Drivers door lever acts wierd with ignition off

[zedjr10]

I have had this problem for a long time and just got around to wanting to fix it cause i now have key-less entry and it is annoying to have to push button multiple times to open or lock.
Here are the symptoms.
1.The drivers door lever takes 3 or more times for it to lock.
2. The auto lock is very touchy like barely forward a bit and it tries to lock with engine off. This goes for unlock also.
3. It takes multiple pushes of the button from either passengers or drivers side before it opens or locks with engine off.
4. With engine running it all acts fine.
5.My headlights, stereo and everything else seems to operate fine even with ignition off or on. So am not thinking it is my voltage regulator or battery.

I am thinking it is my door lock control box behind door. Is there some sort of status change in control box when car is started?

[Rilas]

Zed I have the same problem in my coupe. I believe the issue is with the locking mechanism itself. I want to get a different one from the junkyard and swap it in. I'm thinking that the mechanism has too much junk/dirt in it from all the years of use. The solenoid that kicks the lock isn't strong enough to deal with all the junk/dirt buildup from all the years. This is why swapping it with a different one should fix the issue. You could always try and take it out and work on cleaning up the internals. Although that might be an issue as well, I think the outer casing is solid and not meant to be disassembled.

Not only that but going through the work of trying to clean it up and reinstalling it, just to find out that you haven't fully fixed the problem would suck. As it isn't the most convenient item to install and remove. Doing this job 2-3 times would be horrible. It's up to you though on the route you want to tackle this problem.

I guarantee that the problem is in the door latch/lock mechanism. I've had this problem with my second coupe since I brought it home.

[zedjr10]

You do mean the actuator right. I was thinking that the actuator can't handle the power efficiently and therefore needs more volts to operate than normal. What you think? It is funny how with 14 volts it mostly operates fine but sometimes it still can't close. With 12.5 or under the power lock won't close or open the lever, no matter the outside temp. Not enough volts it seems. The passengers door always works fine and lever itself moves fine. SO it must be the actuator. Right?
You know what is strange, during the same temperatures i get vibrations in my car from using accessories. IACV works fine but car vibrates. So I was thinking it might be a battery amperage problem or voltage regulator.

[Fleetw00d]

Make sure all the rods (particularly the one to the inside handle) move smoothly, as well as the lever on the handle. Could just be drag on those that hang the actuator up. Maybe try disconnecting the rod to the inside handle to see if the actuator works better.

[zedjr10]

Make sure all the rods (particularly the one to the inside handle) move smoothly, as well as the lever on the handle. Could just be drag on those that hang the actuator up. Maybe try disconnecting the rod to the inside handle to see if the actuator works better.

I thought it might be where some brush contacts or moving parts that were possibly in the actuator.I just fixed the lever as it was previously just half hanging in. It still hangs after i do it a few times or when it is above 80 or below 40. I am replacing my alternator tomorrow with a reman denso as am sure my autozone alt sucks but and has ever since i got it. Lifetime Warranty equals Lifetime of Crap. So i will see how it acts in next week or so. Thanks for help.