Doors lock when starting engine??

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JM - 01 Apr 2007 02:25 GMT

Here's a new one, my 99 Altima, 5 speed, suddenly has started occasionally
locking all 4 doors when I start the car. It happens immediately as the
starter engages.
It only seems to happen in colder weather, and it only happens when I have
the clutch pushed in (which is the only way the starter will turn).

I have keyless entry and the factory alarm, so it seems like it might be
related to that somehow. I took the smart entrance box out today and
checked for any bad solder joints or loose connections, but everything
seemed ok.

Is there any other connection between the starter and the power locks that
would explain this?

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JimV - 01 Apr 2007 03:45 GMT

> Here's a new one, my 99 Altima, 5 speed, suddenly has started occasionally
> locking all 4 doors when I start the car. It happens immediately as the
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> Is there any other connection between the starter and the power locks that
> would explain this?

How old is your battery? The voltage drop from the starter might be
confusing the lock controller.

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JM - 01 Apr 2007 04:04 GMT

> How old is your battery? The voltage drop from the starter might be
> confusing the lock controller.

Well, it's not new -- it could very well be the original one. That's a good
point, I'll see if I can put a meter on the battery while turning it over
and check the voltage.

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JM - 05 Apr 2007 21:58 GMT

>> How old is your battery? The voltage drop from the starter might be
>> confusing the lock controller.

I tried it last weekend after having drained the battery to the point of
barely turning the engine over, and it didn't lock... but today I
discovered it only locks when the front passenger's door is unlocked while
starting.

I also pulled the starter signal fuse, and it does not lock when I turn the
key to start in this case.

So it seems like the security module is sensing that door locking for some
reason when I start the car, which causes it to lock all the doors, which it
normally does if you lock that door by hand.

I guess the next step is going to be to unplug the sensor on that lock and
see if it continues to lock on startup. My guess is that that won't make
any difference; it seems like it's more of an electronic problem likely
within the module itself.. maybe I will stick the charger on my battery
again since I'm able to reproduce the problem reliably now, and see if that
has any impact.

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