Door lock problem

[DrugDr]

My 2000 RT/10 4000mi driver side door lock automatically locks itself without key fob use and will not unlock or only partially unlocks itself. Passenger side works fine. Unknown main battery age but key fob battery brand new. Any suggestions greatly apreciated

 

[carguy07]

I would check the wiring harness first. Lots of problems there.

 

[KWIK96]

Wiring harness inside the rubber boot between the door and body. Almost 100% for sure

 

[vipah]

Did this solve the problem? My driver door is doing the same thing.

 

[LETHAL GTS]

Harness like mentioned above.

 

[DrugDr]

I looked inside rubber boot, but did not see any obvious wire problems. When I have more time I will disassemble the door for a closer look. Thanks

 

[GTSnake]

You have to tug each wire inside the harness. It's not obvious if you just look at it. There may be a partially severed connection causing your gremlins. I on 5 wires soldered over 3 years.

 

[vipah]

I tried tugging the wires but nothing. Do I have to remove the door panel or is the problem typically under the dash? Inside the boot the wires all looked fine. There sure are a lot of wires to check.

 

[ByteMe]

I have had 2 door problems other than the wire problem.
1. The microswitch to open the door was intermittant - that's inside the pushbutton used to open the door. You can test this in conjunction with 2. below.
2. The latch mechanism had problems. You can check this by opening the door, manually changing its position as if it is latched (closed door position, leaving door open), then press the door opener button.

 

[vipah]

I have had 2 door problems other than the wire problem.
1. The microswitch to open the door was intermittant - that's inside the pushbutton used to open the door. You can test this in conjunction with 2. below.
2. The latch mechanism had problems. You can check this by opening the door, manually changing its position as if it is latched (closed door position, leaving door open), then press the door opener button.

The pushbutton won't open the latch, but the inside handle works fine. Does that sound like the microswitch to you?

I presume I need to pull the door panel to fully diagnose this.

thanks for the help.

 

[GTSnake]

I had the same symptoms. The pushbutton was intermittent in opening the door but the inside handle had no problems. I tore apart my door panel and found the microswitch fine. Again I went back to the harness and tugged at each wire and eventually one of the wires popped apart. I believe it was blue with red stripe. Whenever I have any electrical issues with the driver door I automatically go right to the harness. It's most likely the culprit.

I firmly believe I will eventually replace each and every wire in that harness

 

[plumcrazy]

does the exterior button feel the exact same as on the passenger side? i mean is the button going in far enough ?

mine wasnt and it ended up just needing a little compressed air to clean it out and a little bit of lubricant.

 

[Big Medicine]

WD-40 on the button mechanism will likely cure. You have to take the stanchion off to access.

 

[Randy]

The pushbutton won't open the latch, but the inside handle works fine. Does that sound like the microswitch to you?

Thats either going to be the wire in the harness, or the microswitch, I bet.

 

[Randy]

I firmly believe I will eventually replace each and every wire in that harness

After splicing something like 12 wires in the driver's side door wiring harness, I finally replaced the harness (even with a VCA discount, the cost of the harness is something like $350 or more). Of course, I fully expect to have to start splicing them in another two or three years.

 

[GTSnake]

I firmly believe I will eventually replace each and every wire in that harness

After splicing something like 12 wires in the driver's side door wiring harness, I finally replaced the harness (even with a VCA discount, the cost of the harness is something like $350 or more). Of course, I fully expect to have to start splicing them in another two or three years.

But if you replace the entire harness you will have to start over and splice again. When I replace the wire I allow extra length so that there is no tension in the wire. Hopefully that will be a permanent fix so that the wire won't have to be repaired again.

 

[vipah]

Is the soldering done at a connection under the dash or in the door, or both?

 

[GTSnake]

Is the soldering done at a connection under the dash or in the door, or both?

All of my soldering has been in the door hinge area. Although I've heard that some have had breaks under the dash bend.

 

[Randy]

After splicing something like 12 wires in the driver's side door wiring harness, I finally replaced the harness (even with a VCA discount, the cost of the harness is something like $350 or more). Of course, I fully expect to have to start splicing them in another two or three years.

But if you replace the entire harness you will have to start over and splice again. When I replace the wire I allow extra length so that there is no tension in the wire. Hopefully that will be a permanent fix so that the wire won't have to be repaired again.

I sincerely doubt splicing is a permanent fix at all. The problem is not the tension on the wire, so putting longer wires won't be a fix. The problem is probably not the type of wire, so replacing with heavier or different wire probably won't be a fix. The problem is the design of the door. Watch the wiring sleeve when the door closes - it is crimped into a 180-degree sharp bend by the closing of the door because the chassis and door entry points for the harness exactly line up - no type of wire or length of wire is going to correct that. The only way to "permanently" fix it would be to make the hole in the door not be at exactly the same point as the hole in the chassis - offsetting them by a number of inches would alleviate part of the hard 180-degree bend, and would allow for a general "twisting motion" which will also go through wires, but probably not as fast as the current design.

 

[DrugDr]

The problem seems to be an intermittant door button microswitch since it is now working properly with no fix by me other than looking real hard at it. I did notice my inner door trim pad stanchion has a slight crack in it. Does andy body have a source and price for this 2000 RT/10

 

[GTSnake]

The problem seems to be an intermittant door button microswitch since it is now working properly with no fix by me other than looking real hard at it. I did notice my inner door trim pad stanchion has a slight crack in it. Does andy body have a source and price for this 2000 RT/10

That's the exact symptoms I had with my door popper and I fixed it by soldering a new wire.

From what I was told the harness is too short and when you close the door the wiring is in constant tension. When you bend the wire 180 deg if you have more slack it will be less likely to break. Over time it will still fail due to repetitive bending but not from tension.

 

[Vic]

Randy, Wire comes in a huge variety of flexibility. There are special wires that can be flexed millions of times in a relatively tight radius. Other types of industry use such wires, like in my field, which is elevators. We use special flexible cables to power the elevator cab, that often lasts the life of the building, all the while constantly flexing. Your Viper will be in the Smithsonian, before some of these types of wires wear out! This type of wire is much more expensive than what is used in automobiles, because auto manufacturers use about the cheapest wire they can, as the cost savings mutilplied over millions of units is substantial. That is why you will never see special flexible general wiring in most autos. Most of the time, the grade they use is adequate, only in this case of the Viper, the spec and expected use of the wiring was exceeded.

Although the connection between the car body and the door is poorly designed, (as you so aptly stated), imo, replacing with super flexible wiring is the cheapest alternative. Yes, changing the the boot arrangement would mitigate the bending effect, but it is still a lot more work than just changing the wires themselves. Randy, Who knows!, maybe I'll end up doing exactly what you describe. But I'll wait and see how long it takes the super-flex stuff to break. Next time I get in there, will be the last time!

http://www4.forum.viperclub.org/showflat...true#Post668895

 

[Randy]

Randy, Wire comes in a huge variety of flexibility. There are special wires that can be flexed millions of times in a relatively tight radius. Other types of industry use such wires, like in my field, which is elevators. We use special flexible cables to power the elevator cab, that often lasts the life of the building, all the while constantly flexing

OK, I'll believe that easily. My assumption was that you didn't have access to the specialty wire that, while I know it exists for such umbilical installations, I've not been able to find myself (granted, I did not look that hard). So, cool - the next time I get a break, I'll be looking for this stuff again. Replacing the whole harness has, however, hopefully granted me a two to four year reprieve on splicing wires.