DIY: Door Lock Actuator - Internal Motor Replacement
Neutral
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
This is caused by the motor being the wrong polarity. Instead of it rotating right (for the lock) its rotating left. Simply reverse the rear of the motor 180 degrees, you may have to notch the casing to allow it to reseat back in but it does work.
I just resolved my door locks the same way. You can also use the 20mm motors without the need for adding the extra spindle length. The rest of the spindle is for support but the motors are such a good fit in the housing it does not impact the operation of the doors without the extra length. Simply order the Mabuchi FC-280PC-22125 motor with 20mm shaft as stated, rotate the rear 180 degrees if you receive the wrong polatiry motors. That means you can use these for all the motors in the locks.
I realize this is an old thread but I did have the same issue so I've added it in the hope I can save someone a lot of time scratching their head.
I just resolved my door locks the same way. You can also use the 20mm motors without the need for adding the extra spindle length. The rest of the spindle is for support but the motors are such a good fit in the housing it does not impact the operation of the doors without the extra length. Simply order the Mabuchi FC-280PC-22125 motor with 20mm shaft as stated, rotate the rear 180 degrees if you receive the wrong polatiry motors. That means you can use these for all the motors in the locks.
I realize this is an old thread but I did have the same issue so I've added it in the hope I can save someone a lot of time scratching their head.
Many thanks, Phil.
I managed to successfully replace my motor, but be careful when disassembling the actuator. In the process of yanking off the plastic cover I managed to break off a supporting bracket that holds the inside door pull cable in place- so now it keeps coming loose inside my door and I can't unlock the door by pulling the door handle. I have to electronically unlock the door and then it works. Also, I have no idea what I did wrong but my key doesn't unlock the rest of the doors electronically in the door. It only really manually unlocks the driver door- but also can't lock it. I think I wanna use some silicon glue that someone else here used to keep the interior door pull cable in the right place, but does anyone have a way to help me with the key? I can't unlock from my key and it's stupendously tedious to manually unlock my door and then get in the car to unlock the car. Or sometimes the lock on my key doesn't work, which means I have to enter through the passenger door and click the toggle and then close it since the key doesn't go in the door! I fixed one problem but made 2 others.
Neutral
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 2
Likes: 1
From: NZ
Such useful descriptions and posts - thanks a bunch. I had a go at a video (without the replacement motor). Hopefully this helps people get the bloody thing apart. I've added captions in case you're struggling with my weird accent.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 104
Likes: 10
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Got my actuator apart, determined the unlock motor was shot (brush completely worn off of one contact). Thought about doing the same motor replacement as above, but decided to just go with a used actuator off Ebay ($117).
Two small tips that I would add to all the great info in this thread:
1) I had to cut the push-on clip (circled in red in the first photo in Ushangi's post #25 above) with a dremel to get it off. I think it'll still hold the pin well enough to be reusable
2) To preserve the white clips that almost everybody seems to break, I warmed them up with a heat gun until they were uncomfortable to touch, hoping this would make them softer and more flexible, and used little pieces of cardboard as shims to keep them open as I worked my way around (like the plastic shims used in the Instructables link in the OP). Didn't break a single one.
Two small tips that I would add to all the great info in this thread:
1) I had to cut the push-on clip (circled in red in the first photo in Ushangi's post #25 above) with a dremel to get it off. I think it'll still hold the pin well enough to be reusable
2) To preserve the white clips that almost everybody seems to break, I warmed them up with a heat gun until they were uncomfortable to touch, hoping this would make them softer and more flexible, and used little pieces of cardboard as shims to keep them open as I worked my way around (like the plastic shims used in the Instructables link in the OP). Didn't break a single one.
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