Are my LXs possessed? A gremlin locks my doors when I am approaching.

[timberwilde]

I have searched the forum for this on occasion but can't remember seeing an answer. I have a 2000 LX and a 2002 LX that seem to have some sort of fault. Often as I approach after unlocking the doors remotely the doors lock on their own. I don't recall it happening in the reverse order but it is a bit irritating I am not sure if it is a sign that something is failing. Additionally I've experienced on occasion that when unlocking the doors with the remote (batteries are good) that all doors will unlock except the driver's side and I have to use the key in the lock to open the door. These may be separate but connected issues. Any thoughts?

 

[2001LC]

They are design to lock after ~20 sec IIRC (check your OM for time) if no door has been opened. Drives door may be sticking.

 

[timberwilde]

I appreciate your response but in my case this is not what I am experiencing. The doors will lock within less than a minute or two as I walk towards the vehicles.

 

[dubitup]

Key fob button stuck?

 

[re_guderian]

You're second problem sounds like dying lock actuator in driver's door. Heat makes it worse. Are you sure all your doors lock when you walk away? Lock it, then stand there for 20-30 seconds and see if they pop back unlocked. With a dead actuator, all but one door will lock, which causes the body ECU to set them all back to unlocked. When you approach, does it lock ALL the doors, or just driver's?

 

[timberwilde]

re_guderian:
Thanks for the response. I think I may be experiencing two separate issues albeit similar. What happens with the gremlins is I will press the unlock button on the key fob and will hear all the doors unlock as normal but as I am approaching, all doors will lock. This happens with both the 2000 and the 2002; two different vehicles with two separate locking systems with two separate keys. Also worth mentioning is that i only experience locking never unlocking.

 

[fnpierce]

How much time goes by from the time you unlock them until they re-lock on their own? As mentioned above, it you unlock the door but do not open a door, within 20 or 30 seconds, they are programed to re-lock. So this is a normal phenomenon.

 

[timberwilde]

fnpierce:
The locks cycle within 5-10 seconds. It is often literally as I am grabbing the door handle. It was so irritating that I even thought it was my son messing with me.

 

[ihadmail]

I believe that re-lock function is controlled by a standard timer relay. It may be getting old and tired and sending the signal to re-lock sooner than it was designed to.

Even if it's controlled by the body ecu, resistors and semiconductors will eventually loose their ability to time functions properly.

 

[camino70]

fnpierce:
The locks cycle within 5-10 seconds. It is often literally as I am grabbing the door handle. It was so irritating that I even thought it was my son messing with me.

He is!

 

[timberwilde]

ihadmail:
Do you happen to know which relay might control this and might it be one that can be changed? This makes sense since I am also having what I believe is relay issues with the starter relay. What I first felt might have been a starter failing since I was getting clicks and non starting when I turned the key appears to be a bad starter relay (my indy mechanic ruled out the starter itself since he replaced it in 2011 and said he'd never heard of a 100 have a starter failing twice). BTW I just turned over 160K miles in my 2000LX.

camino70:
I haven't ruled that out for sure!

 

[ihadmail]

I just read through the remote door lock section of the FSM and cannot find any useful information. From the stuff that's there it looks like the wireless lock ECU controls all timing functions after receiving the signal from the remote.

 

[2001LC]

You're second problem sounds like dying lock actuator in driver's door. Heat makes it worse. Are you sure all your doors lock when you walk away? Lock it, then stand there for 20-30 seconds and see if they pop back unlocked. With a dead actuator, all but one door will lock, which causes the body ECU to set them all back to unlocked. When you approach, does it lock ALL the doors, or just driver's?

I was just wondering why the heat seem to play a roll in gremlins activity today. My DS door electric lock started acting up. In the evening once the hot sun was off the DS, it worked as normal.

Actuator