Driverside power door lock not working.....

[miatajim]

......95.9873% of the time. That's the project for today. This will also be a how to take apart the door, etc. Photos and more to come.

[miatajim]

Photos coming in a bit. Getting the damn thing out/in is a bit like playing tetris. Maybe 1/4-1/2" of play in any direction.

[mr_hyde]

It you get that black goo on your skin it will be there for days!

[miatajim]

Got a bit on me, only had gloves on half the time. methyl ethyl ketone or MEK takes it right off.

[CharlesE]

Uh....Jim......Have you read the MSDS on MEK?  That stuff will give you cancer, male disfunction and death, in no particular order.  Gloves and long sleeve shirts are far cheaper than medical specialists.

[miatajim]

First link to all the pics. http://miatajim.smugmug.com/Other/Miata-power-door-lock/

OK so here is what you need.


A NB Miata , if you don't have one you may be on the wrong forum.

Looks like this:




Other colors have been made, please don't panic. It is the same for all of them . It will be a slower job on other colors.

If your NB/MSM has a home, bring it outside. You need to let it breath, it likes the sun.



I feel the best way is to push it outside. If you start it you will just drive around for 4-6 hours and never get anything done.  .

Next we have to enter car(remember no driving):



Then put key in(DO NOT sit in car, you will drive it). Turn car on______not start. Do door locks work? Stop reading.

Does just one door unlock/lock with key fob or door switch? Yes...read on. No Go driving.

Remove door panel:

you need nails to pull them out(girlfriend/random person will work) or local place that sell nail kits(I would remove before work, people will talk). And this one :





Remove 3 screws: 

Upper and lower, yes lower is in shadow, sorry sue me.





Remove this one to:




Lift off door panel. It's easy if you stuck at this point, give up call dealer.

Naked door:



Go find gloves, that black goo makes a mess. MEK, Gas, any good solvent will get it off you and car(read the label, having kids(with out 3 or more heads) may be an issue. Remove white block one 10mm nut.




The door is open. Now remove the trio of screws. FYI Mazda used Sumo wrestlers for the install. Make sure you have big blunt Philips bit for the job.



Remove this:



Mark or remember what cable goes to each place, or locking door will open it. 


Now remove door latch and power door lock. Oh but first unsnap all cables and wires from it. No real photos, at that point I was going to just burn car in driveway and call insurance company. Do not get mad and yank you will dent door.



It's out


Here is the issue:



and inside:



Can it be fixed, yes, but you would need 3D printer and I bet you would be next saint. Crappy plastic gears, and plastic cam. My advice, remove(whats that 5HP?). Then post in http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php/board,30.0.html I need your used one from your race car.

Oh read this from bottom up or your going to missing a working door.

[CharlesE]

Nice writeup. 

One minor point..... On the stock car's Bose system, the tweeter is connected to the door panel by a wire that must be disconnected (white connector).  That operation requires 3 hands and the dexterity of Houdini.

I like your all in one speaker setup, if for no reason other than it makes removal of the door panel a touch easier.

[miatajim]

BOSE is fine . Oh burn in hell . But CharlesE is correct . Oh burn in hell.

[Canyonfive]

its off topic but which roll bar is that and did you have any fitment issue with the subs?

[miatajim]

its off topic but which roll bar is that and did you have any fitment issue with the subs?

Harddog hard core DD. Sub fits with no issues.

[exadios]

Thanks for the great post. With you help, i just replace my driver side door locks today.  Took me about 30mins or less. PS wear rubber gloves.

[marreroj]

Thanks for the great post. With you help, i just replace my driver side door locks today.  Took me about 30mins or less. PS wear rubber gloves.

did you buy new? i've bought 2 door lock assemblies and they both had dead actuators. i'm thinking of ordering the motors to rebuild my actuators.

[sfcarbone]

The door lock actuators can now be fixed for cheap!  Recently, demonsnake  posted a tech bulletin on how to cheaply fix the power lock actuator of the Mazdaspeed.  (The same mechanism is in LS versions of the Miata from 2001 – 2005).  Here’s a link to his write-up:

http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php/topic,29045.0.html

I had also been looking for a solution prior to that post.  So all my work isn’t totally lost, I’ll document some of that here.
A second solution to the one documented by demonsnake is to find a motor with power comparable to the factory unit and therefore not requiring a spring or capacitor modification.  That’s easier said than done, I bought 6 different ones before I found one that would work.  The factory 12v motor powering the lock was probably made by Mabuchi, model number FK-280PA/SA.  It is a very popular motor and has many variations.  Here’s a link to the manufacturers spec sheet:

http://www.mabuchi-motor.co.jp/cgi-bin/catalog/e_catalog.cgi?CAT_ID=fk_280pasa

The size and electrical connectors are the first hurdle, that’s easy.  Make sure the shaft is splined and the right length.  Too long is okay (you can grind part off), but there must be enough splines left to hold the gear.  The specification that matters most is the torque and current draw at stall.  If you are buying one without seeing that information, chances are it is lower than needed power and you will need to modify the spring as demonsnake did above.  You need a minimum of 23mN-m torque at stall or current draw of 2 Amperes.

The part I found that was up to the job was a motor made by Nichibu, model number PC-280.  I bought mine on ebay from a seller called mopselectric.  As ebay sellers come and go, here is another link to what seems to be the identical product with identical markings:

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/DCM-411/3-18-VDC-MOTOR/1.html

The shaft was a little too long, but I cut off the excess with a grinder—the remaining splines were longer than the OEM unit.
I had a yet another solution I came up with in desperation, wanting to get the car together before dark.  The plastic part of the motor is where the carbon brushes are, and that’s the piece that commonly wears out on any electric motor.  I used a corkscrew to pry up the securing metal tabs holding the motor together and put a new set of brushes from a new underpowered motor onto the old OEM unit.  That motor is still holding up great and works like new.  Some pictures:

OEM on the left, Nichibu in middle and right:


OEM on left, shaft too long on right:


Burned out OEM brushes on the left, new ones on right:


Using toothpicks to spread new brushes prior to reassembly:


Minimum order of 50, perfect size and power, but shaft has no splines!  Oh no!:


I have a couple of spares, left and right.  PM me if using a soldering iron is not your idea of a good time and you would prefer to buy an exchange unit.  My spares will go on ebay if nobody is interested.

[Okibi]

That is very cool! Hadn't managed to find a same sized motor before, be keen to grab at least 4 off you.