Power Door Lock Timer Alternative and Power Window Amp Alternative

[DECALMAN]

My lock and unlock button was not working.

 

After doing some reading I found out that the power door locks are controlled by a little box inside the left rear panel called the POWER DOOR LOCK TIMER.

 

 

After checking continuity from the master switch I figured out that the switch was sending the signal and I didn't have any cut on the cables. Then I tested the door lock actuators by providing 12v to one side and negative to the other. That also helped me figure out which cable needed power for the doors to lock and viceversa.

 

So, the timer seems not to be working. I could of bought one on ebay but I already had 2 five pin relays handy. So this is how I wired everything.

 

Diagram pic

Relay pins will not be lined up like that. I drew it like that so I wouldn't have any lines crossing each other.

 

 

 

This will probably work as a Power Window amp alternative also, just find the correct wires.

[Frenchy]

Sorry to resurect this but out of curiosity how well has this been working? Any problems over the last 7 years?

[xspyrd]

On 10/9/2022 at 8:46 PM, Frenchy said:

Sorry to resurect this but out of curiosity how well has this been working? Any problems over the last 7 years?

I wish you had gotten a reply. After an alternator replacement in which I saw the mechanic spark a short, the door light on the dash is now always on. And key in or not, the timer makes a click about every 3 seconds and eventually drains the battery unless I disconnect the battery. I don’t know if it’s switches, relay, timer or wire, and don’t have the knowledge to figure out, but I would love to bypass the timer if possible and turn my locks into manual full time. 

[Slartibartfast]

If all you want to do is disable the power locks, you could just unplug the door lock timer.

 

Weird that shorting the power lead to the alt would cause all that. Sounds like the timer got messed up real good.

[peejay]

(Is a faulty timer the cause of closing (slamming) the doors sometimes causes the door locks to lock on their own?)

[Slartibartfast]

Short answer is yes. Here's a tutorial for resoldering the lock timer, not that there's much to it.

 

With that said, I tried resoldering the timer in my '95, and it didn't change a whole lot. Maybe I did a half-ass job, or maybe something else was wrong. The locks in that thing were downright malevolent, especially when it was cold outside. Unlock the doors and they'd lock again immediately, or unlock only part of the way (in retrospect, I suspect the linkages were gummed up, which may have been at least part of the problem) and then lock again as soon as someone pulled on the outside handle. Sometimes the lock motor pushed back when I tried to turn the key in the door lock. Naturally it only acted up when it was cold enough that I couldn't be arsed to figure it out, so I just lived with it, and learned not to close a car door unless the window is down or the keys are in my hand.

 

My '93 isn't nearly as posessed, but it does occasionally re-lock itself when it's cold. I cleaned and lubed the front lock cylinders and spray-silicone'd the crap out of the linkages this spring, which made them move much more easily. If that doesn't clear it up, I may give the lock timer another look.

Edited July 4, 2024 by Slartibartfast

[xspyrd]

If all you want to do is disable the power locks, you could just unplug the door lock timer.
 
Weird that shorting the power lead to the alt would cause all that. Sounds like the timer got messed up real good.

I should have posted here first. Normally when I try unplugging something it has unintended consequences. This doesn’t appear to have any thus far! Thank you. Full manual definitely has some annoying drawbacks, but I really like not worrying about draining my battery or having to disconnect the battery or some unexpected actuation of the locks.

Thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk