People often encounter issues with their door locks and don’t know what to do. If your car door doesn’t seem to be locking properly, then you need to be able to get things fixed up fast.
There are several potential reasons why your car door locks aren’t working right. You’ll need to consider all of the possibilities and try to diagnose the issue. Fixing things might not always be easy depending on what the problem is.
Whether or not you’re going to be able to fix things yourself will depend on what’s wrong. Before you can determine anything, you’re going to want to gather a bit of information. Below, I’m going to go over some common reasons why your car door won’t lock. You’ll be able to use this information to determine how best to move forward.
Your Locks Are Broken or Faulty
If you’re driving a car that still makes use of manual locks, then problems might be even more concerning. If you can’t get your door to lock properly when you slide things into place, then it’s likely that your lock is broken or faulty in some way. To determine what’s going on, you’re going to need to remove your door panel to take a look at the locking mechanism itself. You might notice that things are out of place or that something has snapped off.
In this situation, you’re not likely going to be able to fix things by yourself. When a lock is broken, it’s usually going to be best to just install a new door lock. Getting this done might be difficult if you aren’t sure what to do. You can replace the lock, but you’re going to encounter the issue of the new lock using a different key than your original one.
For this reason, it might be easier to turn to a locksmith for help. The locksmith is going to be able to match your key to the new tumbler that you’re trying to install. They’ll likely also be able to install things for you if you don’t want to go through the hassle. You could take your car to the dealership to take care of this matter, too.
Your Power Locks Have Blown a Fuse
Those who have power locks, which will be the majority of people in modern times, will have to deal with several issues. One potential problem to be on the lookout for is whether you have a blown fuse. If your locks aren’t working and don’t seem to be reacting to your remote, then it’s possible that a fuse has blown. Luckily, this is an incredibly simple fix.
You won’t need to worry about calling in professionals if all you need to do is change a fuse. You can use the owner’s manual of your car to locate where the fuse is at. Once you’ve found it, you can check for signs that it isn’t working properly or that it has burned out. Buying a new fuse and installing it is going to be enough to fix your woes if this does wind up being what’s wrong.
The best part of this is that fuses are very inexpensive. You’ll be able to buy one without having to break the bank. This repair job won’t take much of your time and it won’t be hard on your wallet either.
The Power Locks Have Wiring Issues
Sometimes, wiring issues are going to be to blame for your power lock woes. If your locks aren’t working, then you might want to check the wiring to see if something is out of place. This could either be simple to fix or it could be complicated, depending on how bad things are. Sometimes, wires can break over time and you’ll need to fix them to get things to operate properly.
You might be able to diagnose this problem by seeing if the lock will work when you reposition the wires. You can hold the lock switch in different positions to see if it works better once the wire is stretched out in a certain way. This indicates a break in the wire and that your lock isn’t getting power when the wire is in its normal state. Depending on whether you’re good with wiring, this could be annoying to fix.
It might be a good idea to take your lock to a mechanic or to install a brand new system. The simplest way to take care of things is going to be to let professionals take care of it. Which route you decide to go will be up to you. Just know that wiring issues can be a bit tedious.
You Need to Replace the Solenoid
If only one of your car doors isn’t locking properly, then it’s a sign that you might have a bad solenoid. These can go bad over time, due to being used so often. This is actually a very common reason for why your locks stop working. It’s also another problem that’s going to be decidedly simple to fix.
Installing a new solenoid in your door is going to be simple enough. You can just remove the door panel, find your old solenoid, and then replace it with the new one. It’s not all that complicated and it shouldn’t cost you much money to fix. If this is what’s wrong with your door lock, then you can go ahead and feel pretty lucky.
The Keyless Entry Car Remote Battery Is Dead
Another simple problem that causes people’s door locks not to work is when the keyless entry car remote goes dead. Your car might not be locking because the battery isn’t working well enough to send the signal that it’s supposed to lock itself. Your car remote runs on a battery and it isn’t going to last forever. Many people forget to think about the fact that these batteries will need to be replaced from time to time.
This can be somewhat problematic due to the fact that many modern cars only make use of keyless entry systems. If your car is one of the models that forgoes using a traditional tumbler lock with a normal key, then you’ll want to get a new battery for your key fob right away. You shouldn’t have any problems getting a new battery and installing it probably won’t be tough either. If you need to do so, then you can always contact the dealer or manufacturer to get information about what battery you need.
The Keyless Entry Car Remote Is Broken
Another potential problem with keyless entry car remotes is that they can become broken. If your car remote breaks, then it isn’t going to be able to lock your car. You’ll usually discover this is the case after trying to replace the battery. If a new battery didn’t fix what was wrong with the car key fob, then you’re going to need to go a step further.
You should take the car remote to the dealership to get it checked out. They should be able to hook it up to a computer and diagnose what’s wrong with it. You might be able to get it fixed by ensuring that things are programmed properly. In all likelihood, the dealership will just give you a replacement car remote and get things working for you.
If you bought your car second hand, then you might need to go to a locksmith. Locksmiths can usually help you with keyless entry systems. They might be able to get your car remote working. If they can’t, then they’ll be able to get you a new system that’ll allow your locks to work properly once more.
In Conclusion
After looking at all of the potential reasons why your car locks aren’t working, you should be able to feel more informed. One of the above reasons is the likely cause of your issues. Many of these problems can be fixed easily by installing a new part or replacing a battery. Some of the problems are more complex and might require professional assistance.
Whatever your problems wind up being, you’ll want to get things fixed up fast. Just being able to determine what’s wrong is an important step. Try to use the information I’ve given you to get things figured out. Once you know what needs to be done, getting your car locks working again shouldn’t be overly difficult.
Once you get everything working properly, you’ll be able to start using your car like normal again. If this ever occurs again, you’ll know what to expect and you won’t be caught off guard. Being prepared for how to deal with car trouble is always for the best. You have the right knowledge now, so go out and fix your problem or get the professional help that you need.
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- By Car Roar