My automatic door lock is making a buzzing noise when it locks the door. It does not make any noise when unlocking. I need to remove the door panel to take a look. Does anyone know how to remove the panel on the drivers door of a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan?
Just about every vehicle is the same now. Got to a parts store and get a panel removal tool, its not that this tool is an absolute requirement, but it does make the job easier and less likely that you will damage the door, and its cheap.
You will also need a #2 phillips head screwdriver. The screws are usually a little difficult to find, they are hidden in the trim around the opening latch, window control panel and the door pockets, remove them.
If you have manual windows, you can use a terry cloth towel to remove it. You slide an edge up behind the handle and move back and forth to catch the clip and pull it out. Be careful, it can spring some distance, but you can easily get a new one if you loose it.
then use the panel removal screw along the bottom of the panel. Slid it between the panel and frame and slid along until you come to a fastener, then pry it out. Do all the bottom ones first, then work up the sides. Then just lift the panel up and out.
Funny, I have a 2000 that started making the same noise 3 months ago. Listen to Keith on how to take the panel off-great advice. But I will make it easier, it is the door lock latch mechanism and it is over $100, I tried to get one from the pull a part near me but they are charging $40 without even guaranteeing that it will work. So we have gotten used to the noise. It has given our car some character…
Interior door panels have all been pretty much the same for 60 years…The plastic clips that hold them in place are easy to break but parts stores have replacements…
If the noise doesn’t stop when the door is locked then it would seem to me the trouble is with the solenoid controller rather than the solenoid itself. I don’t think that power should run to the solenoid all the time. I think it should be just a momentary switch.