how to DIY fix a door lock actuator for under $10, with pics!

[matt]

This is a common problem for any car with power door locks, one or more of your power door locks stops working over time. Most likely the actuator motor has failed. The passenger side actuator on my car failed, checked with Acura and the actuator is $120 plus tax. Some are less, some are more. So assuming that you don't have any wiring or electrical issues before the actuator, here's how to fix it on pretty much any car for dirt cheap. Remove the actuator, search your specific car forum for details on this. I'm sure you'll find detailed instructions on the process. Most cars aren't too difficult if you have even moderate mechanical skill. In total, took me maybe a couple of hours. One tip, you might want to purchase or borrow a manual impact driver to remove the screws for the latch. They're under a lot of torque and will strip very easily, I had to drill one of mine out, oooops.Here's my actuator out of the carImage: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...0/IMG_0417.jpg Now for the fun stuff, you have to separate the two halves of the actuator housing. I tried using a wide thin screw driver as a chisel first. This did not go well as the plastic was very brittle, ended up just punching a few holes through the plastic. Next step was to bake the actuator for ten minutes in the oven at the lowest temp. This went much better, and the housing separated using the screwdriver chisel in small taps going all the way aroundOooopsImage: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...0/IMG_0419.jpg Here are the guts, yours will likely look different, but the idea will be the same. Image: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...0/IMG_0418.jpg The culprit is that little dc motorImage: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...0/IMG_0420.jpg From what I've found, most if not all cars use motor part number FC-280PC-22125. I ordered mine off e-bay for $7 shipped. I took the precaution of disassembling the actuator first to confirm the motor part number. Downside to this was I drove around with a disassembled door panel for a week and a half while waiting for the part. Should have ordered the motor beforehand.Now my motor has a d shaped shaft, no one carries the motor with that shaft, so I ordered the round shaftNew motor with old motorImage: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-I...to%2525201.JPG A couple minutes with the dremel and I have a d shaped shaftImage: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x...to%2525202.JPG Ready to go back togetherImage: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...to%2525203.JPG Now you can epoxy the two halves back together or find some other way to reassemble them. I couldn't find my JB Weld, so I just mummified the actuator in electrical tape. Should be fine.Reassemble as per instructions for your vehicle and you've saved yourself some money!