Hey all,

I would like to ask any if anyone has a recommendation on how to deal with a power door lock problem that I have have on my 2002 Sebring Sedan. I can unlock the doors with my remote fob or either switch in the car - no problem. None of the doors will not lock, however. I activate the switch and I can hear the the relay click but the door locks do not lock. When I try to lock with the fob, lights flash and horn sounds but doors do not lock. I have reset the IOD and it does not help. I have removed/reseated connectors to the BCM and I can usually get the locks to start working properly for maybe five or six times and then it goes back to unlocking only. Any Ideas?

 

Try this:
There's a little thing inside the ignition key switch that senses the presence of the ignition key. If it detects a key in the switch, it won't let you electrically lock the doors with the engine off. The idea is to make it less likely that you'll lock the keys in the car. If that thing gets stuck, the car may think the key is in the ignition and will try to prevent locking the doors.
Put a drop of WD-40 on the key and work it in and out of the switch a few times to try to free up the littlle gizmo in there.

Might work, can't hurt.

 

Very good advice. Also keep in mind that is also a BCM input. You can read the state of it if you have a scanner that can get into the BCM.

 

Hello to you both and thanks for your replies. I tried lubricating the ingition key and working it in and around. I didn't have any luck there. I can still unlock all the doors from both inside switches and from my key fob. When I press either of the switches inside to lock all the doors, I can hear the relay click in the BCM but none of the acutators are making any effort to move. One of you mentioned a code scanner. Can you recommend one? It seems that maybe that is the best way to go. Thanks.

Ken

 

You'll need a pretty sophisticated scanner to be able to get down to read the BCM commands and status. If you are not going to be serious about repairing this and other automobiles on a regular basis, it might not pay to invest that much money in a scanner. You'll be paying at least hundreds for such a scanner whereas if you are the usual backyard mechanic you can probably find a scanner good enough for most of your needs for less than $100.
For around $85 your local Chrysler dealer can hook your car up to their scanner (which would cost you thousands to buy and keep up-to-date) and get all the information that can ever be gotten. Usually, if you choose to have them repair the car, they will appy that hook-up fee to the repair bill.

The shop manual recommends this test for "All doors failing to lock from any switch.":
Disconnect the BCM C4 connector.
Measure the resistance between ground and any lock relay output circuits in the BCM C4 connector.
Is the resistance below 1000 ohms (should be infinite)?

If yes, repair the lock relay outputs as necessary.

Otherwise, replace the BCM.

If you can handle that test, go for it. Otherwise you might want to consider a trip to the dealer. It won't be cheap.

 

Could you tell me where is that relay that control the "lock" of the door locks .
Last year I change both door locks , it worked randomly for a while , telling me I did that for nothing .
I am pretty shure the problem comes from that relay : I cannot lock the door using the remote , cannot lock the doors using the switch in both doors , before at a certain speed the car was locking the doors by itself .

No problem to unlock with the door switch or with the rrmote !!

 

The "relay" is a function that is built into the body control module (body computer). Did you try the trick with the WD-40 on the key?

 

Thanks a lot !!!!!!!!!!!
It worked , the WD40 trick is great , it took a couple of minutes of playing with the key in the ignition switch , there was a lot of gunk on the key at the end even if there is only 20,000 miles on the car.
I started playing with the doorlock switch and after a while it started working !!!
I am so glad it prevent me to crawl on the floor under the dash !!

 

Because of the fact that the doors would unlock but not lock, I suspected that your problem was with that key sensor in the ignition. The "gunk" probably comes from the stuff that collects in the pocket of one's pants where the keys are carried. Thanks for coming back and sharing your success.

 

Wow. That was totally it.

Here are the symptoms. The car can unlock using either the unlock button or the remote. However, when you try to lock the car, nothing happens. You do hear the tiniest "click" near the steering wheel. The car alarm, however, thinks that the car is locked and when you open the door (which is unlocked) the alarm will sound.

I sprayed the lock with WD-40 and moved the key in and out wiping the key every time I took it out. Nothing. Again with the spray, key, wipe. Nothing. Again. Lock!!! And then it stopped. Spray/key/wipe again. Lock every once in a while. Spray/key/wipe again. This time it took. The sensor seems to be in the "bottom" of the key hole so try applying pressure in the "down" direction. (That's totally anecdotal - sample size of one.)

I can now lock and unlock the car at will. Thank you!!