Here are the details:

88 GT with power door locks. Door cylinder didn't work to begin with. Used a remote control to open the doors.
Now the actuator seems to be broken because pressing the unlock button from inside doesn't do anything to the
driver's side. When I try to move the button with orange sticker to the unlocked position it, it goes but the door
still won't open. So either the lock/unlock mechanism is busted or the latch to open the door. Something seems
to be wrong when trying to move the button to unlock. On the passenger side it seems to make a different sound
when it opens. Do you guys have any suggestions?

More info on this:
- doesn't work when trying both the inside and outside door latches
- when moving to unlock position it doesn't seem to go all the way (maybe 90%).

Sounds like you are going to need door surgery. You will need to remove the interior door panel to access the lock mechanism. And it can be done with the door closed. I think there is a thread or two around if you search.

this happened to my car when i first got it
mine was the result of the idiots who owned it before me destroying the window regulators
they hacked into the door frame and broke the actuator and the motor off the door frame causing the window to come off track and fall inside the door
since it wasnt on track it sat on top of the door locking mechanism and the door latch and the door would not unlock nor open

is your window down or broken?
of not then you might try removing the dew strips on the inside and looking to see if anything is jammed in there
try and get a view of top to see if there is any kind of obstruction

work it back and forth a bit may be just debris stuck in the mechanism or the actuator stuck in the lock position. working it may free it enough to get it to unlock.

Usually the trouble is due to the original grease crudding up and hardening on all the sliding rods that work the latches. You will have to get inside the door whatever is wrong. Once its apart and open, should be pretty ez to find the problem area. Use lots of solvent like brake cleaner on the locks and latches themselves. clean all the linkage rods and make sure there all connected. Even some spray silicone in the door panel area where the lock slide rides. Ive seen people get soda around there on the interior panel and make the slide knob stick.

Guys,

The window goes up and down without problems. I tried the orange sticker button 100 times and it feels like it doesn't go all the way
to unlock. Both door handles worked before (inside and outside) so I think the problem is with the locking mechanism. I tried searching
for the door panel removal with the door closed but didn't find anything. Any hints?

julian

You should be able to get at least the top part of the interior door panel bent far enough back to access the lock operating rods. Use the normal door disassembly procedure wrt the door operating/lock mechanism. Then pull or force as many door clips open as you can. You should be able to access at least the upper interior portion of the door if not all of it. This should allow you to get your hand or a tool on the lock operating rods. With a bit of luck the panel will flex enough to prevent damage.

This just happened to me a couple months ago. Apparently the latch/lock mehanism is held together by studs that should have their ends mashed over like a rivet to hold the assembly together. They didn't mash one stud end one on my drivers door latch so over time it separated enough for the lock and handle linkage to no longer reach the striker latch. With the window down I was able to slide a long mechanics pry bar into the gap between the back of the window and door. Its the perfect access to reach the top of the latch mechanism. I gave the pry bar a twist to open the latch up even further to see the guts. On the very back portion is the striker latch. I was able to use a long screw driver to manually release the striker latch and the door opened right up. Next I removed the door panel to take out the latch assembly for cleaning and re-straightening. Last step was welding the stud that caused the ordeal then I lubed the assembly before bolting back in place. My door latch and lock now works silky smooth, just like new.

Dukes of Hazzard entry!

My bet is the inside door release handle is not pushing back the slider in the door/lock release mechanism far enough. The slider must be fully returned before the lock/unlock process will work! You've already stated you've hit the lock/unlock button many times.... try pounding on the inside release handle to fully close/retract the slider, therefore allowing the lock/unlock unit to operate. My Koenig did the same thing, as the rod hardly ever made the full return(slider mechanism) of the inside door handle. The fix was a slightly longer rod, allowing complete retraction! Yours (rod) may also be bent, or could be elongated by 'adjusting' the rod bends.
best,
Sandy

The door handle release lever movement is exactly the same regardless of whether the door is locked or not. When you lock the door, the only thing that happens inside the latch assembly is the lock position shifts the door handle release lever out of reach of the striker latch. That is why pulling on the door handle release when the door is locked feels somewhat effortless. If the release lever can't reach the he door striker latch, you cant open the door (i.e. its "locked"). Unlocking the door causes the door handle release lever inside the latch assembly to shift back into reach of the striker latch. The additional resistance felt when releasing an unlocked door is the force required to overcome the striker latch spring.

