the road. I still cant explain why it was working perfectly today and that yesterday it started acting up again. Has to be a wiring issue somewhere. Dont think the DLM is bad since I have tried 2 different ones.

I was keying-off of your earlier thread where you reinstalled the old unit and it worked.
Next time when you have the door panel off, with battery connected wiggle the harness near the connector. This is what I inadvertently did when trying to disconnect the harness from the DLM. The window and the interior light started to "respond"

[97 Boxster]

Will I damage the DLM by adding heat to the part where the solder needs to be repaired? How careful should I be? Any risks in taking the DLM apart?

[sb01box]

Originally Posted by 97 Boxster

Will I damage the DLM by adding heat to the part where the solder needs to be repaired? How careful should I be? Any risks in taking the DLM apart?

Reflowing solder is normal soldering operation. Simple if you know how to solder.
Taking the unit apart is relatively easy . I did not take detail photo to show you.
I recall that a plastic plate had to be remove first then removal of one halh of the case. Once there, the pwb solder joint can be examined. If it looks like the photo I placed in previous response to this thread, then the problem is there.
Reassembly is little bit tricky in that there are couple of alignments of cam/plunger or the mechanical "action" will not work.
We've two threads going here... Your three DLM's, were they new? If so, cold solder joint does not seem likely.

[97 Boxster]

OK, I took apart one of the DLM's and it appears like the points you are talking about liik like a Hersheys Kiss with a little of a wave to them. It this the problem area? Can you send me your email so I can forward this photo to you? THanks for your help.

[97 Boxster]

OK, I re soldered the joint as discussed in earlier posts and this did NOT work. The short seems to be in the harness going into the door lock mechanism. When the battery is plugged in all I have to do to get the window to drop and the light to turn on is touch the harness where it goes into the door lock mechanism. This is the same with both mechanisms that I have tried. I have spent hours trying to resolve this issue. Can anybody help please? I have noticed a little wiggle room in the harness where it plugs into the door lock mechanism and when I wiggle this it works as it should. As soon as I let it go it shuts off (the light) and the window goes back up like the door is closed. Could this be a reset issue? When I say reset I mean could I have to do the memory up and down with my windows to get it to work properly? Of course when I am working on all this my door is opened so I am not sure how to best test this. Its a pain to put the door panel back on just to find out its still the same. Thanks.

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted by 97 Boxster

OK, I re soldered the joint as discussed in earlier posts and this did NOT work. The short seems to be in the harness going into the door lock mechanism. When the battery is plugged in all I have to do to get the window to drop and the light to turn on is touch the harness where it goes into the door lock mechanism. This is the same with both mechanisms that I have tried. I have spent hours trying to resolve this issue. Can anybody help please? I have noticed a little wiggle room in the harness where it plugs into the door lock mechanism and when I wiggle this it works as it should. As soon as I let it go it shuts off (the light) and the window goes back up like the door is closed. Could this be a reset issue? When I say reset I mean could I have to do the memory up and down with my windows to get it to work properly? Of course when I am working on all this my door is opened so I am not sure how to best test this. Its a pain to put the door panel back on just to find out its still the same. Thanks.

All you need to do is trace which wire it is in the harness that is having the issue.
Use either a circuit light, or a DVOM, and test each wire's continuity to ground to see if its one wire in particular that is having the issue, then back track it through to the car body, and see if the harness was pinched somewhere between.

If it's just one wire, you can easily splice in a new wire to fix it.
Enough testing, and you might even be able to find the break point, and fix it there.

BC.

[97 Boxster]

Originally Posted by Bladecutter

All you need to do is trace which wire it is in the harness that is having the issue.
Use either a circuit light, or a DVOM, and test each wire's continuity to ground to see if its one wire in particular that is having the issue, then back track it through to the car body, and see if the harness was pinched somewhere between.

If it's just one wire, you can easily splice in a new wire to fix it.
Enough testing, and you might even be able to find the break point, and fix it there.

BC.

BC

Thanks for the input. I was thinking of that, but all I have to do is put a little pressure with my finger on the harness where it plugs into the Door Lock Mechanism and it works until I take my fingers off of it. Its such a "minor" short that I cant believe I cant fix it. Since I have tried 2 door lock mechanisms I think that is out of the question. Any other advice? Thanks for the quick response.

[97 Boxster]

Originally Posted by Bladecutter

All you need to do is trace which wire it is in the harness that is having the issue.
Use either a circuit light, or a DVOM, and test each wire's continuity to ground to see if its one wire in particular that is having the issue, then back track it through to the car body, and see if the harness was pinched somewhere between.

If it's just one wire, you can easily splice in a new wire to fix it.
Enough testing, and you might even be able to find the break point, and fix it there.

BC.

I was thinking if the harness was a little more snug at the connection that this would solve it. Any ideas??