Greg Smith Power door locks writeup PRE-1991

[Apanthropy]

anyone know how many amps the locks use?

I have a (new, in box) relay and socket from another piece of equipment that's DPDT .. however it's only rated 10A per circuit.

will this work for the locks?

[Greg Smith]

Not wired correctly and the wrong approach. The white and dark green wires are the lock and unlock wires from master switch to the door lock motors through the passenger switch. The problem w. the pre 91s is the the 2 volt loss at the passenger switch not before the switch. Consequently the relays are used in the circuit after the passenger side
to compensate for the 2 volt loss. Only reuse the relays per my fix article if they meet the specs I provided. Good Luck. Greg

Originally Posted by azee

quick question for greg or any other electrical guru...

in my quest to find the problem with my headlights, taillights, brakelights not coming on (another post) i've been tearing into the area near the fuse block at the drivers side on my 89 xj. seems like the previous owner tried to do the door lock mod on the *drivers side*, not passenger side, however, did it completely wrong (well, it didn't work and it was wired up differently). here's how they did it:

the green and white wires were spliced at the drivers side. there were 2 relays, which i will refer to as relay A and B.

relay A-
30-white wire to switch
85-daisy chained to power, 87, 87 from relay B, AND 86 from relay B
86-ground
87-see 85
87A-white wire to lock

relay B-
30-green wire to switch
85-ground
86-see 85 for relay A
87-see 85 for relay A
87A-green wire to lock

needless to say, it wasn't working, but im wondering if there is any logic in this? would there be a benefit to trying this out, wired "correctly", of course, at the drivers side?

i plan on removing it and reusing the relays at the passneger side this weekend.

thanks!

[Greg Smith]

Glad it worked for you! Greg

Originally Posted by mlanicca

I just finished this fix yesterday, now all the locks work.

Thanks Greg.

The hardest part was getting the screw for the kick panel back in.

[Greg Smith]

The fsm says to replace any lock motor that pulls more than 8 amps. Trouble is all 5 motors pull amps and the same time. That is why your locks motors are on a 30 amp circuit from the factory. Only use relays rated 30 amps or higher. See the specs on the relays in my article. Good Luck. Greg

Originally Posted by Apanthropy

anyone know how many amps the locks use?

I have a (new, in box) relay and socket from another piece of equipment that's DPDT .. however it's only rated 10A per circuit.

will this work for the locks?

[azee]

Thanks so much for the write up! Since I successfully fixed the headlight problem, I went ahead and decided to “fix” my door locks.

My locks slam open and shut now. For those fellow electrical morons (myself included), it’s a pretty simple install. I do, however, have a few clarifications/additions to your instructions that may help people like me. Others may find the info already in your write up, but I guess I’m a slow learner.

-The tan and green wires are visible without removing the kick panel. Don’t splice there, however. (don’t ask me how I know)…..

-When you do remove the kick panel, the green and tan wires are visible. This is where you need to cut and splice.

-And finally, the cut end of the wires coming from the harness (not out of the door) goes to the #30 connection.

Thanks again Greg!

[CherokeeSam]

Add me to the list. I did Greg's fix for the power locks on my 89 Limited and it worked great! I never thought the locks would work this well.

Thanks Greg!

[Greg Smith]

Greg

[MountainGoat]

Greg.... I did my locks after reading this thread a while back.... I just wanted to say thanks. It has worked ever since and saved us a ton of money I thought I would have to spend. It didnt cost me any more then 30 bucks.

thanks

[Greg Smith]

Happy it worked for you! Greg

[phred]

Quoting from Greg:

"For an easier install it is also best to buy wiring sockets that fit the relays. Here is a link to partsexpress.com an online supplier that has relays and sockets at reasonable prices. I used 2 bosch relays # 330-070 and 2 sockets # 330-075 (although 1 dual socket 330-078 could be used I believe)."


I used the dual socket but had to switch the red and yellow wires in the socket to get the wiring to work properly. Easy enough to get the connectors out by releasing the spring catch with a paper clip. It would be quicker to use the two separate sockets ... A few crimp connections later and my locks were slamming open and shut!

Thanks for the great fix to an annoying problem!!

[Easy Xjer]

Did the power door lock rewire today no problems works great thanks for the article Greg.

[Greg Smith]

Glad it worked for you both. Greg

[PyroZona]

Hey Greg,

Ok, since you seem to be eager for new things to conquer, I don't suppose you've got a fix (or and idea for a fix) for geriatric-slow power windows, do ya?? My driver's window works just fine, but none of the others work from the switches on the respective doors...and even from my driver's door master controls, they're "reluctant" to do what I ask of them most of the time. I've replaced the motor and regulator in the passenger front door (with one obtained from eBay, after I cleaned/lubed it and cleaned the commutator and brushes of the motor) and have also replace the seal that the leading edge of the window rides in. It's a little better, but none perform like the driver's window. Seems similar to the original power lock problem to me. :shrug:

I've been thinking for a long time that maybe it's a weak ground, since the other up/down switches don't work (well, occasionally they do...but not very often), but I have NO idea where to start looking for potential problems. I've also changed driver's and passenger's front window/lock switch panels, but it made no difference at all.

I don't know if you'll be able to help with this problem or not...but hey, it's 'cause of you that my locks work better than they ever did, so thought it might be worth asking!! Any suggestions or pointers would be most appreciated.

MODS - Yeah, I know this should probably be a new thread. If it ends up that there is hope for a power window fix, too, I'll certainly put it in a new thread.

Thanks again for your help, Greg! You rock!

Pyro

[Greg Smith]

There is a simple fix that often works for slow windows that was first done as far as I know by Jay3000 on Jeepsunlimited and later by myself. JeepinJoe has a writeup on his website also w. some pics. Basically when motors and wiring get older the amp draw is not enough through the small gauge wires to power the motors and switches. The simple solution is to run a 10 gauge wire from the purple (per my 89 FSM) power wire (for pre 91s IRRC) in the driver's side kick panel. That wire should be the power wire going from the fuse panel to the master switch cut the wire and connect the end going to the switch to the 10 gauge wire going to the battery lug on the starter relay next to the battery w. an inline 30 amp fuse. Of course you will now even be able to use the windows w. the key turn off. Hope this simple fix helps. Here is a link with the discussion and other links on Jeepsunlimited. http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums...hreadid=561143
Greg

[PyroZona]

SUPER DUPER!! Greg, you never cease to amaze, do ya?

Gonna try this tonight or tomorrow. I'll let ya know how it works out.

Thanks once again!

Pyro