Question about power door actuators

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Al Reynolds - 30 Mar 2005 15:32 GMT

Morning all,

OK, so I have the problem of the screech/squeal after locking
the doors on my 97 Accord Wagon. It's not the problem where
the doors repeatedly try to lock.

It seems like it's the front passenger door actuator, and searching
archives seems to confirm this is a distinct possibility, but before I
shell out for a new one I'd like to check. As a result, I have two
questions:

(1) Does anyone know whether the actuators in the two back
doors are the same part as the front passenger door? If so then
I might just switch one in temporarily to see if it fixes it.

(2) How do you get the actuator off? My shop manual includes
a procedure for removing the latch but not the actuator. Even
that looks tricky because the window channel looks like it's in
the way.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Al Reynolds

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Randolph - 30 Mar 2005 19:47 GMT

<snip>

> (1) Does anyone know whether the actuators in the two back
> doors are the same part as the front passenger door? If so then
> I might just switch one in temporarily to see if it fixes it.

No, the actuators are not the same.

> (2) How do you get the actuator off? My shop manual includes
> a procedure for removing the latch but not the actuator. Even
> that looks tricky because the window channel looks like it's in
> the way.

I had the same problem on the rear, driver's side door on an '96 Accord.
Getting the actuator out was such a pain (window channel in the way
there too) that I gave up. I ended up cutting the wires to the factory
actuator (but leaving the actuator in place) and installing an after
market actuator (http://tinyurl.com/7x4wc, part number 330-010 from
www.partsexpress.com) At $4.25 it was quite a bit cheaper than the OEM
one.

> Thanks in advance for any help,
> Al Reynolds

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A very modest collection of Honda tech info can be found at:
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Al Reynolds - 31 Mar 2005 06:55 GMT

> Getting the actuator out was such a pain (window channel in the way
> there too) that I gave up. I ended up cutting the wires to the factory
> actuator (but leaving the actuator in place) and installing an after
> market actuator (http://tinyurl.com/7x4wc, part number 330-010 from
> www.partsexpress.com) At $4.25 it was quite a bit cheaper than the OEM
> one.

Much cheaper!

How did you fix the aftermarket actuator in place?
Was there enough room - looks a bit cramped in my door!

Al

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Randolph - 31 Mar 2005 07:48 GMT

> > Getting the actuator out was such a pain (window channel in the way
> > there too) that I gave up. I ended up cutting the wires to the factory
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> How did you fix the aftermarket actuator in place?
> Was there enough room - looks a bit cramped in my door!

Since I did a rear door, my experience does not really apply to you. The
actuator comes with a fairly long lock rod, and you can bend it into
whatever shape you need. You can go to http://www.a1electric.com, click
on "Installation Articles" and then "Power Door Locks". Scroll down to
the bottom of the page and you'll see links to a couple of installations
to use as a reference. The beige actuator shown above "Door lock
actuators mounted in various vehicles" is the same size and shape as the
$4.25 one from PartsExpress.

Signature

=======================================================
A very modest collection of Honda tech info can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/ng_randolph

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Al Reynolds - 31 Mar 2005 09:16 GMT

> Since I did a rear door, my experience does not really apply to you. The
> actuator comes with a fairly long lock rod, and you can bend it into
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> actuators mounted in various vehicles" is the same size and shape as the
> $4.25 one from PartsExpress.

Cheers,
Al

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