How Does Power Door Lock Actuator Work

What the officer is doing with the metal strip is fishing around until he or she hooks onto the point that the knob and actuator connect to.

How does power door lock actuator work.

The power door lock actuator is a simple mechanical device. When the actuator moves the latch up it connects the outside door handle to the opening mechanism. A car door in this car the power door lock actuator is positioned below the latch. A small electric motor turns a series of spur gears that serve as a gear reduction.

A quick pull on this point and the door is unlocked. This converts the rotational motion into linear motion which moves the lock. Then use your test light or digital meter to check for power and ground at the connector when you operate the lock unlock switch. The door latch on a car door is responsible for keeping the door shut against the body of the ca.

The last gear drives a rack and pinion gear set that is connected to the actuator rod. A rod con nects the actuator to the latch and another rod connects the latch to the knob that sticks up out of the top of the door. This system is quite small in size. But in more complicated systems that have several ways to lock and unlock the doors the body controller decides when to do the unlocking.

Once engaged the motor turns spur gears that serve as a gear reduction. It works with a series of gears. The last gear drives a rack and pinion gearset that is connected to the actuator rod. The rack and pinion gears are the last gear set and are connected to the actuator rod.

The door lock actuator is a small electric motor. By a signal from a control center in some cars that have power door locks the lock unlock switch actually sends power to the actuators that unlock the door. Inside the power door lock actuator this system is quite simple. Here s how the power door locks and latch works on your car.

A simple vertical motion from either the knob on the door or the power lock actuator is all that s needed to turn the lock and open the door. The body controller is a computer in your car. But first let s see how the car keeps all its signals straight. You should see the voltage polarity toggle with each switch activation.

In this edition of howstuffworks we ll learn just what s inside your door that ma kes it unlock we ll take apart the actuator that does the work and then we ll learn how the lock can be forced open.