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INT: Repair non-functioning Door Sensors.

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    INT: Repair non-functioning Door Sensors.

    Hello Cb7Tuner, I decided to write up a "how to" on how to fix the door sensors on our Cb7's. . Ever since I bought my 91 Accord EX, 3 out of the 4 door sensors did not work. The one that did was the rear right passenger door. One possible reason your door sensors may not be working could be due to corrosion on the metal contacts. 20 Years of moisture will slip in between the contacts needed to tell the car a door is open, causing the car to believe the driver and passengers are actually ghosts who never open doors and slide through solid objects. *

    *(I hope you enjoyed said joke. I never was strong in comedy)

    (Not totally)
    Required tools

    1) Contact cleaner spray
    I have had this can of CRC Precision plug contact cleaner for years. Rarely had to use it, but it came in handy for this purpose. With that in mind though, I wouldn't know where you can buy this particular brand or how much it costs. Any contact cleaner should do well however. You may not need contact cleaner, but is highly recommended considering 1) it is not conductive, 2) meant specifically for the use of applying to metal used in electrical connections, 3) really makes it easier to remove tough corrosion.



    2) Screw driver with size 1 Philips head


    Really, you can substitute this with whatever fits to get the screw out, be it a knife or nail clippers. This size fit perfectly with little chance of striping the screw head (which we all want to avoid)

    3) Abrasive material

    Something like a brillo pad, tooth brush, or wire brush to really scrub any corrosion off the metal contacts. You may not need it, but it didn't make cleaning any worse.

    4) Napkin, paper towel
    Simply used to dry the contacts, but if you used the contact cleaner spray it should dry itself pretty quickly (3 - 10 seconds)


    Cleaning door sensors


    Just a side note: I cleaned all three of my door sensors before I made this guide, so you're not going to see any rust or corrosion in the pictures.
    Small note 2) The pictures for the step you are looking at are above the step directions itself.

    Image 1A


    Image 1B



    Step 1:
    You have to remove the offending door sensor from the door jam. To do so simply unscrew the screw holding the door sensor against the door jam (Image 1A). Please note in image 2 there is a small wedge that holds on the door jams (Image 1B). Instead of pulling upwards out of the hole, pull the sensor (slowly) away from the door jam in the direction opposite of the car.

    Image 2A


    Image 2B


    Image 2C


    Step 2: (Image 2A) Here is a picture for reference of the door jam, looking from the top view. There is a cover that needs to be slid off in order to get access to the contacts. Thankfully there are no special tools required to achieve this. (Image 2B) The cover needs to be slid outwards towards the hole that held the screw in place.
    Warning: (Image 2C) You will need to remove the cover carefully and slowly. Nothing will break, but the spring may fly out and get lost. If that happens, the lever/switch will not be able to maintain contact with the contacts when your door is open.


    Image 3A


    Image 3B



    (Reference pictures, Step 3 will follow)
    (Image 3A) lever/ switch will easily come out as it isn't secured down by anything. Remove the spring first and put it some where safe.



    (Image 3C)


    (Image 3D)


    (Image 3E)


    Step 3 ( Cleaning)

    Now the contacts will be exposed (Image 3C). Your contacts may have green or brown corrosion on it. The directions of your contact cleaner spray my differ; Spray the contact cleaner on to the corrosion and follow up with the abrasive cleaner of your choice. I had a wire brush and decided to use that. The underside of the lever (Image 3D) may also need to be cleaned, repeat the cleaning process for this area too. (Image 3E) The screw is apart of the door sensor, but not just for holding it in place. When the screw is in contact with the door jam, it completes the circuit needed by the door sensor to operate (possibly as the ground.) With that in mind, it is good practice to clean the screw as well. iDry up the contacts with your drying tool of choice.


    Image 4A

    Step 4 (Putting it back together)
    Place the switch/lever back onto the contacts, and carefully place one end of the spring on to the little plastic piece protruding from the switch/lever, and the other end into the small "pocket" which will compress the spring. Make sure the cover is aligned with the sensor and slowly slide the cover back on to the door sensor.

    Step 5
    Slide the door sensor back into the door jam and screw it in. If the cleaning worked, the light on the door should be lit up. It may not happen until you screw in the screw all the way.


    Enjoy


    Hopefully the door sensor is operating normally. Once I cleaned the door sensor for the driver side, many things started working. The door illumination light, the door indicator light, the ignition light, the key chime, and the headlight chime.








    Hopefully I have helped someone else understand, and pray that I keep receiving knowledge and understanding. Hope this has helped you!

    ||91 Accord EX|| All of my images are hosted courtesy of imageShack.com
    Door-Sensor fix (DIY)||Interfacing Arduino to Power locks
    RICE = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement.
    "The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." - unknown
    "That's the funny thing about parts that break... they're never broken until they are!" -deevergote

    #2
    I did this with my car about a year ago. Been working like a charm ever since.

