How on earth does the door locking system on these cars work? I’ve been going through the interior of the car, and while I had the door panels off I checked all the hoses, and wires to the lock actuators to insure that they were still good (all of which were). However, I have no clue how it is suppose to work. Is there an electric signal sent from the door to the pump when the key is turned, and that signal tells the pump to turn on and create the vacuum needed to lock or unlock the rest of the doors? If I knew HOW it worked, it would really help on trying to fix it.
Thanks in advance for your help.
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"Some people are like a Slinky... Not really good for anything, but you can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs."
1984 300SD, light blue exterior, dark blue interior, 240,000 miles.
Ira Cody Patterson,
You got it. Each actuator has a switch, that sends a signal to a pump in the trunk. It is with the spare tire. It pumps pressure or vacuum to move the actuators.
So theoretically (though, I’ve never been a fan of theoretics), if I have someone stand by the trunk with the lid open, put the key in the door, lock and unlock, the person standing at the trunk should be able to hear the pump kick on. And if the pump is not kicking in, I have an electrical problem I have to address before I can start worrying about the vacuum system. Is the correct?
Hi,
Ive only just sorted out the central locking on my 1990 500sec. The locks do cycle with the boot lid open, or mine did anyway!
There is a really easy way to test your electrical signals from the doors without pulling your door trim apart to get at the actuator. On my car there is a round 3 pin plug going into the pump in the spare wheel well. Each one of the pins is a +ve terminal for each of the doors:
1 for the passenger door,
2 for the drivers door,
3 for the trunk lid.
Get yourself a 12V light and push the +ve wire on the light into ONE of the 3 pins. Now connect the -ve wire of the light to the cars body (make sure its a good earth). Now go around the 3 locks on the car and turn the key in each lock untill you find the lock that makes the light turn on and off.
If all three terminals make the light go on and off from the three different locks then your door actuators are fine and are sending the signal....so its your pump that needs replaced
A MUCH easier way than trying to figure out all the wiring diagrams.......hope this helps!!
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