Toyota with lazy power door locks

[Greg Peterson]

My 1997 Camry has power locks but they are lazy. If I hold the button down for several seconds then rock the switch to the opposite position the locks will operate in the direction the switch is activating.

So, if I want to lock the doors, I hold the switch down on the unlock position for several seconds then press the Lock side of the switch and the actuators lock the doors.

Is this a 'lazy' relay and if so where is it located? I can hear it under the dash but there are several relays down there.

[Lee Schierer]

Sounds like a dirty switch. Have you tried the other door switch to see if it has the same problem?

[Greg Peterson]

All switches work. Same procedure is required with each switch.

[Jim Koepke]

Is this with the engine running or the engine off?

If with the engine running is different than engine off, then I would check your battery voltage. May be time for a replacement.

If the same engine running or not, a voltage check may still be in order, but the problem would likely be a loose connection where all the switch wiring comes together or a common point along the cabling.

This also sounds like it could be a loose relay. If you can find all the relays, just putting a finger on top and wiggling each one may fix the problem. Also, while working the switch back and forth with a finger on the relays you may be able to feel which one is the one in charge of the door locks. Some cars have a layout plan in the owners manual for fuses and relays. Some have this drawing on a cover or decal mounted near by.

There could also be one door lock motor that is over stressing the whole circuit. This would be a little more involved in the trouble shooting. How much work are you willing to put into this?

Any recent damage or repair work?

jim

[Paul Ryan]

Do the locks move slowly as the switch is press or it just take a while for the the locks to all of a sudden respond. If it is the first one, it sounds to me that the actuators are dirty. Does it always act this way or only since it got cold. The actuators have grease on them so the levers more smootly. Overtime the grease atracts dust, dirt, all kind of nasty stuff and doesn't allow the actuators to move smoothly. If it is real cold the temp will magnify the problem because everything, even you and I move slower in the cold. If it takes a while for them to all of a sudden respond you will have to check the system. You could have corosion inside the relay making to take a second or two to respond, that is unlikly though. Due to the age of the car I would lean toward dirty acutators.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Are the locks programmable? Perhaps the controller is waiting for instructions before continuing. In my Chrysler, flicking the ignition while fiddling with a do-hicky makes something work differently - it's been a while since anyone's programmed my do-hickies, I'd have to look at the manual.... Maybe call a dealer.

[Myk Rian]

Original battery? Get it checked.

[Sean Troy]

Are the locks programmable? Perhaps the controller is waiting for instructions before continuing. In my Chrysler, flicking the ignition while fiddling with a do-hicky makes something work differently - it's been a while since anyone's programmed my do-hickies, I'd have to look at the manual.... Maybe call a dealer.
Wow, do-hickyless. Thats bad for moral:)

[Greg Peterson]

New battery,warm weather, cold weather, engine on, engine off. Makes no difference.

It's almost as if you have to prime the system and then they will work.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg,

I wish I could see an electrical drawing for that car. I'd bet one of 3 things is happening. 1) There is a relay involved that the door switches operate and the contacts on the relay are hanging... or 2) it could be a solid state device that's doing the switching and it's reversing the switch is causing a different bias to cause the malfunctioning to occur. ....Or as stated earlier, the actuators have gotten dirty and are hanging.

The 1st or the 3rd are the most likely.

[Greg Peterson]

Ken - my theory is a sticking relay. I've been living with this for several years now finally thought I would tap the collective brain trust here to see if someone else had a similar experience. Or at least a link to a site that has some technical info on this car.

My daylight hours are spent at work so I'll have to wait for the weekend to go out and fiddle with the car.

Thanks to everyone for the idea's.

And Merry Christmas too!