Last year in January while on a road trip, it got cold far away from home and I got locked out of the car. all four and the trunk. Only thing that worked, since I was actually staying in an auto shop overnight, was to put bullet heater next to car door for about 8-10 mins. Once air inside door warmed up, door opened, but only the one I heated. I heated the rest and got on the road; at next fuel stop I had to climb out window (until I got down south), and that's how it stayed until I got to a warmer clime.
Haven't taken it apart yet, but I understand there is a vacuum actuator, and when the air in the system contracts from the cold, it pulls the actuator shut. Now, I'm a car fabricator and not a rocket scientist, but I suspect that when I get my hands free enough to get to it, one of several things can be done: 1.) Adjust the actuator so the rod to the latch is at it's fullest adjustment to hold the door latch in the "unlocked" position, or 2.) The solution for the daring types: use a tiny jet drill, one which will likely make a 3K sized hole, and put a tiny hole in the actuator canister on the "positive" side of the canister. That would be the side where the air in the "closed" system contracts and pulls the actuator shut. When the solenoid is activated by the key or the remote, the tiny hole will not prevent the door lock system from operating, but the hole will let the additional air into the system when the car/lock system is stationary so the actuator will not let the door lock go into the "constantly locked while cold" position when the car is attempting to go into it's "pain in the a--" mode.
I'm likely going to do both when I get my hands free enough to take the door panels off, and if anyone else has had a similar experience and chose not to "replace the part", which I can tell you , likely, will NOT fix the problem, please let us all know. It makes me wonder what all those good folks in the Alps do to remedy this problem! Thank You, and I hope this may provide some insight. Best Regards from Mr. Mean St. (USA)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Last year in January while on a road trip, it got cold far away from home and I got locked out of the car. all four and the trunk. Only thing that worked, since I was actually staying in an auto shop overnight, was to put bullet heater next to car door for about 8-10 mins. Once air inside door warmed up, door opened, but only the one I heated. I heated the rest and got on the road; at next fuel stop I had to climb out window (until I got down south), and that's how it stayed until I got to a warmer clime.
Haven't taken it apart yet, but I understand there is a vacuum actuator, and when the air in the system contracts from the cold, it pulls the actuator shut. Now, I'm a car fabricator and not a rocket scientist, but I suspect that when I get my hands free enough to get to it, one of several things can be done: 1.) Adjust the actuator so the rod to the latch is at it's fullest adjustment to hold the door latch in the "unlocked" position, or 2.) The solution for the daring types: use a tiny jet drill, one which will likely make a 3K sized hole, and put a tiny hole in the actuator canister on the "positive" side of the canister. That would be the side where the air in the "closed" system contracts and pulls the actuator shut. When the solenoid is activated by the key or the remote, the tiny hole will not prevent the door lock system from operating, but the hole will let the additional air into the system when the car/lock system is stationary so the actuator will not let the door lock go into the "constantly locked while cold" position when the car is attempting to go into it's "pain in the a--" mode.
I'm likely going to do both when I get my hands free enough to take the door panels off, and if anyone else has had a similar experience and chose not to "replace the part", which I can tell you , likely, will NOT fix the problem, please let us all know. It makes me wonder what all those good folks in the Alps do to remedy this problem! Thank You, and I hope this may provide some insight. Best Regards from Mr. Mean St. (USA)
- Eric K., Freeport, US