Power locks... lock but don't unlock

[Bodeco]

Hello all... first time Subaru owner here. I've really liked the looks of Subarus for years but never found myself in a situation where one fit me. Well, today is the day and I'm now the owner of a 1996 Legacy Outback wagon. Long and boring is the story of how and why I ended up with this vehicle, so I will spare you the details.

 

So naturally an 11 year old car isn't in pristine condition... there are a few little blemishes. For the most part, the car is in excellent shape though. The interior is very clean, shiny and without a scratch. Naturally once I got it home the overhead light stopped working when the driver's side door is opened, but I think I can run down that one pretty easily. The issue that has me a little out of sorts is the fact that the power locks only work one way. If I lock the driver's side door, key or interior switch, all doors lock. However, if I UNlock via key or switch, the rest of the doors remain locked. I seem to hear a faint rumbling from the other doors that could be an attempt to unlock.

 

So is this likely mechanic fix, or should I delve into it myself? I'm not opposed to turning a screwdriver when I have to, but I'm definitely not a mechanic.

 

Thanks to you all for maintaining this board... looking forward to years of service from my Outback.

[idosubaru]

not a lock expert so hopefully someone else chimes in. i'll give you my only experience with locks. my locks were acting funny in my 97 Impreza Outback Sport. i can't recall exactly what it was doing though. i can't recall the details, but i remember pulling the drivers side door panel and finding a bad connector or wiring. also, try opening the door and looking at the wiring running out of the door into the body. any kinks or strange looking, rubbed areas may point to a problem, but i doubt you'll find it there.

 

for the dome light, i'd check the little buttons at the door, i just fixed one of those the other day on my 98 legacy. the light wouldn't ever come on when the door opened. i removed the little button...one screw or bolt and it's covered by a rubber cover. i removed it, worked it a few times and reinstalled and it's worked fine since. i think it was just dirty and sticky.

[Bodeco]

Thanks for the reply! After I posted last night I decided to tinker with it a bit and I pulled the panel from one of the doors just so I could get a visual when trying to lock/unlock. Much to my surprise, the unlock actually started working MOST of the time.... maybe 8 out of 10 tries. One thing for sure, if the act of unlocking worked for one of the other doors, it worked for them all. I wonder if the motor is just getting weak?

 

Oh well, thanks again and everyone have a great Wednesday.

[johnceggleston]

Thanks for the reply! After I posted last night I decided to tinker with it a bit and I pulled the panel from one of the doors just so I could get a visual when trying to lock/unlock. Much to my surprise, the unlock actually started working MOST of the time.... maybe 8 out of 10 tries. One thing for sure, if the act of unlocking worked for one of the other doors, it worked for them all. I wonder if the motor is just getting weak?

 

Oh well, thanks again and everyone have a great Wednesday.

 

sounds like a loose connection in the door, as gary mentioned. i'd double check all the connection points in the door. my haynes manual says there is a relay in the dash and to start looking there, but if it works better after fiddling with the door, it's probably in the door.

[Cougar]

Welcome to the forum here.

 

There is a small switch on the door lock mechanism that some have had trouble with dirty contacts in the past. By cleaning the switch contacts it may clear this problem.

[uniberp]

Thanks for the reply! After I posted last night I decided to tinker with it a bit and I pulled the panel from one of the doors just so I could get a visual when trying to lock/unlock. Much to my surprise, the unlock actually started working MOST of the time.... maybe 8 out of 10 tries. One thing for sure, if the act of unlocking worked for one of the other doors, it worked for them all. I wonder if the motor is just getting weak?

 

Oh well, thanks again and everyone have a great Wednesday.

 

Maybe since the locks are electric, and if you bought the car from a lot, where it had been sitting for a few weeks not charging the battery, the situation corrected itself when you started driving and the battery charged up.

[Bodeco]

Well, a little more info here. I can machine-gun the driver's side switch, and hear the attempted unlock happen at all doors. It's funny... maybe 10-15 in a row with no successful unlock, then maybe 10 in a row that are succesful. Then once every other try it will unlock. This is with me flipping the switch maybe 2 times per second or so. It's an all or nothing deal too... either they all unlock, or none do. Anyone seen anything quite like that?

 

Anyone ever installed keyless entry on one of these? I think I'd like to do that once I get the locks working smoothly.

[eagleb]

I've been having the same problem since I got my 96 obw. Just haven't found the motivation to tackle the problem.

 

The link below has some information as to what the problem may be.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20661

 

I'm curious to see what happens

 

 

eag

[Bodeco]

Excellent, thanks for that link. I think I will give this a shot tomorrow!

[Cougar]

The switch that I refered to in my post #5 of this thread is shown in the picture that is linked to in the thread Eagleb refered to in post #8. This is the switch that makes the electrical connection for the locks when turning the key in the lock. Turning one way opens the locks, turning the other way locks them. If the switch is ok then the trouble may be in the wiring to it.