remote lock problem

[Dave Cunningham]

I am having trouble with the remote door lock on my newly purchased 2000 marquis, it has the scs Frigitte system , put a new battery in the remote, and all the compartment locks work perfectly, I could hear clicking inside the entrance door so I pulled it apart for inspection. the lock solinoid was trying to work, so I lubed everything up and it started to work for a couple of minutes but then seemed to weaken to the point that it barely moves at all. I found the contoller in the electrical bay , and checked the voltage , it has 12 volts suppying it , but only 6 to 7 volts going to the door lock, ( as they are out of business , I can't call and ask if this is normal.
I have also checked the voltage at the door connection, same thing 6 to 7
as well I have run the lock solinoid straight off the batteries, and it works perfectly.
Any help would be appreciated , I have had lots of motorhomes but this Marquis is an electrical nightmare

thanks

Dave C

[Keith Oliver]

Check for a half blown fuse.  Seriously, I had electrical gremlins on my new to me coach last year, until I found a voltage of 5 to 6 across a fuse in the engine bay.  I replaced the fuse and all is well.  It was a 250 amp fuse, screwed to the front wall of the engine area under the bed.  There may be others in other locations.

[Gerald Farris]

Dave,
On the 2000 Marquis the bay door lock switch, that is located to the right just inside the door, should lock the door also if it is closed. If the door lock operates properly from this switch, you can assume that the door locking system (including actuator and contact  pins on the front edge of the door) is functioning properly.

The door lock actuator is a 12V actuator, and if the lock control module is only furnishing 6 to 7 volts with the lock actuator unplugged to rule out a short circuit that is drawing down the voltage, you have a bad control module.

You may be able to use the low voltage current that the module is producing to operate a relay, and operate the lock actuator with the relay in the same manner that we modify the headlight circuit to solve low voltage problems. This type modification can be done for less than $10, and it could save you the trouble and expense of trying to find a replacement module.

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

Dave,

Seems a little strange that the control module is operating the bay latches properly and yet has a bad output voltage for just the door. Maybe a relay is involved for the bay doors like Gerald is proposing that you install for the door. If so it would provide a good template for installing the same for the door latch. 6V may be marginal to trigger a 12V relay but 6V ones should be available if the 12V relay that you get does not work.

You should check the module input voltage while triggering the latch command to be sure that the voltage is not dropping under load before the module and causing this problem. If so, you have a bad wire/contact issue before the module. One other thought would be to move the output from the bay door latches that works for one of the sides to the door latch circuit. You could then tie the left and right bay latches to the other output circuit. That would allow the door to work as well as the bay latches. I'm assuming that you have a 3 button remote like I do.

One last thought...there is a small chance that the solenoid in the door could be failing (wire insulation breaking down) and it is still working but drawing more current than it should. If you move an output or install a relay and still have problems then suspect that solenoid. My guess is it should draw about 2 amps normally while triggerd but that is a guess... Hope this helps.

Later Ed

[Dave Cunningham]

Gerald, Ed, thanks so much for your imput, a relay is a perfect idea, that I never would have thought of, and that reminds me of something Dave Root told me when he was doing my windows ( Dave used to wire the electrical bay and upper consoles on marquis's when he worked at the plant) he said that they did have problems with Bosh relays in that system, and I wonder if the control box is supposed to trigger a relay right now, and the relay is bad, because the bay door circuit only puts out 6 or 7 volts as well.
I will check the input voltage to see if it drops when you hit the actuator, the switch by the door does not seem to lock the entrance door, but does lock the compartment doors.
I guess if it turns out to be the module, I could check with Beaver Coach to see if they have any on the shelf, but I am mad at them for not fixing my dash heat and air system properly, and not really giving me any support to fix it myself afterwards (drove from Victoria BC. specifically to have them do this.)


Thanks again for your advice.

Dave C

[Dave Cunningham]

Thanks as well Keith, I scolled by your response, earlier, I will check for a fuse ,

Dave