How-To: Door Lock & Latch Adjustment Tutorial [Archive] - DMCTalk Forum

TTait

08-14-2011, 01:21 AM

First off though, no new controller or actuators will work until the locks and latches are properly adjusted. The lock module has its faults, but more often than not when you disconnect it you are bypassing a electro-mechanical problem, not dealing with a faulty door lock module.

The procedure in the manual is good, but it seems a bit daunting when you read thru it.

Note that there are four commandments to remember when working on the door locks:

1. Never have both doors closed until you are 99% done and that is your final test - you don't want to be locked out of the car.

2. In case you ignore #1 above, or have any brain farts, lower the windows in both doors and leave them down, so at least those are always open.

3. You can not touch the locking system unless the latches on both doors are closed (4 latches total). It is possible to manually close the latches on an open door using a screwdriver - see below.

4. Before you go to close a door you must release the latches which you closed manually.

Now you can get started...

Here is what I think will make it more painless. Go ahead and remove the upper and lower door panels on both sides.

You will find a bunch of control rods inside. Your going to find that the inside release lever works a bell crank that pulls two rods, one going to the front latch, and one to the rear. You will note that there is a control cable from the outside door release that can also pull this bell crank.

Then look at the second bell crank - that is for the locking system. There is a rod coming from the inside door lock lever, and one from the outside lock cylinder. The other two rods go to the door locks. Don't play with the door locks yet - things can jam if you do it with the door open.

Now there are two things to note about the rods. Many of the rods have a turnbuckle assembly in them, which essentially make them longer and shorter. The turnbuckle looks like an elongated nut, more than an inch long, with jamb nuts at either end.

The other critical part of the rods are the locking clips. These are the black clips at the end of the rods. To unhook a rod and temporarily disconnect it from the bell cranks you have to use a small screwdriver between the tab at the end of the clip, and rotate it off the rod. Then any given rod can be pushed or pulled out of its bell crank connector.

Now look at the white plastic clips that go around some of the longer rods to hold them in place. Compare both sides to each other, and to the parts diagram (go to Delorean.com if needed). Make sure all the plastic clips are there and in good condition,

At this point you should not have messed with anything yet, other than removing the door panels and perhaps using the release latch to see how that moves.

The latches and locks are combined mechanisms, at the front and rear of each door. The latch portion of the mechanism is there to catch the striker pin mounted to the door frame, and hold the door closed, until the release handle (inner or outer) is pulled up. The locking mechanism prevents the latch from doing anything when the release handles are pulled. You can pull the releases all you want, but if the lock is engaged, it won't release.

Stop.

Read the instructions in the manual again.

Then, watch this fantastic video by Martin in the UK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92JJQG57t1s

When you start the adjustment procedure, first inspect and clean the lock bell crank, which has a built in electrical switch which has two metal tabs and 3 contact points. When its properly adjusted, the tabs will be on one set of contact points (1 and 2) when the door is locked, and on the other points (2 and 3) when unlocked. It all starts with this electrical switch working correctly. Clean it as needed.

You might think you don't need to adjust anything, but it is possible to mechanically adjust the door to work manually - but incorrectly. Odds are very good that your door locks didn't work electrically before because the system was not properly adjusted to the bell cranks - which are the key to everything, or that the electrical contacts on the bell crank were dirty or broken. To have power locks they need to be adjusted not just so they work, but so that they work properly with the bell crank switch.

Also, remember that you do not lock the locks with the door open, unless you manually close the latches first. To open and close the latches you use a screwdriver to simulate the striker pin. Push the screwdriver through the latching mechanism in an upward motion to close the latches, front and back - once they are closed you can play with the locks in that door. When you are ready to unlatch the doors, put a screwdriver where the pin would be, and use the door handle to release the latches while you pull the screwdriver through to open the latch. Front and back, but you need not do them at the same time. Once you have opened the latches, don't play with the locks, And the latches won't open if the locks are still engaged. That's the point of the locks.

Rather than writing another set of step by step instructions, watch the video and follow the procedure in the manual. Its a lot easier once you've made yourself familiar. Do the steps in the order listed - things can go wrong if you don't.

(Refer to the manual here - if you run into a snag, write back to us here.)

Only work on one door at a time, the other is your reference as to which rod connects where.

So adjust one door all the way through per the manual, and get it working so you are happy with it while the door is up. Then open the other door just in case before you start testing it by actually opening and closing the door.

Once you have both doors working perfectly, and you are confident that the electrical contacts on the lock bell crank are working well - then you are ready to test your old door lock module and solenoids. When you go to do this, open the passenger door, close the driver door. Use your screwdriver to close the latches on the passenger door, simulating it being in a closed position. Then plug in your DLM. Lock and unlock the door several times from the inside door lock lever on the passenger door, and watch to see if the drivers door mimics your lock and unlock.

Then with the passenger door still partially open, test the lock and unlock from the outside key lock. Make sure the drivers door mimics you each time. Finally, use the screwdriver to ensure that when you lock the door, that even if you pull up on the release handle, you can't disengage the latches, inner or outer, Then unlock the door and make sure you can still disengage the latches with the screwdriver when pulling up on the release. Test both inner and outer door release latches when locked and unlocked - but remember to only ever lock the door when the latches are closed.

Now close both latches in the passenger door manually, and leave the door open, and repeat all these tests over on the drivers door. Once everything seems to be working properly, unlock the doors, open the latches on one sides with the screwdriver, and start testing the door while actually closing and opening it. When you test a door by actually closing it, make sure the other one is open just in case, but that its latches are closed. Don't close both doors at the same time until you are positive that they both work properly. Don't try to close a door with the latches closed.

If both doors work perfectly - mechanically, you can go back to using them as you have before, with no DLM installed - until you order your new kit of parts (lock solenoids and new lock module if you still need them). But never try to install new solenoids, actuators or a DLM until you have first adjusted the entire system mechanically and checked the proper electrical operation of the bell cranks.

If you have a problem or a question, let us know, just keep one door open at all times and you will be fine.

It seems like a daunting task, but once you finish the first door you will find its really very elementary. Big round of applause for Martin, guys, because his video is key to taking making it all simple.

Tom