# Doors Lock/Unlock for no apparent reason **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** towncar, lincoln\ **Created:** [September 7, 2012, 9:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497 "2012-09-07T09:12:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![islandrave1980](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/islandrave1980/32/308_2.png) [@islandrave1980](https://community.cartalk.com/u/islandrave1980)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 9:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/1 "2012-09-07T09:12:58Z")
I have a weird feeling that there’s a ghost in my car! This is so strange! I was driving home after dinner with of my best friends & suddenly all of my doors keep locking & unlocking on their own for no apparent reason; I’m NOT EVEN touching the door lock switch! To remedy the problem I yanked out the door lock fuse so it won’t drain out my battery overnight. What could be wrong with my door locks? Car: 1986 Lincoln Town Car ---
**Author:** ![Talon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c77e96/32.png) [@Talon](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Talon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/2 "2012-09-07T11:37:49Z")
oh, some cars that have electric locking systems have a sensor in the driver side door lock, so, when you push the lock down on the driver door, it makes all the doors lock, so if this sensor is malfunctioning, it can cause the doors to lock and unlock unexpectedly, i’ve had this happen before, what you can do, and this can be done at home though it is easier to have a dealer do it(i’d do it myself), what you can do is take the door apart and either remover the sensor from the lock device in the door, if you can find it, note this will bypass the sensor completely so the doors will not auto lock with the driver door, OR, just by a new lock and install it, or have the dealer do it, either way ---
**Author:** ![Talon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c77e96/32.png) [@Talon](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Talon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/3 "2012-09-07T11:38:47Z")
rest assured it will be more expensive to have the dealer do it ---
**Author:** ![ken\_green](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/ken_green/32/816_2.png) [@ken\_green](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ken_green)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/4 "2012-09-07T19:08:36Z")
Sometimes… Sometimes, in electronics, a LOW battery can confuse the system and be worse than a dead battery. Check or change the batteries in your remotes and see if the symptoms change. ---
**Author:** ![islandrave1980](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/islandrave1980/32/308_2.png) [@islandrave1980](https://community.cartalk.com/u/islandrave1980)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/5 "2012-09-07T21:58:28Z")
My friends say it’s a short & leading the alternator, but that can’t be the cause of the locking/unlocking problem :-/ ---
**Author:** ![islandrave1980](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/islandrave1980/32/308_2.png) [@islandrave1980](https://community.cartalk.com/u/islandrave1980)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/6 "2012-09-07T22:03:54Z")
The fuse prevents load from the keyless entry, trunk, door locks & the power seats. Can that be bad, by causing the lock/unlock problem? ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Marc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Big\_Marc](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Big_Marc)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/7 "2012-09-07T23:21:13Z")
your Lincoln has a power lock module that is known to have a hickup ever once in a while ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/8 "2012-09-07T23:59:35Z")
1986? I’ll bet lunch that you have an intermittant short to ground in the wiring harness where it goes through the body cavities between the main chassis and the door. The wires after years of being flexed back and forth can develop cracks in the insulation. Been there, done that. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/9 "2012-09-08T04:43:10Z")
It could be something else, but the first place I’d check in an 86 is the wire that goes into the door. Over many years of flexing from opening and closing the door, the insulation can be worse away. A visual inspection might find the problem quickly. ---
**Author:** ![islandrave1980](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/islandrave1980/32/308_2.png) [@islandrave1980](https://community.cartalk.com/u/islandrave1980)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/10 "2012-09-11T01:03:49Z")
Thanks. I will try that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cole\_s\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@Cole\_s\_Law](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cole_s_Law)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/11 "2012-09-11T07:19:17Z")
Out of curiosity, were your interior lights coming on too? If so, check all your doors to make sure they’re closed fully, then check the sensors that detect if the door is closed. If a door isn’t fully closed or the sensor goes, the car thinks you’re constantly closing and opening the doors. When you ‘open’ the door, it auto-unlocks. When you ‘close’ the door, because you’re driving, it auto locks the door. I had that exact issue a couple weeks back when I closed the passenger seatbelt in the door. ---
**Author:** ![islandrave1980](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/islandrave1980/32/308_2.png) [@islandrave1980](https://community.cartalk.com/u/islandrave1980)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 10:57am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/12 "2012-10-02T10:57:09Z")
Thanks. I will try that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kawasaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2acd7d/32.png) [@kawasaga](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kawasaga)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/13 "2012-10-02T14:31:25Z")
Water gets in those switches easily,very common on the T?C of that era. ---
**Author:** ![islandrave1980](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/islandrave1980/32/308_2.png) [@islandrave1980](https://community.cartalk.com/u/islandrave1980)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/14 "2013-08-25T20:19:34Z")
Problem found! I unplugged the keyless entry module, which is found below the glove box on the passenger side kick panel & replugged it back in. No more irritating locking on its own! ---
**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/15 "2013-08-26T00:35:13Z")
I wonder if by doing that the keyfob still works. If it doesn’t and the fob now needs reprograming then perhaps it is the keyfob that is causing the trouble and has a flakey button. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/16 "2013-08-26T05:50:59Z")
There’s a component in your vehicle called a GEM. Generic Electronic Module The GEM contols the door locks, windows, power seats. etc… Look it up. Ford GEM. Tester ---
**Author:** ![Laurence\_Socci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Laurence\_Socci](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Laurence_Socci)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/17 "2018-02-13T17:40:37Z")
I just had this same problem today. My wife and I have electronic fobs that can be used to lock and unlock the car door. The electronic signals between the fob and the car were out of whack and the car lock kept going on all by itself. I pulled the battery from the fobs and the problem was solved. ---
**Author:** ![R.A\_2](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/r.a_2/32/19346_2.png) [@R.A\_2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/R.A_2)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 10:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/18 "2020-01-31T10:09:49Z")
Can this happen if your car locking system is not a remote control one. Does your 1986 Lincoln car has a remote control to unlock/lock the car. Or do you have to unlock your car with a key inserted into the car door knob. ---
**Author:** ![Botoxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Botoxx](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Botoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 8:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/19 "2020-05-09T08:06:53Z")
Can you send me a message. It’s important. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497/20 "2020-05-09T15:04:21Z")
@cdaquila I don’t know about islandrave but I would not respond to botoxx by email . Of course I would not put my email on an open web site in the first place. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/doors-lock-unlock-for-no-apparent-reason/74497.md?page=2)