Well again I wish mine was normal, replaced one actuator, no go. Blowing a fuse after several activations, unplugged all actuators still blowing fuse, I believe I have a bad Vehicle Security Module, VSM. Got it out, now just need to find a replacement!!!!

 

I may be wrong on this but the VSM system must talk to the PCM to allow the vehicle to start. If you buy a new VSM make sure it matches your VIN or it may not allow the vehicle to start. Just check to confirm.

 

Nope I have it out and disconnected, just strange things like the radio does not auto shut off and automatic lights don't come on and yes I believe the new one will need to be programed to the vehicle.

thanks

 

I just finished the foil fix for my doorlocks. They all work!. Very pleased and so are my wife and kids. I did 2 doors and hatch yesterday then this a.m. read about the screwdriver in the latch manuever and voila! Went so much faster to finish the other 2 today.

Some tips:

1. do this in the daylight if you can as it's difficult to see inside the door when it's dark;
2. I did remove the outside handle so I can hang a light there for better viewing to shine through to the inside of the door;
3. don't wear any heavy clothing on your arms- I kept getting snagged on the inside of the door when reaching in there;
4. and dont' loosen or move the window channel out of the way- I did this so I can get my arm in the door with more ease but now the channel is out of alignment and I can't get it to open or close without a little manual persuasion!

Over all I am very pleased. Thanks for all the info and tips!

 

I did mine a few months ago. they work great.

i lost the link to the instructions on how to do this.
i have a friend who needs to do this mod.

it was a step by instructions with pictures. anyone know where it is ??
thanks.
i could do them for him, but he is in another state..

 

I did my truck this summer. Just did my brothers truck last night. It wasn't so cheap for him though... I drank his beer during the project so of course I wasn't in too much of a hurry. ;-) He's still very happy. This is an amazing fix. Thanks again guys.

 

OK - Here's the scoop. These little "resistors" everyone is talking about are actually called "PTC resistors". Stands for "Positive Temperature Coefficient" resistor. This means that as they heat up from current flowing in the motor, their resistance INCREASES and thereby limits the motor drive current to prevent burning up the motors in case your kids (or the dog) tries to hold down the door lock buttons. This is a great idea except that they weren't the right kind for this design. Some brilliant engineer (probably with a college degree) did a ****-poor job designing these (or worse, management instructed him to cheapen the design as much as possible, etc.) The bottom line is they should have been physically larger and NOT installed inside the motor casing. So here's what we're gonna do: Jump across the failed resistor in some way (aluminum foil isn't my favorite method to use, but if it works for you then make it so...) such that the resistor is completely shorted across and is effectively out of the circuit. Then go to your friendly neighborhood MOUSER electronics (Mouser Electronics - Electronic Component Distributor) and order (online) some larger PTC resistors (don't worry - these things are way CHEAP) that are higher quality and better suited for this application. Put your actuators back together. Now, cut one of the two wires (I prefer cutting the positive wire, but I'm funny like that...) leading to the motor connector (NOT the door sensor!), strip back the insulation, and solder your new PTC resistor into the circuit. Make good shiny "well wetted" connections or you'll regret it later! Electrically, the PTC will be wired "in series" with the motor so that motor current flows through them on it's way out of the motor. Which wire you cut is NOT really important since the current pathway back to the source does not include the metal body of the car (like in the old days) and the housing is plastic which is inherently a great insulator, but I just like the positive wire in this case. Before you solder your PTCs into the circuit (one for each actuator motor - DUH!), slip some suitable sized heat-shrink tubing over the wire and the PTC making sure it's long enough to cover the PTC and both solder connections with about 1/4 to 1/2 inch extra on each side. You can get this tubing from Mouser when you order your PTCs; there are lots of sizes. You'll have to bend and dress the PTC's leads so they don't short, and things lay well with the wire inside the heat-shrink tubing. After soldering, slip the H/S tubing over your work and use your girlfriend's hair dryer (when she isn't looking) to shrink down the tubing until it conforms to the shape and stays in place.
Now you ask,"What kind of PTC do I buy?" ... I'm not sure given that the actuators are different across many different cars and actuator designs. But from what I know about small 12 volt DC motors, they don't need much energy to work - especially with all that gear reduction going on in there. I'd start out with about a 0.3Amp (300 milliamp) holding current with about a 0.6 Amp (600 milliamp) trip current - maybe less, maybe more depending on several variables. Mouser has these in stock as of this writing and their part number is: 576-60R030XU. I'd recommend trying one door lock unit using this part in the circuit and see if this is the right one for your vehicle and application. Also, if you have a GOOD door actuator (i.e., one that hasn't ever been used or failed yet, you could measure the PTC inside it's motor with a good quality DVM (Use the "Ohms" setting!) and see what the nominal resistance is. This is the initial room-temp "running" resistance that only slightly limits current into the motor. If the resistance is too high, the motor won't have enough torque to actuate the door lock, which is why we're all in here raising hell in the first place. The motor should lock / unlock the door energetically and if you hold down the button, it should grow noticeably weaker within two to three seconds. Since it takes barely 1/3rd of a second to lock or unlock a door, this time should be more than sufficient. Note that after the PTC trips, it will take a minute or so to cool and allow more current into the motor. If you got the right PTC for your car, your actuator motors should work just like on a new OEM unit. I request that everyone who tries this fix upload the PTC part number they used if it works well. In this way everyone will benefit. Happy Engineering!

 

wow that is well over this boy's head. Good information but I think I prefer the easier method that most people on here have been doing without issue.

 

Just wondering, In the long run did anyone have any problems with these stopping working after the foil repair?

 

Does anybody here want to do that to my actuators? LOL Sounds way over my head. To bad there wasn't some sort of exchange thing. Where a person sends the fixer their old set, and the fixer sends an already fixed set. For a decent price!! May be easier for me to just buy the actuators, or maybe both carry a key! LOL

 

A little over 2 years here with the foil fix. Still working great.

 

I did the first of my four in May, 2006.

Still going strong!

Pop

 

I don't think this is a bad idea, I just replaced all my actuators because I accidentally cooked the motors after the tin foil mod.

 

First, what a great first post - WELCOME to FTE!

Second, great idea. Personally, I can keep my kids or dog from hitting the switch too much. Also, personally, I'd probably do what I think I already said in this thread. Find a small self-resetting circuit breaker that has a certain amount of delay to it. Pull the fuse to the power locks and replace the fuse with this circuit breaker, or better yet, put it in-line with the fuse. Of course, that's assuming that the fuse doesn't control a bunch of other stuff besides the locks. And it might.

 

I did one foil repair on my dr. rear door about 2 years ago. I recently notice when I locked all doors with either the driver's door or remote, that same rear door wasn't locking but it would still unlock. I washed the truck and it started working again for a few days then stopped. Then started again. Maybe the latch was sticking and the water free'd it up a bit? I'm going to spray it with some lube this weekend and see what happens.

Around the same time as my repair, I just replaced the hatch acuator with a new one. I also had to clean and lube the hatch's latch as I couldn't unlock it with the key. No I have to re-clean and lube as I can no longer use the key back there again. It's not very sealed from the elements.