power door lock problem

I have a 98 4 Runner Limited, V6 3.3L. Her power door lock now has the following problem:

When I press unlock button on both of the remote and in car power lock are ok. The door will be unlocked.

When I press lock button on both, what I have is just a very small click sound and the door will not be locked.

Can anyone help?

Have you tried replacing the battery in the remote?

no, but it is not the problem from the remote, even I press the door lock button inside of the car and it still not working. just on lock operation, unlock has no problem.???

i have found an information from another forum. Someone replaced a body control unit block in the fuses box under the hood and the problem got fixed. does anyone has any idea?

I had a similar problem, only mine would not lock with the key, remote and in car control worked fine. This happened when I purchased the vehicle and they had to replace a body ecu. I just had my door repainted and the exact problem occurred again, but this time, they said one of the clips which holds the lock rod in place had come loose.

you know what, when i kicked or moved the cable just right behind the in car fuse box, it works again. but not all the time, i believe it might be the problem of the cable somewhere around.

you know what, when i kicked or moved the cable just right behind the in car fuse box, it works again. but not all the time, i believe it might be the problem of the cable somewhere around.
I am having the same problem and check the wiring behinde the fuse box and that did not fix the problem. Does anyone have any other ideas???
Thanks

I just got some info. from the internet about the door lock problem. I don't have time to check it yet but it may be help to solve it.

| ITEM | WIRE COLOR |POL| WIRE LOCATION |
| 12V|white - white/red |+ |ignition harness |
| STARTER|black |+ |ignition harness |
| IGNITION|black/yellow |+ |ignition harness |
| SECOND IGNITION|blk/yel or blk/red |+ |ignition harness |
| ACCESSORY|blue/red |+ |ignition harness |
| POWER LOCK|blue/white |- |door control relay *2 |
| POWER UNLOCK|blue/yellow |- |door control relay *2 |
| PARKING LIGHTS +|green | |drivers kick panel *3 |
| PARKING LIGHTS -|red/black | |steering column |
| HEADLIGHTS|red/white |- |steering column |
| DOOR TRIGGER|black/white or black|- |2 pin plug top fusebox |
| TRUNK/HATCH PIN|green/white |- |rear window relay *4 |
| TACHOMETER|black | |check connector *1 |
| BRAKE WIRE|green/white |+ |brake switch |
| HORN TRIGGER|green/red |- |steering column |
| WIPERS|blue/black |+ |steering column |
| LF WINDOW UP/DN|blu/grn - blu/yel |A |in drivers door |
| RF WINDOW UP/DN|red/blk - red/grn |A |in drivers door or dkp |
| LR WINDOW UP/DN|blu/blk - red/blu |A |in drivers door or dkp |
| RR WINDOW UP/DN|red/yel - red/blu *5|A |in drivers door or dkp |


Notes:
*1 The diagnosis connector is located on the passenger inner fender near the fuse/relay box. *2 Door control relay is located behind the drivers dash speaker. *3 Can also be found at any illuminated switches, radio, or some cigarette lighters. *4 The rear power window relay is in the left rear quarter panel, behind trim, near tail light. The trunk pin can also be found yellow/black in the drivers kick (rest at ground, diode Isolate from dash indicator). *5 The rear tailgate window motor wires are red for up, and green for down. Both wires can be found at the rear window relay. We advise that you use the trunk pin wire to disable your rear window module, so the rear window does not operate when the rear door is open.

The information in the post above is what installers use when installing an aftermarket alarm system and only provides information about the locations and colors of the wires that can be tapped into to control certain features (including the door locks).

First off... Check the fuse for the door locks. Since the unlock seems to work, I doubt this is the issue.

I used to install vehicle security systems professionally up until late 1999. From what I remember, the door locks in a Toyota use a negative trigger locking system, which means that when the lock wire receives a negative (-) pulse, the doors will lock and vice-versa for the unlock. The security system simply sends a negative pulse into the lock/unlock wires when the corresponding buttons are used on the remote. The wires generally used for the door locks in 4Runners can usually be found in the driver kick panel or near the fuse box (usually in a harness leading from fuse box into the kick panel). You can check for damage to the wires in those locations.

If this is a factory security system, the alarm brain is generally located under the driver seat and is a small square black box that is roughly about 3" x 3" in size. Check the brain to be sure nothing has spilled onto it and that no wires have been exposed or damaged. You should also use a flash light and check that there are no broken, damaged, or fried wires under the dash near the fuse block. Also make sure that all of the plugs going into the fuse block are not loose and are firmly locked in place.

Just remember when working on any wiring in any vehicle, DO NOT mess with any harness that is wrapped in yellow tape. The Yellow tape is used to identify the airbag wires and tampering with them can cause the airbag to deploy.

