"New" 97 Explorer

[Maj Thoms]

Have a 2007 two wheel drove that I gave my son and picked up this 97 4x4 to pull my 16 foot boat up and down the hills of southern Washington. Picked it up for 850.00 so it has some "needs". Exterior and interior are great. So far things are going as expected, but can not get the driver side lock or switch to work.
Replace the switch itself and the actuator but no luck. Power going to switch but nothing happening. All the other doors work by; key fab and key. DS door does not work at all. Anyone got some solutions?

 

[bobflood]

Look for broken wires in the driver's door wiring bundle between the body and door.

 

[koda2000]

If it's not a power/ground or lock actuator problem and you can't even lock/unlock the door with the key, you probably have a broken spring in the latch mechanism. This spring is very small and if it breaks and comes loose in the latch it can get in the way of the latch's locking/unlocking parts.

I had this happen on our '97 Sport and once I removed the broken spring from the latch it worked fine. From what I've read this is a fairly common issue. I don't know the purpose of this spring, but my latch worked fine w/out it.

 

[Maj Thoms]

If it's not a power/ground or lock actuator problem and you can't even lock/unlock the door with the key, you probably have a broken spring in the latch mechanism. This spring is very small and if it breaks and comes loose in the latch it can get in the way of the latch's locking/unlocking parts.

I had this happen on our '97 Sport and once I removed the broken spring from the latch it worked fine. From what I've read this is a fairly common issue. I don't know the purpose of this spring, but my latch worked fine w/out it.

 

[Maj Thoms]

Hello,
Actually the key does lock all the doors but the drivers side door is manually operated. An electronic impulse is sent out when the key is turned. The door locks easily but is difficult to open. The switch inside the SUV does not work at all.

 

[Turdle]

Push upwards on the door handle linkage ( with interior panel off of course) and see if this frees things up, or may even make the electric door lock work.
If it does, the spring mentioned above is broken, or, the door handle is worn-broken. That linkage has to return all the way up to what is called the "home" position before the lock will work.