Got weak door lock actuators? Try This!
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Got weak door lock actuators? Try This!
Thought I'd post some useful information I found on the web lately.
I’ve got an 00 Protégé that had very weak door lock actuators. It started with the rear doors and progressed to the passenger front where in the summer months the door lock would not open or close and the more I pressed the button the less it would move up or down. Being a mechanical engineer, I just had to disassemble the lock motor and try to clean the brushes and armature but this did nothing. So I put it back together and started looking for a replacement. Well this looked like a costly alternative so I lived with it untilmy F150 truck developed the same issue.Upon searching several forums I found the answer. Inside the motor is a thermister to prevent overheating the motor in the event the lock button is held down. Over time the thermister degradesallowing less and less current to pass through it. The fix in the F150 forum was to disassemble the motor by bending the two motor brush coverretaining tabs outward and remove the thermister from inside thebrush cover(flat plate about 6mm X 4mm X 1mm) and wrap it with aluminum foil. This would probably work but I simply removed the thermister and soldered the two spring contacts on either side of the plate together. And Wolla! Problem solved and locks work like new. I’ve fixed lock motors in both vehicles successfully. The F150 was much more difficult ‘cause the lock was riveted together but the mazda unit was all screws. I hope this helps some other do it yourselfers. Buy the way the motors were nearly identical between the F150 and Protege so this fix may work on several other vehicles as well. I've got to do the f150 drivers door this weekend. I'll post pics if time permits.
I’ve got an 00 Protégé that had very weak door lock actuators. It started with the rear doors and progressed to the passenger front where in the summer months the door lock would not open or close and the more I pressed the button the less it would move up or down. Being a mechanical engineer, I just had to disassemble the lock motor and try to clean the brushes and armature but this did nothing. So I put it back together and started looking for a replacement. Well this looked like a costly alternative so I lived with it untilmy F150 truck developed the same issue.Upon searching several forums I found the answer. Inside the motor is a thermister to prevent overheating the motor in the event the lock button is held down. Over time the thermister degradesallowing less and less current to pass through it. The fix in the F150 forum was to disassemble the motor by bending the two motor brush coverretaining tabs outward and remove the thermister from inside thebrush cover(flat plate about 6mm X 4mm X 1mm) and wrap it with aluminum foil. This would probably work but I simply removed the thermister and soldered the two spring contacts on either side of the plate together. And Wolla! Problem solved and locks work like new. I’ve fixed lock motors in both vehicles successfully. The F150 was much more difficult ‘cause the lock was riveted together but the mazda unit was all screws. I hope this helps some other do it yourselfers. Buy the way the motors were nearly identical between the F150 and Protege so this fix may work on several other vehicles as well. I've got to do the f150 drivers door this weekend. I'll post pics if time permits.
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