[The-Tank]

My 88 Ramcharger has power door locks. The switch does not activate them or even make a sound when you push it. I tried to lock it by pushing the lock down with my hand and it will not move. I tried locking it with the key from the outside and still nothing. Does anyone have any experience with this problem? I have never worked on power door locks so I am not sure where to start or what the problem may be. Is the switch bad? Is there a problem with the linkage? Thanks in advance.

 

[georgeda]

If you cant move it with the key or button it must be mechanical - stuck linkage. Take off the door panel and oil the linkage. Make sure the solenoid is not stuck by removing its link and trying button and key.

 

[K.C.]

I had the same problem with both doors when I bought my 88 RC. It had been sitting outside and not used for 2 years. I couldn't unlock the vehicle to get in without using a technique that I learned during my misspent youth . It turned out that both of the door lock solenoids were seized up. In this case, I was able to just keep working the PDL switch back and forth while pulling up on the lock knob. Took a while, but got both of them working and I haven’t had any trouble with them since. If your problem is with the solenoids and they have been this way for a long time, you will probably have to pop the door panels off and try and get some penetrating oil into the solenoids. If the bottoms of your doors are rusted and salt has found it’s way inside the door, then you may have to disconnect or replace the solenoids.

 

[The-Tank]

Thanks for the advice. I will have to give it a try.

 

[blueraven]

both of my 89 RC doors are the same and the selonoids are dead. Remove the door panel, with a phillips, unscrew the screw that attaches the locking rod to the selonoid. You might want to remove the selonoid just to keep it from snagging on the rod. This procedure will allow you to lock the doors manually. This will give you time to search the junk yards for the selonoids. Total time for both doors 30 mins.

blueraven