Passenger Door Locking

[White98]

So I've had a problem with my door locks switching to lock then unlock whenever I closed (or accelerated quickly) the front passenger-side door. This is without fail, and nearly caused me a heart-attack the first time because I thought I had locked the keys in the Jeep, with only one copy. Now what's interesting is that whenever it does its lock dance, it ALWAYS goes back to the Unlock position. Though I'm fortunate it doesn't lock every time, I would appreciate some guidance as to where to start with troubleshooting.


So before anyone scolds me on making a fresh thread about something that has been talked about before, I did use the search engine, and found a couple threads about the passenger door locking when closing it.. However, the grammar used was so abysmal in both threads, I refused to be apart of their destruction of the English language. Thank you for the leniency.

[4.3LXJ]

We don't harass anyone with the search engine here. :D

[XJ Wheeler]

I believe someone else had just asked the very same question. I tell you this not to scold, but rather to offer the same conclusion they had come to. It was said the tolerances change due to wear and causes a signal to jump across the points with a bump or sudden hit, like shutting the door.

[White98]

XJ Wheeler, appreciate the info. Do you have a link to that thread? No worries if you can't, but I'm just having a hard time locating it.

Colin

[XJ Wheeler]

There's not much, but here ya go bud.
http://www.xjtalk.com/showthread.php?t=12953

[LizardRunner]

That can also be caused by the skimpy wireing harness in the doors. The wires will break.

[JeepFreak]

I have heard of certain connections in the door locking mechanisms breaking and whenever you hit a large enough bump it will tap the two broken ends together which would cause a sudden signal to jump through the circuit which would cause the doors to lock and unlock. Try starting at the lock itself then trace it back to anywhere that looks crimped or torn or somewhat bent and of course the obvious breaks. If there aren't any, I have also heard that power surges in the battery cables themselves can cause unwanted power being drawn to different parts of the electrical system. If there's no obvious signs of wear on the wiring in the door, I would suggest taking a look at the electrical components in your door such as the actuators since they may be getting a signal from either a faulty wire or a bad ground. If you still can't find anything then I would suggest taking a look at different parts of your car that are electronically controlled such as the spark plugs, fuel injectors, stereo and other various electrical components. If you notice something different about the way they perform then maybe it ties in to what the current problem is. Fuel mileage actually goes a long way for some electrical problems since a mistimed spark plug or fuel injector from a bad lead causes lower than average MPG. So if you notice anything else that's not performing optimally I wouldn't rule it out as being caused by the same issues.

Recap: Start out small (check the locking mechanisms for signs of wear, this includes the locking actuators, wires, and any other electrical components involved). If the problem isn't obvious there, move on to a slightly bigger option that's more broad such as an electrical malfunction caused by a power surge of some kind. If the problem still cannot be remedied and you have no further options to look at and nothing else is wrong electronically in your car, then I would suggest taking it to a mom and pop shop to have them test the wattage being drawn if you don't know how to do so yourself.

Hope this helps!