S
schrodinger_hated_cats
...(LONG and WEIRD)? I have an intermittent problem that seems to happen when the weather is wet and/or cold. My automatic door locks, which are supposed to lock when I put the car in gear, will not lock on their own. Nor will they lock when I hit the autolock button inside the car, on either side. I can get the doors to lock if I hold the autolock button down for several seconds, or if I use the remote "key fob" button. Of course, I can always lock the doors manually, the old fashioned way.
At the same time, the dome light won't turn off after I've gotten into the car as it should, unless I switch it off. It also will not turn off when I park, and it will turn on all by itself at random when I drive-- especially when I either slow down/stop or accelerate. If I stay at a steady speed, the dome light stays off most of the time.
Also, if I park with the engine off but using only the accessories like my radio, the doorbell dings as if the door were open, even if the doors are locked, and the dome light comes on. In other words, I can't park and listen to the radio without the bell dinging unless I have the key to the ON position (one slot before I actually start the car). It's as if the car thinks I have left a door open-- but no doors are open at all.
On top of this, when these problems happen, I can't set the factory alarm. In other words, when I push the LOCK button on the key fob or lock the doors using the electric lock button, the alarm doesn't set or give the short beep to let me know that the alarm or security is set when I push the LOCK button on the key or the door panel.
Thing is, this problem seems to happen when the weather is cold and damp. It clears up for a while when the weather is warm and/or dry. It also sometimes clears up and the doors lock all by themselves and the dome light stays off as it should (or doesn't just turn itself on) after I drive for a long while with my heater on, like I would when it's cold out.
As I said, it's as if the car thinks that a door is open but really, all the doors are firmly closed and even manually locked... but it still happens. I'm thinking that I have a bad "door latch" or something, but dadgum if I can find it. The fact that the problem occurs mostly when the weather is damp makes me think that a switch or something is dirty or fouled up with crud and is sticking "open"-- but what?
Money is tight, so if I can make a cheap and simple fix or clean-up myself-- great. Otherwise, I can lock the doors with the key fob or door switch when I park it (no door switch when I'm driving, only when parked) and make sure the dome light is all the way in the OFF position when I park, or else it won't shut off.
So WTF is going on with this crazy car??
BTW, this is a 2003 Grand Am SE with about 143,000 miles and no warranty remaining.
Also, everything works just fine when the weather is good and dry (not necessarily warm). The problem also clears up spontaneously for a while, but it always happens again at a later time.
At the same time, the dome light won't turn off after I've gotten into the car as it should, unless I switch it off. It also will not turn off when I park, and it will turn on all by itself at random when I drive-- especially when I either slow down/stop or accelerate. If I stay at a steady speed, the dome light stays off most of the time.
Also, if I park with the engine off but using only the accessories like my radio, the doorbell dings as if the door were open, even if the doors are locked, and the dome light comes on. In other words, I can't park and listen to the radio without the bell dinging unless I have the key to the ON position (one slot before I actually start the car). It's as if the car thinks I have left a door open-- but no doors are open at all.
On top of this, when these problems happen, I can't set the factory alarm. In other words, when I push the LOCK button on the key fob or lock the doors using the electric lock button, the alarm doesn't set or give the short beep to let me know that the alarm or security is set when I push the LOCK button on the key or the door panel.
Thing is, this problem seems to happen when the weather is cold and damp. It clears up for a while when the weather is warm and/or dry. It also sometimes clears up and the doors lock all by themselves and the dome light stays off as it should (or doesn't just turn itself on) after I drive for a long while with my heater on, like I would when it's cold out.
As I said, it's as if the car thinks that a door is open but really, all the doors are firmly closed and even manually locked... but it still happens. I'm thinking that I have a bad "door latch" or something, but dadgum if I can find it. The fact that the problem occurs mostly when the weather is damp makes me think that a switch or something is dirty or fouled up with crud and is sticking "open"-- but what?
Money is tight, so if I can make a cheap and simple fix or clean-up myself-- great. Otherwise, I can lock the doors with the key fob or door switch when I park it (no door switch when I'm driving, only when parked) and make sure the dome light is all the way in the OFF position when I park, or else it won't shut off.
So WTF is going on with this crazy car??
BTW, this is a 2003 Grand Am SE with about 143,000 miles and no warranty remaining.
Also, everything works just fine when the weather is good and dry (not necessarily warm). The problem also clears up spontaneously for a while, but it always happens again at a later time.
