hello,

the driver's door lock has stopped working in my 1992 Aerostar 3.0.

All the other door locks work/respond to the lock/unlock switches.

I removed the driver's door upholstery panel to look inside the door.

I found a white/blue striped wire with a female rubber-covered connector, just hanging disconnected. This wire is factory tape-wrapped with the thin black wire that is still connected to the switch.

does anybody know where this wire connects to?

I cannot find any 'male' terminal that matches the female connector, which is similar to the type used behind the cigar lighter, sort of a push-on over a threaded stub type.

Thanks for any help.

Jose

 

probably an Eddie Bauer model option wire, same wire loom used across all levels

do you have 12v in and out of PDL switch when pushed
these switches open fail, aftermarket replacement avail at parts stores

 

thanks for reply, it must be an XLT or EB wire, there is no other matching connector in there, certainly not in the door latch mechanism or solenoid.

what is the PDL switch?

 

That extra hanging wire may be part of an illuminated entry system that your car does not have. On models that do, if you lift the door handle, the interior lights turn on for about 30 seconds. I don't believe the Aerostar ever came with lighted key holes, but other models had that as well.

PDL = Power Door Lock. If you don't have a wiring problem with the switch, the problem could be the door lock motor.

A common problem is the rubber bellows on the door lock motor cracking, allowing water to get into the motor, and corroding things. First the corrosion makes the motor sticky, so its action is slow, and you can feel it when you try to push down on th elock ****, or unlock with your key. If the water problem gets worse, it will leak into the electrical contacts (brushes) of the motor, causing failures there. I had to repair one of mine (driver's side) due to these problems.

In my case I think it was probably started by the failure of a rubber seal on the driver's side window. It allowed a lot of water to get into the door. The way the lock motor is positioned makes it very easy for water to find its way right in. I haven't found another replacement for those bellows yet, so I try to use lots of waterproof grease around the actuating shaft.

 

hi,

the power door lock switches ( Lock/Unlock ) are fine on both doors, they unlock and lock all other 3 power lock solenoids fine.

the only lock not responding is the driver's door lock solenoid, and indeed the rubber cover or "bellows" over the solenoid or "motor" is sort of flaky. Surely water got in it and correded or damaged the brushes.

There is a black, thin wire, connected with a removable plastic connector, to the lock or "latch" assembly.

I sprayed WD40 but no difference.

Can the solenoid be removed to check it? it looks sort of removable but I don't know how to, and don't want to break anything trying. The people who assemble these must have tiny hands to be able to work in there.

I might replace the driver's door solenoid with the one from the rear hatch, assuming they are the same, while I get to a salvage yard for another one.

thanks for your hints.

Jose

 

Jose,

You can remove the door lock motor. (It is a motor with a worm and ball nut drive that moves the shaft up and down.) If you look at the outer edge of the door, you will see an aluminum rivet. It fastens a bracket that holds the motor to the door. If you drill that out, you can remove the motor. The linkage from the motor has a 90 degree bend at its end that goes through a plastic bushing that goes through a hole in a lever attached to the lock mechanism. There is a small metal clip that holds the rod end onto the bushing. You have to flick the clip off (it's clipped onto the rod itself) and swing it out of the way to loosen the bushing that captures the rod end in the lever. This is the trickiest part of the job, so make sure you don't lose these little attachment parts, as you will need them to re-attach the rod to the lock mechanism again.

Then you can disconnect the electrical connector to the motor and pull it out. You can now either try to repair the motor or just replace it.

You will need to make some kind of fastener to re-attach the bracket to the door. I used a 1/4-20 bolt about 1/4" long that I epoxied (you can tack-weld it too) to the bracket so it stayed in place as I inserted it back through its original mounting hole. I then put a nut and lock washer on the outside to hold it in place; there is enough gap between the door edge and the frame for this. I think this part required that the bracket be removed from the motor first, and then re-attached after attaching the bolt.

good luck

 

That loose wire could be for the "door ajar" switch instrument panel light. It connects up to the latch up inside the door skin, fiddly to get to. When a door is open, it is what senses if the clasp is closed & hence the door. If all doors are closed the light goes out. Somene may have disconnected it because the switch is faulty & the panel light stays illuminated.

The door lock motor is a fiddle also, somehow you need to disconnect the power wires & remote a 12v wire to the motor, while grounding the other wire, reverse this to check operation. If this test works then a power wire is damaged or connection is bad, run a new wire>

ATB Aeroman.

 

xlt4wd90 and Aeroman,

with the info. you have supplied, I'll start working on it tomorrow and will let you know what happens.

I will drill out the screw-on rivet, to remove the bracket and motor. I can replace the rivet with a very flat, self-threading machine screw of which I have a few.

The door ajar wire I think is a thin black wire and plastic connector plug, which connects to the latch, and the door ajar warning is working fine in all doors;

the loose wire i am referring to must be for the delayed illumination which my XL van does not have. It has a rubber-covered, round, hollow connector, similar to those that connect at the rear of cigar lighters to the center screw, for 12V.

Jose

 

Now you mention it I think I have the same wire dangling in my door also, & I don't have the delayed lighting function either, so you may well be right on that one.
You could also check the motor with a DVOM & compare with another lock motor.

Aeroman

 

dangling wire may also be heated mirror option on EB

 

I got the motor out, but it looks impossible to open, the crimp seal is way too tight to bend outwards and remove the black plastic motor assembly.

I do have 12V power to the pink wire at the motor connector. Obviously it's the motor.

Jose

 

try squirting some PB Blaster in thru seams.

no WD40, that garbage is like sticky super glue when it drys, will make the motor worse

 

96_4wdr,

I did, but no response, looks like the motor is dead. Going to check the rear hatch motor to see if it's the same, and if so, try it on the driver's door, that will give me a good diagnosis in case the wire harness is the culprit.

BTW: the rubber cover or "boot" is all desintegrated.

 

too bad on the spray not working
new door lock motors are spendy
don't bother with junke yard dogs for these, more leakers corroded out

try our FTE sponsor rockauto.com, they have good prices and great selection especially for the electrical on the Aeros from severl diff. manuf.s for same part.
better than the local store that may only have 1 electrical supply distributor brand.
not affiliated. just great service and they saved me money.

 

thanks for the tip about RockAuto, I've purchased parts from them before, for my '65 Jaguar believe it or not!

Jose