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| Have you become so frustrated with your non-working power door locks
you’ve decided to take drastic measures to pull open the locks. Well,
Bunkie, put away those channel locks. The solution is right at hand.
The most common problem with 78 to 82 power door locks are broken
pigtail switches. It seems with age and use, the pigtails break leaving
the power door locks inoperable. Replacing the pigtails is fairly
simple. Start by making a call to Zip Products, Inc.,
8067 Fast Lane , Mechanicsville, VA 23111(800) 962-9632. They have the
new pigtails readily available and in stock. The repair will only take
a few hours and if the door actuators are still good, the expense is
very minimal. You will only need common hand tools for the repair but I
would recommend that you have a wiring diagram and shop manual
available for your year Corvette.
Now let’s get to work and put the switch on.
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01: Here are the new door lock switch pigtails we
received from Zip Products. If you look closely you will see that they
are marked for the left and right. The reason for this is that each
mounts differently to the switch and each side has different colored
wires. |
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02: Start by removing the door lock knob, armrest, door handle bezel and door panel mounting screws. |
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03: Carefully lift the door panel off the door. Support the panel while disconnecting the pigtail from the switch. |
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04: Here is our problem. The pigtail has come apart.
The fiberboard back should be attached to the pigtail and one wire has
broken loose from the mounting plate. Check the back of each power door
lock switch. Look for loose connecting studs or a broken switch
housing. Make sure the switch has tension in both directions when you
move it. Clean the terminals of any corrosion. If you need another
switch, contact Zip Products. They will be able to supply one.
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05: Just to be sure this is the only problem, you will want to check the door actuators. Start by removing the access panel. |
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06: Remove the electrical plug to the door actuator.
Make up two long wires with alligator clips on both ends. Connect one
wire to a good ground and then to one spade on the door actuator. Use
your second wire and clip one end of the wire to a 12 volt power source
and the other end to a probe. Touch the 12 volt probe end to the open
spade terminal on the door actuator. If the actuator is good, it should
work in one direction. Reverse the wires on the actuator changing the
ground to the other terminal and the 12 volt source to the open spade
terminal. The actuator should work in the opposite direction. Try this
2 or 3 times. If it works in both directions, the actuators are good.
If it doesn’t work, the actuators will need to be replaced. Contact Zip
Products. They will be able to supply you with new ones. Note: Make
sure you have a good ground and 12 volt power source. If you do not,
the test on the actuator will not be accurate. Remember that if your
actuator does not work the first time you try this test, it does not
necessarily mean that the actuator is bad. It may mean that the
actuator is already in one direction either locked or unlocked. By
changing the wires around on the actuator and trying the test, you will
be making the actuator work in the opposite direction. |
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07: Verify the wiring from the door harness to the
pigtail. This is very important. We noticed that some of the years vary
in wiring color. If the wiring is not connected correctly, the door
locks will work in reverse or not at all. (This is where the wiring
diagram for your year Corvette is very important.) You can use butt
connectors to crimp the wires together but a better way is to solder
them. If you solder the wires, you will be able to do most of the wires
on the passenger door out of the car. This is much easier, but the
driver’s door will have to be done on the car. |
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08: Use heat shrink tubing to cover any soldered connections. This looks much better and is more waterproof. |
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09: After the connections are made, plug in the door
lock switches and try the door locks. If you did everything right, they
should work perfectly. If not, you may have crossed a wire or the
switch is defective. Use either vinyl or electrical tape to make a new
harness cover. |
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10: Re-install the access plate and feed the new pigtail up into the door and out the upper access hole.
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11: Align the door panel onto the door and connect the
pigtail onto the switch. Re-install the mounting screws, door handle
bezel, armrest and door lock knob. You are done and ready to flip that
switch. No more channel locks for you. |
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12: These are two books you should not be without whenever you are doing any repair to your Corvette. |
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THE SWITCH IS ON :
78-82 CORVETTE POWER DOOR LOCK SWITCH REPAIR
By: Greg Donahue
Photos by: Author
SOURCE:
Zip Products, Inc.
8067 Fast Lane
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
(800) 962-9632
PARTS LIST:
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