Door lock, autolamp and the cold

Hi I have been having a problem in the cold (mild, like 30) that my driver's door won't unlock by power locks. When colder it won't unlock by power, key or by hand. When you open it from the inside there is very strong resistance when you pull the inside door handle and then the door usually won't relatch until it warms up a bit. When it is being bad the lock thingy appears partially locked (inbetween up and down) and won't move at all until it lets go then all is normal door will latch lock unlock etc and all is well until the following morning. when it is like this the little latch is moveable but the key cylinder and the lock thing on the door are rock solid stuck in place... Anybody run into this before?

Secondly, um, I lost my temper a bit driving to work, now late, while holding the door shut and occasionally trying to slam the door and make it latch by anger magic Then I decided to pull over and start pulling fuses to see If I could cut the juice to the pwer locks which of course realize that the door is open and then obsessively try to lock the doors every like 3 seconds with an amazing single mindedness.... which was draining the battery noticeably even while driving. With the car still running (it was morning...) on the side of the street, I pulled fuses 6 and 7 but don't think i ever did find out what one the locks really are on... Eventually it finally let go and started working So on the way home at 5 in the dark (love that MN winter ughk!) I find out that my autolamp feature is dead. I put the fuses back in and still dead. Anybody know what I did? I kinda liked that...

PS the antiheft light blinks when I don't lock the car as it should. But if I lock it, it used to come on solid for a bit and then go out. I noticed that it when I lock the car it just goes out immediately as of a few months ago and I am not sure what to think of that... And the car has a habit of doing the obsessive locking of the doors thing sometimes which contributes to it's occasional battery/starting issues which are mild but have never really been entirely solved...

Thanks Timothy
93

RE: Door lock, autolamp and the cold

Sounds like water intrusion and corrosion of the door lock motors or door latch. That and the other symptoms sure sounds like water is intruding into the door. There should be drains that may be plugged and possibly the window rubber is cracked or leaking allowing water in.

RE: Door lock, autolamp and the cold

Exactly the same thing happened to my own Mark VIII last winter. I had to make the 40 mile drive to work with a bungee cord across my legs, stretched from the door pull handle, around the shifter, and back!!

This is a really common problem on 1st Gens in cold areas.

The latch assembly siezes and won't free up. Obviously, the major problem will be the door won't open, or if it does, it can't be latched closed again. Secondarily, the "Door Ajar" switch on the latch ends up in a half-on/half-off position that does crazy things to the locks, interior lights, and alarm.

There's a redesigned replacement latch assembly and power door lock actuator available from Ford that's the only real repair. I'll get back to you with part numbers on Monday.

For now, get the car indoors, let everything warm up and thaw out, take the door panel off, and hose the latch assembly and lock linkages down with WD-40. Besides lubricating, WD-40's important property in this situation is moisture displacement; it'll move any water out of the latch so it's not there to freeze up the next time the car sees the cold.

This may solve your problem for the rest of winter, it may only work until tomorrow, but it's worth a try.

When I get back with part numbers, we'll discuss the Autolamps further.

RE: Door lock, autolamp and the cold

OK, here goes:

Latch- part# 6F2Z-1621813-AA ~$35.00
Power Lock Actuator- part #2F2Z-16218A42-BA ~$90.00
Unique short-shank 1/4 inch rivet to hold actuator to door-W701566S417 ~$2.00

These are Canadian prices; everything's cheaper in the US.

They will look very different to what's in the door now. Don't worry, they'll fit!

The autolamps are powered by two fuses in the dash panel:
#9, which also powers the O/D cancel switch (is it working OK?)
#6, which is also the remote entry/power locks and power seat and mirror controls (do they work OK?)

There's an Autolamp relay in the underhood fuse box. It's the second one from the firewall end.

Hope this helps!