98 XJ Door Lock Malfunction

[harrum]

Searched with no luck on trouble shooting power door locks.
 
Recently my door locks have developed an annoying habit of locking and unlocking as I drive.

I have an aftermarket alarm/starter. Most of the time it functions properly, occasionally it arms without locking the doors.

Sometimes when I attempt to lock the doors with the drivers side switch, the doors lock briefly then unlock. If I continue this 3 - 4 more times the locks usually quit working. I can hear all the doors click, but the actuators do not engage.

If I open the passanger side front door I can hear the actuator engage.

Occasionally the actuator in the tailgate also sounds like it gets jammed if I try and lock it manually with the key. It clicks and buzzes for about 10 seconds.

WTF 

This happens every day and its becoming quite irritating

Dont know if this is relevent but... The power mirrors and all the windows work fine from the drivers side panel only. I think there is an issue with the window lock button because the other 3 switches do not light up. If i click the lock button enough times I may get lucky and the swithces finally function but that is very rare. Annoying but I can live with it

Can I pull a fuse to disable the locks in the mean time or are the mirrors and windows on the same circut?

Dont know where to start. Has anyone had a similar issue?

Thanks for any info

[TL-Iguana]

Did you install the alarm yourself or did you have a shop install it? If it was from a shop Id take it back and ask them to re-do the wiring for the door locks.. Sounds like it has a short somewhere as when energized the locks think they are to cycle. If you did it yourself, then you may want to double check the output wires on the alarm to make sure they are connected to the correct wires for the door locks. On the alarm brain it will likely have a pin out chart. Cross reference the lock + - on the chart to the wires that you have them hooked up to in the jeep and make sure that there is no shorts there. I cant remember exactly what my wire color codes are in my 01 Cherokee, but I may still have the chart somewhere that lays it out... of course Chrysler wasn't known for keeping the same colors every year so your 98 may be different than mine... Id also check the switch in the door to make sure that it is functioning correctly. You can even pull the door panel off, disconnect the switches from the harness underneath and see if that makes the problem go away. You of course wont be able to use the switches then, but I have a feeling that your windows and locks are actually on 2 different connectors to the harness. At least you can still open the windows then This is also very easy to do on your own, and will at least rule out the switches being at fault.

Good luck!

[harrum]

I purchased my XJ last April and it already had the alarm installed. It has been working fine up until about a month ago...

Looks like i'm gonna have to do a little more tinkering...

Thanks for the info.

[XJSteve]

I'm presently chasing an electrical gremlin myself. Just a few motherhood statements:

Check grounds first, then check where wires could rub and wear through the insulation. If the system worked previously as wired then it has to be the "wear" components of the electrical system.

Steve