Hope this helps point you in the right direction.

thanks "overw0rkd", I will try to locate it tonight. I still can hear the very small click sound when i am pressing the lock button from my remote. is it the problem of the door lock relay? does it has 2 relays which one for lock and another one for unlock? I always guess it could be the lock relay die, but I am not quite sure I am in the right track.

i just looked at the driver seat and nothing under except 3 motors for power seat. should i remove the seat and remove the carpet completely?

I have the exact same problem with my wife's 99 4 runner. I replaced the mater lock switch console, and it did not help. I have taken the door apart and applied power directly to the lock. It works. The general theory is there is something wrong with the "brain" in the theft alarm. Thats where I am at.

Good Luck

have you located the door lock relay or the brain yet? or even the fuse for the door lock? i just got 2 repairing manuals and will try to get the answer from their.

I just did a little more research and found that for this model, the brain is normally attached to a bracket mounted to the firewall to the right of the steering column. It was located under the seat on my 97 4-runner, but I also do not have power seats.

Here is the owners manual for the factory security system (http://www.reapur.com/car/4runner/RS3200VIP_Plus/index.html)

I also read this in my Haynes repair manual:

"Its common for wires to break in the portion of the harness between the body and door (opening and closing the door fatigues and eventually breaks the wires)."

my manual shows the ecu is located at the back of glove box. and if i can hear the click sound, means the relay is still working. so the problem could be in the cable. but how do i know which cable? i saw it has over 100 wires under the kick panel. i don't even know which one is the door lock control unit yet. can someone post a photo to show the door lock control unit? it must be really helpful.

This is what the brain to the security system looks like.

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/not-4-u/images/vip-rs3200.gif

I just replaced the factory security system in my wifes 4Runner with an aftermarket system earlier today.

If you can hear either the lock or unlock relay when pressing the lock/unlock switch, you can follow that sound to the general area where the relays are located. It is sometimes hard to hear the relays over the sound of door lock motors doing their job.

Also, a few replies below...


I still can hear the very small click sound when i am pressing the lock button from my remote.

If you can hear a click, then the relay is most likely working. Keep in mind that the security system contains a relay for making the lights flash when you lock/unlock the doors. This may be the clicking sound that you hear.

is it the problem of the door lock relay?

It could be either the relays, or the wiring between the relays and the door lock motors. Since all of the locks have stopped working, it leads me to believe that the door lock motors are not the problem.

does it has 2 relays which one for lock and another one for unlock?

Yes, it does have 2 seperate relays... one for lock, and another for the unlock.


my manual shows the ecu is located at the back of glove box.


See this PDF file (http://pages.sbcglobal.net/not-4-u/images/doorlocks.pdf) for locations and wiring details.


i saw it has over 100 wires under the kick panel.


There are 2 plugs in the driver side kick panel where the wires lead into the door. The blue plug contains the lock and unlock wires.

Any resolution on this? My '99 4runner has the exact same problem. I brought it to a Toyota dealer 3 times and they finally gave up. It is an intermittent problem and every time Toyota has it, it seems to work. After a day or so, the locks stop working (locking only).
So frustrated!
I want to install an aftermarket alarm but I don't know if that will actually solve the problem? Any thoughts?

Just a thought here...

The 4-Runner has a feature that allows all the doors to be locked/unlocked by manually using the key on the driver door. I beleive turning it once toward the lock position will lock all the doors, and turning it twice toward the unlock position will unlock all the doors.

Next time anyone is experiencing problems with the door locks, try using the key on the driver door cylinder and let me know if this feature still functions. This may help to narrow down the list of components that could be malfunctioning.

If by chance the locks do function properly when using the key, try using the switch again immediately afterward and see if it works... I am wondering if this could be an issue with the circuit/wiring between the door lock cylinder and the lock mechanism on the driver door.

I don't think that everyone who has posted on this thread is having the same exact problem, but hopefully this thread has been somewhat helpful.

thank for overworkd, you are so supportive.

i already tried using my key on driver side. and still the same. unlock has no problem but unable to do the lock. even you use the key, the lock operation is still the same as you are pressing the lock button inside of the car.

last week i tried to remove the trim of the driver side and tried to remove the carpet. i am unable to remove the seat completely. and i don't know how to remove the carpet. the edge of the carpet has lots of salt and i will have to remove them before i can remove the carpet.

since the diagram shows the control unit should be under the driver seat, i am focusing on this area. when i am pressing the keyless entry button, the click sound actually is not from this area. you know, i have to close all doors, put my head under the steeling wheel, hold my breath, put the keyless entry in my pocket.......and......press.

forgot to mention, by using the key, the only one door can be locked is the driver side. nothing else

I just bought a 1996 Limited 4runner. I was trying to program the facotory keyless entry and did not succeed. When I was done fiddling with it, the driver door lock would not work when I used the insided panel switch. All other functions seem to be working properly. I have not tried to lock/unlock with the outside cylinder and then quickly use the inside panel. I will, hopefuly fixing the problem. If this doesn not work maybe someone can help or knows of a known issue. I will kee y'all posted. Good forum.