Power remote door locks

[jorhodes]

I have an 06 Elise (polar blue, tour pack, optional wheels, LSD with traction control) that I have been driving regularly weekdays from home in Bellevue to U. of Washington campus in Seattle (about 13 miles each way). The car now has about 650 miles on it.

Friday, Feb. 3, the driver's side door came open as I was coming out of my driveway. I stopped on the street and closed it again, but it pushed open. I closed it a couple more times, each time more firmly, and at that point it no longer pushed open so I drove on. I made one shopping stop on the way to school and as far as I recall the door opened, closed, locked, unlocked, and opened normally. Then at school I closed and locked the door normally. All the locking operations were with the fob and the power locks, as I have been told the mechanical door locks are redundant--or extra protection perhaps.

Then, upon leaving to go home I opened the door and got in to drive away. However, the door did not latch. Then I closed it several times, more and more firmly, and could not get it to latch. So finally I actuated the key fob and the lock to try to keep it closed. That did keep it closed--so much so that I could not get the door open again. When I got home, I crawled across the passenger seat and out the passenger door.

Monday morning I called my dealer, Park Place Ltd., and took the car to them (entry and exit via passenger door). They could not open it right away. They said they had had several cars with door lock problems, but mine was the most severe they had seen. They kept the car overnight and by this morning the locking and latching mechanism had been repaired. The mechanic said he had to file some parts to get it to work, and then he lubricated it well. They have an order in for some replacement locking mechamism that is supposed to be an improvement on the original.

Anyone else here have a similar experience? I only learned that there is no mechanical backup for the electrical locking mechanism when I took delivery of the car (Jan 3 as I recall) and I said to the salesman at the time that I did not like that idea. Little did I expect to have a problem with it so soon.

Also, they are ordering for me some kit to improve the AM radio reception.

John from Bellevue

[Hatterhead]

Although I have not had a problem like yours, I agree that the push button on the door not unlocking the auto lock is a pain in the neck. I seldom use my alarm and I only lock the car at the door, which means I have to walk around the car to lock/unlock both sides. I do this because I am concerned that I will have locked the auto lock and come back only to find out that my key fob battery has died and I won't be able to get into the car.

There was a thread on Etalk about installing an emergency unlock switch in the boot of the car that is wired to the impact switch in the engine compartment that senses if the car has been hit. The switch shuts off the fuel pump and unlocks the doors, so by intercepting the correct wire you can have the extra switch in the boot that you can use to open the doors.

I would like to figure out a way to somehow wire the door button to the door lock switch on the console so you could just put your key in the door, turn it once and the auto door locks will unlock. Anybody out there have any ideas on this?

[RegGuy]

I have not had this problem with my 2005, but the concern is real.

I'm sorry to say that I had to laugh at the thought of crawling through the passenger door to exit and enter the car. People think it's hard enough getting in and out.

My other car (blush I won't admit what it is) in the winter sometimes the doors won't open and I have to crawl through the trunk. So I've got a little practice. I'm still hoping to never have to resort to that maneuver. How has it been since then?

[jorhodes]

An emergency unlock switch in the boot is a good idea. References to wiring information (routing, detailed switch location, wiring diagram) would be helpful. I would still like a mechanical backup, but have no idea how. As I mentioned I prefer to use the fob locks for several reasons: convenience and alarm and immobilizer features. So I have generally ignored the mechanical lock.

Entering and exiting via the passenger door was not very difficult for me. I am short, only 5 ft 4 in. Since the dealer repared the mechanism, it has worked fine. It feels smoother in operation than original and better than the (still original) passenger door lock.

Thanks for the responses.

John from Bellevue

[s.w.g.]

I have a 05 elise my doors will not unlock help!!!!
doors will lock with remote will not unlock with remote or key ,battery fully charged,car sat up for two month

[ace10]

swg, you need to be very specific as to what conditions you are experiencing.

are you locked out of the car with no access to the interior?
is there any chance that someone used the key to turn the lock cylinder on the exterior of the door?
what is the light on the instrument cluster doing?
have you driven the car lately? if not, is your car on a battery charger?

post all the details, as there are many causes of the condition yuu are experiencing.

[s.w.g.]

doors will lock with remote but not unlock with remote or key battery fully charged.Car sat up for two month .

[ace10]

Originally Posted by s.w.g.

doors will lock with remote but not unlock with remote or key battery fully charged.Car sat up for two month .

this problem is not going to be solved with a sentence of two on your part. i'm sorry. you need to S P E L L it out.

how do you know that the battery in the car is fully charged? are you putting a voltmeter on it or has it been on a maintence harged for the past two months?
what is the alarm light on the dash doing?
have you tried to use your other remote?
how can you tell that the remote will lock? are you just hearing the solenoid firing?
do you have access to the interior of the car?

this is a common problem, however there are a WIDE variety of causes.

i'm not going to post ten or twenty times trying to walk you through this. if you answer the questions i am asking, then the potential cause(s) can be diagnosed and the problem resolved.

[s.w.g.]

i was able to unlock the car using a coat hanger and started the car. the switch on the boot will lock but will no unlock. tried both remotes i hear the solinoid when locking but not unlocking. the light in car is flashing red when i use the remote the light goes off. the door sill button is very hard lift up have to use pliars to lift it. thank you very much for your help.

[ace10]

well i think you're in the middle of a bit of a mess...

so we've confirmed that the battery is good as indicated by the starter turning the motor over.
and we've confirmed that the remotes are working, as evidenced by the solenoids activating when you press the button. so no need to resynch them.

the lock posts (on the top of the window sills) should be very difficult to pull up. you really should NOT be yanking on them.

ok, so here's the next two questions:
A-are the keyslots (on the exterior door latch button) horizontal or vertical? they should be horiztontal. if they're vertical, use the key to rotate and then try the fob again.
B-what happens when you cycle the interior door lock switch on the center console? are the posts on the window sills going up and down and are the doors unlocking?

[s.w.g.]

Locks are horiztontal.when i cycle the interior door lock switch on console only when i rock switch to the right will the lock move not to the left side.

[john86]

I have a problem with a 1995 Toyota Camry, you cannot lock all the doors from the switch on the drivers side or passenger side. The locks will cycle to the locked position and they cycle back to unlocked. I have tried everything i can think of and it is comming down to the actual lock itself, I believe may be causing the issues, there has to be some sort of position indicator on the lock or a trigger. One of these locks I think is causing the issue but I will have to tear them all apart and possibly meter the switches to find out which one is the culprit.