Anyway, triggering the striker latch directly will open the door no matter what is messed up with the handle levers or lock levers inside the latch assembly. Its difficult enough to see what's going on inside the door let alone fitting the pry bar in there, but it's quite easy to open the door how i described above as long as your window is down.

Best of luck to you.

[This message has been edited by RyanFromMichigan (edited 06-10-2010).]

quote Originally posted by RyanFromMichigan: The door handle release lever movement is exactly the same regardless of whether the door is locked or not. When you lock the door, the only thing that happens inside the latch assembly is the lock position shifts the door handle release lever out of reach of the striker latch. That is why pulling on the door handle release when the door is locked feels somewhat effortless. If the release lever can't reach the he door striker latch, you cant open the door (i.e. its "locked"). Unlocking the door causes the door handle release lever inside the latch assembly to shift back into reach of the striker latch. The additional resistance felt when releasing an unlocked door is the force required to overcome the striker latch spring.

I would agree with you EXCEPT....electric lock your doors! (Caution.... do this with the window DOWN. try sticking a clothes-peg(wedge) inbetween your inside door handle (keeping the release rod from completely returning) then. with the doors locked try lifting the outside door release lever,.... now unlock using your power locks, don't touch the inside lever.... try opening from the outside..... will not open if you followed those steps! Reason: the inside release lever rod willl not have gone far enough back to allow the locking mechanism to unlock
anyway, I digress....
best,
Sandy

[This message has been edited by cowans (edited 06-10-2010).]

Sandy, what you stated does not conflict with how latch assembly operates. You're describing how release and lock levers interact under specific conditions. Yes, a release lever - if still engaged - will not move the release lever contained inside the latch assembly to under the striker latch as it should when you try to unlock, it'll run into the striker latch. This is the feeling of the unlock slider "not going far enough." The release lever in the latch assembly must get under the striker latch to be in the "unlocked" position if it is ever to pivot up and release the striker latch to open the door.

I invite you to disassemble a door latch assembly to observe the lock and release lever interaction, it is quite remarkable in its simplicity.

Regardless of any cause of the failure, expose and trigger the striker latch release directly and the door will open. This circumvents all complications with bent or disconnected lock and release linkages.

Ryan

[This message has been edited by RyanFromMichigan (edited 06-11-2010).]

The OP asked... "Do you guys have any suggestions?"
I gave mine..... The OP may have the same setup as mine... simply presses his remote and the 15lb actuator(3rd party w/ remote) at the base of his door hooked by braided cable to the release latch, opens/pops the door! This will not happen if the door mechanism cannot unlock itself.
"Door cylinder didn't work to begin with"...
"Now the actuator seems to be broken because pressing the unlock button from inside doesn't do anything to the driver's side. So either the lock/unlock mechanism is busted or the latch to open the door. Something seemsto be wrong when trying to move the button to unlock."
My bet was on the release mechanism not allowing the 'UNLOCK' portion to operate. Either that or his braided cable is broken!
"On the passenger side it seems to make a different sound when it opens."

Maybe it's just me!!!
best,
Sandy

open up the pass side, look at how the outside lever handle push's down on the unlatch lever. look at how the unlock rod works, try to use a long rod to: 1. make sure the unlock lever is in the unlock position. 2. push down on the unlatch lever to open the door.

Thanks all for your replies... I've used ryan's method and got the door to open.

Everything works now