Central Locking issue

[MarcoMiranda]

Hi guys

Hoping to find some good advice here.

My 2004 Lumina (VY SS) has over the weekend developed a issue with the central locking. Every now and then I can only unlock the drivers door using my remote or even with the key. I tried pulling the door pins up hard and they're almost impossible to lift. (I think I even broke one.) I've reset my computer to factory settings and even taken off the two stage unlock option. It is very random. Worked all day today untill I had to come home from dinner when all of a sudden I couldn't open the door.

I've read up a little on it and see it's either faulty actuators or something about a BCM? box?

I'd really appreciate any info you guys could give me!

[wortus]

It's got somethingto do with the mechanism inside the door, at some point during production they were altered to increase some tolerances as I think it has something to do with different materials expanding at different rates and the mechanism becoming too hard for the motor to move and it gets stuck. It happens to my car occasionally usually if it's left outside on a cold wet day the drivers door gets stuck and once it was outside on a really hot day and a back door would not lock.
Not sure of the date the production change was made though.

[Calaber]

I think the design of the door lock actuator was changed during the VY production run and the revised product, which was probably cheaper than the original design, was defective. It was altered again to rectify the problem and the usual fix is to fit the later model actuator.

[wortus]

Have a look here, it seems yours may have been made after the revision.
Faults - VY Body

[MarcoMiranda]

Thanks for the replies guys. So do you think it's the actual actuators? If so, can they be replaced by an aftermarket type actuator? I'm not convinced it's the acutal BCM as when the doors get stuck, and if I press the button on my remote, I can actually hear the actuators making a slight noise in the doors.

The local support for my car in SA is really useless so the first thing they want to do is replace the Body Control Module which is a crap load of money....and I'm not even sure if it is that?

[wortus]

The BCM is just signalling the doors to open and the signal is being sent so probably not that. Why don't you try lubricating the mechanisms if that fails remove them, get them working on the bench and see if you can work out how they are getting stuck. If that fails get a set from a late model VZ fromt he wreckers and give them a go.

[MarcoMiranda]

Thought I'd post back some feedback. Had completely forgotten about this. It ended up being a faulty BCM unit. A new one was ordered and fitted and many months later it's running perfectly. Itwas a very expensive fix though.

Hope this helps anyone with a similar problem.