Chevy Astro and GMC Safari Forum banner

Rain + Power locks = Trouble

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Black89cs 
#1 ·
Yesterday while I was working we got a nice little rain shower. When I went to open the sliding door to get something I found that the van had locked itself up. I went around to the drivers side and realized I had forgotten to roll up the window when it started raining, usually no big deal. But, just enough rain water had dripped down on the door panel to get in the lock switch and effectively short it in the down position. Tried the lock button and it was dead. I figured no biggy, it's probably a blown fuse so when it dries out I'll swap the fuse.

This morning I checked the fuse and it was okay, but still no power locks. Okay it's probably a relay, I'll sort it out later. Well, at some point today they started working again, sort of... Drivers door lock seems to work okay, passenger door actuator is completely dead, and the slider and rear hatch seem to work intermittently.

What I think happened... rain water shorted the drivers switch in the lock position, locking all the doors. But the switch is still shorted so it's like holding the switch down. Normally what happens is the thermistor in the actuator heats up and cuts current to the lock motor, but with the switch shorted it's continually trying to send current to the actuator so the thermistors are cycling trying to operate the motors, eventually cooking them. Finally the circuit breaker in the fuse panel opened up and didn't reset until today. Net result, it looks like I need three new lock actuators.

So, this is just me venting, and a friendly reminder... if starts raining, roll up your windows!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
We curse when it doesn't rain...

We curse when it does...

J/K

Good Luck Kenny.

Great Opportunity for Pix. Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink... Know what I mean Know what I mean?

Jim
 
#3 ·
I think your theory's right. I have to constantly remind myself ( and passengers in the front) not to let a leg rest on the door, it hits right at the switch and does the same thing, with the same results :D
 
#6 ·
kennyj said:
astroturf said:
We curse when it doesn't rain...

We curse when it does...

J/K

Good Luck Kenny.

Great Opportunity for Pix. Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink... Know what I mean Know what I mean?

Jim
Well here's one... :rofl:

And a Good One at that.

We just had some rain blow through.

Took the temps from the high 90s to low 70s in about an hour.

Dang it's cold outside...
 
#7 ·
rev_les said:
I think your theory's right. I have to constantly remind myself ( and passengers in the front) not to let a leg rest on the door, it hits right at the switch and does the same thing, with the same results :D
It took me awhile to figure out why the doors in the 97 kept locking at random until I realized I had my knee on the switch. That and the power window switches being on the top of the door panel are two annoyances I've experienced.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top