    Also if you're too lazy to clean them, rockauto.com has them for like $9 a piece. I was looking through their inventory in cb's and was pleasantly surprised that they had these. Might be more than you're willing to spend but just food for thought.

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks for the heads up. I'm trying to spend as little money as possible to get this fixed, and this didn't cost me anything but time . I honestly do not know how to remove the sensor from the wire though, so replacing it wasn't my first choice.

      ||91 Accord EX|| All of my images are hosted courtesy of imageShack.com
      Door-Sensor fix (DIY)||Interfacing Arduino to Power locks
      RICE = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement.
      "The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." - unknown
      "That's the funny thing about parts that break... they're never broken until they are!" -deevergote

      Comment


        #4
        Good write-up

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by S.W.A.T View Post
          Good write-up
          Thank you, appreciate it

          ||91 Accord EX|| All of my images are hosted courtesy of imageShack.com
          Door-Sensor fix (DIY)||Interfacing Arduino to Power locks
          RICE = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement.
          "The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." - unknown
          "That's the funny thing about parts that break... they're never broken until they are!" -deevergote

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Kamatari+ View Post
            Thanks for the heads up. I'm trying to spend as little money as possible to get this fixed, and this didn't cost me anything but time . I honestly do not know how to remove the sensor from the wire though, so replacing it wasn't my first choice.
            so you did all that while it was plugged in?

            It's just a pin clip. kind of like The wire to a speaker but with a clip lock on it. I did mine at night so I had to take it off.

            it's not hard but for future reference if you ever decide to take it off the wire might want to slip in to the hole which will make things complicated so watch out for that.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by mappyCB7 View Post
              so you did all that while it was plugged in?

              It's just a pin clip. kind of like The wire to a speaker but with a clip lock on it. I did mine at night so I had to take it off.

              it's not hard but for future reference if you ever decide to take it off the wire might want to slip in to the hole which will make things complicated so watch out for that.
              Yes, it was plugged in the whole time. I couldn't figure out how to disconnect it from the wire, so I gave up. This worked fine Chances are I wouldn't want to disconnect it since I know how to do this without d/cing it.

              ||91 Accord EX|| All of my images are hosted courtesy of imageShack.com
              Door-Sensor fix (DIY)||Interfacing Arduino to Power locks
              RICE = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement.
              "The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." - unknown
              "That's the funny thing about parts that break... they're never broken until they are!" -deevergote

              Comment


                #8
                true

                Comment


                  #9
                  i just did mine by taking the whole sensor out, works awesome now but i just used WD-40 and Sandpaper

                  Comment


                    #10
                    If you manage to lose some of the parts or just can't get one of your sensors working right

                    I'd suggest getting a sensor from the rear right door. Its the least used door so its most likely to work.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by S.W.A.T View Post
                      i just did mine by taking the whole sensor out, works awesome now but i just used WD-40 and Sandpaper
                      If it works, why not? I just had contact cleaner on hand, so it made sense to use it.

                      Originally posted by Tippey764 View Post
                      If you manage to lose some of the parts or just can't get one of your sensors working right

                      I'd suggest getting a sensor from the rear right door. Its the least used door so its most likely to work.
                      That was the only door that worked before I cleaned the others. I thought that wouldn't be the case since people don't normally like to sit behind the driver.

                      ||91 Accord EX|| All of my images are hosted courtesy of imageShack.com
                      Door-Sensor fix (DIY)||Interfacing Arduino to Power locks
                      RICE = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement.
                      "The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." - unknown
                      "That's the funny thing about parts that break... they're never broken until they are!" -deevergote

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I picked up the contact cleaner this morning and did all 4 door sensors on my white accord. Seems to have fixed the problem

                        Thanks for the info
                        -1992 Accord EX H22 234whp 185wtq
                        -1993 Accord EX SOLD
                        -1995 Accord EX Wagon Daily Driver
                        -2012 GMC Canyon V8 4x4

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by GunRunner View Post
                          I picked up the contact cleaner this morning and did all 4 door sensors on my white accord. Seems to have fixed the problem

                          Thanks for the info
                          I'm glad it came of use! You're welcome!

                          ||91 Accord EX|| All of my images are hosted courtesy of imageShack.com
                          Door-Sensor fix (DIY)||Interfacing Arduino to Power locks
                          RICE = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement.
                          "The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." - unknown
                          "That's the funny thing about parts that break... they're never broken until they are!" -deevergote

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Woah woah woah... people care that their door sensors work?!

                            Nice DIY with great pics! You get +1 !
                            Click Image for CB7Tuner.com Beanies, Decals, & Keychains!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by frootloops View Post
                              Woah woah woah... people care that their door sensors work?!

                              Nice DIY with great pics! You get +1 !
                              Yahoo, Gracias.

                              ||91 Accord EX|| All of my images are hosted courtesy of imageShack.com
                              Door-Sensor fix (DIY)||Interfacing Arduino to Power locks
                              RICE = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement.
                              "The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." - unknown
                              "That's the funny thing about parts that break... they're never broken until they are!" -deevergote

                              Comment

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