I've owned the Cherokee for five days now. When I first got it, the front passenger window would not go down and the rear two would only go down with the driver switch. Fast forward to today, all the windows work fine with their respective switches. I also swapped out the bad clock spring to fix the airbag light, no horn, and no cruise control.

I've been researching for a few days across multiple forum posts, but I can't really seem to nail down what could be preventing the power door locks from functioning. Right now, the only thing that will lock/unlock with the switches is the rear hatch. For the rest of the doors, I can hear/feel the door lock actuators trying to operate when locking/unlocking, but neither one will move the lock rods. The rods don't appear to be stiff. The door locks don't need much force to manually lock/unlock. I also lubricated the two front door locks just to see if that would make a difference.

A new DDM and PDM did not fix the problem. Fuses look good. I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to electrical stuff. Prior to getting the replacement modules, I followed the procedures outlined in the service manual to check the original DDM and PDM with a multimeter. They checked out. I have the RKE module in the dome lamp, but the Jeep didn't come with the key fob. As part of the testing, I unplugged the RKE module to see if that could be preventing the locks from operating, but it did not. I've been looking at the wiring diagrams, but I can't really tell what would allow the liftgate to lock/unlock, but not the other four doors. Any ideas?

 

My actuators did the same thing one by one with the tail gate actuator being the last to go bad. Nothing was binding and everything was lubricated. The actuators operated but not with enough force to lock and unlock the doors. I went the universal actuator route with the rear doors and hatch. I went aftermarket door latches in the front and wish now I hadn’t. The original latches just have a much better feel. It’s been a couple years and I haven’t had any issues with the universals. Hope this helps.

As far as switches, I’ve had one rear window switch fail.

 

Thanks for the info. I was kind of hoping that wouldn't be the case . The one testing I haven't done is applying 12 volts to the motor terminals to check if they function. I guess I should do that next.

 

I gutted a door awhile back and was looking at the actuator.
Wondering if you could take it apart and "refresh" it.
Well I haven't yet but this guy did a write up.
For ZJ's I believe but thinking that maybe the basics are still the same.
Hey might help if push comes to shove.

https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f13/...-fail-4414903/

 

Thanks for the link! That is a really good write up and the actuators appear to be the same.

 

I attached an audio recording I did when pressing the locking mechanism on the driver side

 

Looking at the pictures at that link maybe the teeth on one of those little pieces is broken.
So the thing is moving but not "actuating" (is that a word LOL) anything.

 

Check your grounds.

 

As an update, I ended up swapping out the two front actuators. Lo and behold, those two powered locks now work. I seriously did not expect all four passenger door actuators to be dead. As for the two rear passenger doors, I'm not sure if I should replace them with used ones or go the universal actuator route.

 

I did the universals as an experiment but it ended up turning out nice and clean. I had done them before on my 1980 wide track Cherokee to get keyless entry. The thing is I don’t how long they’ll last and wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking for a long term proper repair. That being said, if your into that kind of thing it’s not difficult.