Just picked up a '97 with a laundry list of issues! Steering, locks, CELs, etc!

[speedyspaghetti]

Originally Posted by stomachbuzz

Spent a ton of time working on the car in the past few days.
Changed out the rear wheel bearing. Not so bad, but the SIR tool would have saved several hours.

I also removed and tried to restore both door lock actuators. Just a few weeks ago, I did the same thing on my 2000 Golf. When I removed the 986 door lock module, I saw that it is ~100% identical to the one from my Golf. It's even got a VW stamping on it.

I took it all apart, and inspected carefully. I didn't find any glaring issues, but I re-soldered the 6 pins by the connector for good measure.

The car acts differently now.
The car now does not lock the driver's door when using mechanical key.
Central locking button on dash is now more responsive. It also now permanently displays a solid red light when the car is on.
The 1/4in window microswitches on my driver's door do not register, exterior or interior. They worked perfectly prior.

I also dug a bit deeper and found more info. When locking via mechanical key, the car does cycle the locks on the trunks release lever solenoid, and the fuel filler door. Lock --> unlock --> honk honk
When pressing the dash button, the same items lock, and stay locked. Now I can sometimes unlock them with the dash button.

When restoring the door lock module circuitry, I plugged in both naked circuit boards and tinkered with the microswitches. I actually got the alarm to arm and managed to set it off!
This only happened when I pressed on the microswitches corresponding to position of door lock: locked.

The issue now is that the little door lock motor will not actuate. I think if I could figure this out, the car would be functional...

Did the rear wheel bearing solve your pulling issues?