Pass. door lock won't move?

[ThreeJs]

1996 EB Explorer 4 door. Power locks.

Noticed this morning as I was driving to work that my front passenger door hadn't automatically locked when I started the truck.

I reached over and tried to manually push the lock down. Wouldn't budge.
Door lock actuator seems to be working as I can hear it while rocking the lock switch open/closed.
Pulled door panel and tried to manually move the rod to move it. Nothing.
Spayed down with WD40 but still no movement. Hard to see what's inside at night with a flashlight. Tight space.
I'll have to wait till I can do it during daylight.hours.
Door shuts and opens normally.

It's like the lock is jammed?? Can't lock the door...not good.

Does the latch mechanism go bad on these?

Anyone else ever run into this?

 

[boominXplorer]

Does the outside key lock seem to work or be hooked up? The little rod going to it likes to pop off and gets wedged in the framework.

 

[ThreeJs]

The key turns to unlock but won't turn to lock. Just like trying to push the door lock down, it doesn't move.
Felt around the rod and didn't feel anything hanging off. Everything looks connected.
I have a feeling it is the latch assembly....

 

[koda2000]

It might be a broken spring inside the door latch itself. Not uncommon. I had this happen on our '97. I found a small broken spring inside the latch mechanism that was jamming the latch. Removed the spring and it worked fine afterwards, but you may need to get a new latch.

 

[ThreeJs]

Being able to look at it during the day, Problem seemed to be the lock actuator.
I could hear the actuator sounds when activated but no movement at the rod end.
Removed the actuator and can now activate the door lock manually with no issues.
A minor inconveniece.

I may or may not replace the door lock actuator in the future......we shall see.