Chevy & GMC Vans

on my '86 Safari I have to hit the lock/unlock switch a few times to get the doors to lock or unlock. anyone had this problem before and can suggest where to start?

doesnt seem to be low voltage from the battery because its still slow when the battery charger is hooked up.

thanks

edit: disregard this entire post :(

i know in my 93 this occurred a couple of times. the switch on the passenger side never worked properly since the day i got the van. then the switch fell apart. i got one at a wrecker and when tearing apart the donor it is vacuum actuated. on yours it could be something as simple as the little vacuum plug sliding off behind the switch. i'd start with removing the culprit switch and grab a spare from a wrecker. that way if it's not the vac lines, you'll have a replacement switch to try out. you don't even have to remove the door panel. the switch housing has tabs that with a really small screwdriver can be pressed inwards to slide the switch out of the door. i think they were the same from 86 - 94/95 ??

EDIT: ignore the word vacuum in all of this post

There are NO vacuum lines running to the doors. The door lock solenoids are ELECTRICAL.

my friend has a vw that is vacuum actuated, dumbest idea ever! i know my wires used to get tangled up in the window gear and pulled lose, this makes them slow sometimes. i bundled mine all up and tied them out of the way no problems anymore.

perhaps my heavy duty cold medication is getting the better of me. i'm sorry that I posted in error. #-o

i'm trippin confusing my heater control issues with the door lock problem.

Hey, Crash, no problem; nothing to be concerned about. I've seen vehicles that used vacuum operated locks; I naturally thought that my Astro did as well. But when I pulled apart the door to replace a window motor a few years back, I was surprised to see that the locks were actuated electrically. Furthermore, I was even more surprised when I found that the lock actuators weren't solenoids, but were in fact small motors geared to be linear actuators.

Batmo, does this slowness affect all the door locks? If it's just one door, it could be that the lock motor/gear assembly is at fault ('course, considering that your van is 23 years old, wear could be the problem with all the doors). In my van's case, the slow to operate lock on the passenger door was caused by grungy lubrication on the locking linkage. I cleaned all the old lube off and replaced it; that took care of the problem.

I'm with Rob, old age and grungy grease.

Yup, I agree as well with the grungy, dirty linkages. The SPB's barn doors were very slow to lock/unlock and at times didn't work at all. Pulled the inner panel off and cleaned and lubed everything.

Yeah, blame it on the Nyquil!

its not just one, all are slow. except the rear door, I removed the wiring long ago so it couldnt be broken into so easy (by breaking the plastic licence plate surround and jumping those the wires)

anyone know where the main ground connection for the door lock cicuit on the early vans is? I think I'll check that first. then try a frsh main power wire I guess.


thanks for all the suggestions! even the ones that suck (vacum) HAHAha! j/k ya had me thinking they must have changed to a vacum system later on.

I'm refraining from posting for awhile... seems I may not live this one down

I bet it's the driver's or passenger's door switch. Mine used to be rather pokey. Ultimately the passenger side switch literally fell apart while I was driving along (window switch did the same thing). In its final death gasp, it shorted while the van was parked and drained my battery with the symphony of electric locks. After I replaced the switch, all was better and all the locks are much more responsive. I found my switches at rockauto.com.

yep. years of dust in the mechanisms..

I have the drivers door taken care of and working 100% now to the right sides.

thanks

now this is wierd..

installed the keyless entry. the power door locks are working 100% on their own now but now when pressing the remote lock/unlock I am back to the slow locks! having to press the remote 3 to 4 times to lock or unlock even though they work fine when using the door switches now.


heres the weird part. I removed the passanger side switch and tested the remote. the locks work like lightning using the remote with the passenger side power lock switch unplugged/removed.. even the passenger side door lock works fast when its switch is removed


whats going on now?

You know what? I am having the same problem. My locks were working fine until I installed the remote system. Now the rear doors and slider always work but both front doors are pretty unreliable. I usually have to use the key. However, if the engine is running the remote locks work great. I suspect that I may not have sourced a good enough ground connection when I grounded the keyless control unit. Also if I use the switch on either front door for the power locks it's the same story: the sider and rear doors work but the fronts are lazy, unless the engine is running. I am going to try getting a better ground and see if that helps. I'll be interested to see any other suggestions.