Fitting a power door lock

[akershaw]

I'm fitting power door locks to my 1977 Spider. I know they're hardly necessary in a two-door but it seems a shame not to, when fitting an alarm that can control the door locks. Problem is, the actuators don't work. They're Zonetech brand and don't seem to have enough strength to lock and unlock the door. I don't know if it's because the actuators themselves are a bit weedy or I'm trying to install them in the wrong place. They're advertised as having 13lbs of force. I've put them alongside the long flat bar that runs from the interior door handle to the lock, between the inner door skin and the window, and made them act linearly with the bar. I guess the alternative would be to connect them to the little round bar that goes between the exterior door catch and the lock, but I can't work out how to mount the actuator for that. Has anyone done this, and if so do they have tips on a decent make of actuator or siting for the unit?

Thanks in advance. Alex

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I don't have any experience with this modification, but I do have a thought. The locking action via that bar that runs from the handle to the lock doesn't take much power, so I would think your electric lock could handle this, but the unlocking action also unlatches the door, and that unlatching takes quite a bit more power. In other words, it might be that your electric lock has enough power to lock the door but not to unlock it. And the latches themselves can get pretty gummy over time, making it even harder to unlock/unlatch them.

Connecting your electric lock directly to the lock/unlock lever on the latch assembly would seem to be the way to go. Could you mount the electric lock in the bottom of the door, and make a new (much longer) rod that goes all the way from that lock up to the lock/unlock lever on the latch assembly? Might be tricky to avoid interference with the window glass and mechanism.

-Bryan

[akershaw]

Useful thoughts, thank you. I'll take a look at the option of using a longer control bar to connect to the door latch. Might not be for a couple of days. Any thoughts from others in the meantime would be welcome. I know from various posts that some cars have got this modification.

[DRUMMOND]

[DRUMMOND]

Make sure power comes from a separate fuse box. Direct from battery power thru a relay. Actuator must see 12+ to pull lock open

[akershaw]

That's great, thanks Drummond. Let me just check what you did. You screwed the actuator to a small sheet of metal and then screwed that sheet to the strengthening bars on the inside of the door. The actuator then acts directly on the door latch. Have I got this right? The inside of your lock looks quite different from mine but I guess that is a model year issue, given the change of outside door handle between 77 and 80. This might work for me but I wonder if there's a simpler installation for a push-button door handle. Anyone?

[DRUMMOND]

Yes you are correct.
I have shaved door handles and they are opened by remote control so there is no drag from the door handle to effect the actuator

[akershaw]

Makes sense. Thank you for the follow up. Alex

[akershaw]

Just to follow up on this, I've managed to fit the actuators and they work. Key points:
I think it made a difference buying the Swiss made MES actuators
The resistance on the horizontal(-ish) bar from the inside door handle to the lock is too high and it's unlikely any actuator would be able to lock and unlock the door if connected to this. You have to attach the actuator to the small vertical bar that runs between the lock and the outside door handle. Unfortunately this is a much more fiddly job.
The actuator is only just strong enough even when fitted to that bar. You need to make sure that the locking mechanism is clean and well lubricated.
The actuator can be fitted inside the inner door skin in the lower rear corner of each door. See two screws used to secure it in the photo below
Also below a picture taken inside the left hand door looking backwards - sorry not a great picture.
To keep the actuator aligned with the axis of the locking bar, it's best to put a spacer (e.g. a nut) between the inner door skin and the upper screw hole on the actuator
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2kKGbFN][img]htt ... .jpg[/img]Door actuator by Wickets2009, on Flickr[/url]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2kKGbD8][img]htt ... .jpg[/img]Door actuator by Wickets2009, on Flickr[/url]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2kKFMpb][img]htt ... .jpg[/img]actuator by Wickets2009, on Flickr[/url]