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Keyless entry gets lock "stuck"

Joined
30 July 2001
Messages
294
Location
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Happened twice today, both times after I just stopped the car.

Upon exiting my vehicle, I would arm my car with the factory keyless entry system. I noticed that the car was not armed (because the red light was not blinking).

Upon trying to unlock it with the keyless entry, I noticed the lock would try to move up, but still be fixed in the depressed position and seemingly be stuck.

Only sticking my key into the lock and manually unlocking it allows me to re-enter my vehicle.

Unfortunately, I cannot consistently reproduce this problem! Any ideas what in the world is going on? I thought it was because my door was not closed tightly, but the second time it happened I was certain the door was closed with authority.

Any ideas on what might be going south would be much appreciated. Incidentally, the central door locks seem to be operational and respond to locking and unlocking as expected from the interior.
 
Just an idea...

Is the key at all difficult to turn in the locks?

Also, does the alarm ever go off by itself after having locked the door(s) with the key? The fact that it's intermittent leads me to suspect the arming modules in the doors, which are no more than a little copper swing-arm that turns with the key to make contact with one node or the other, depending on whether the car is locked or unlocked. This typically causes the alarm to go off after you've locked the car with the key, and is usually intermittent.

Having been inside the doors before to fix the contact module that arms the factory alarm, the NSX is like any other car in that respect: dirt, dust, grime tend to clog up the works and it sounds like there's enough friction in your locking mechanisms to gum up the works.

Have you tried locking the passenger door with the key? If so, does the driver's door lock ok?

I don't know the internal workings of the keyless entry system, but it seems to me that it's sending a 12vdc signal to activate the door locks. If all else seems in working order (keys turn freely and you don't have a problem with the alarm going off on it's own) you might want to put a digital voltmeter on the output of the keyless entry unit to see if it's kicking out full voltage.

IF you get the "false" alarms once you've locked the car with the key, I suspect the little module that sits behind the lock and is a known problem because it's prone to corrosion. They can be opened, cleaned and resealed if you're so inclined or replaced for about $90 a pop. I did my own since it's an easy fix and I greased the window rails at the same time, etc.

Don
 
I'll check these out. The alarm doesn't go off randomly and the car arms using the key. The lock also turns fine.

Curiously, since my post, I've not seen the problem occur again despite the fact it happened 3 times that day!

I'll open it up and check to see if there is corrosion.

Thanks Don!
 
Hyuan, well, it's not something you just "open up" really...

you need to remove the interior door panel, unfasten the locking nylon clips from the key lock mechanism, probably loosen the actual lock from the end of the door, and finagle it out.

All of the instructions are in one of the TSBs here on the site, about the intermittent alarm problem, and it gives fairly detailed instructions, but it's NOT quick.

If your alarm ALWAYS arms and DOESN'T intermittently go off when you lock the car with the key, you probably don't have any problems with these modules, so it probably isn't worth your time and effort to undertake that project...

Which of course doesn't help you solve the original problem... :-(

dd
 
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