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I just had the same issue on my 98XJ. Drivers door lock works but the other three make that whirring noise and lock/unlock “sometimes” - when they want to. I replaced all three with J/Y parts (did the last one this morning, in fact) and all of them work now.

As an added confusion - I took an 18-volt battery to the J/Y with me to test the locks before buying. I know the XJ is a 12v system but from the videos and posts I’ve seen online, the 18v battery shouldn’t have hurt anything. Well, I pulled and tested several door locks and all of them made the whirring noise. I don’t know if they were all bad, or if 18v was too much and causing the little plastic gears to spin too fast and strip out. So I pulled three units without testing them, brought them home, and they all worked fine. So if you’re taking a tester battery to the J/Y, I’d recommend only a 12v version. Things that make you go hmmmm...

I had replaced my PDM (Passenger Door Motor) unit previously. It’s the switch box attached to the underside of the door trim panel armrest. I had tested mine with a multimeter and figured out the door lock switch was bad. Prior to replacing the PDM, none of my locks did anything. Only the keys and mechanical lock ***** worked.

Hope this helps,
Brett

Guys, thanks so much for the info. I'm going to dig into options. There's unfortunately not a good JY near me so I'll have to travel or look online for a part out.

Here’s my old actuator (front pax door). I cracked the housing trying to access the power lock motor guts. Here are all the little plastic gears and clutches, which spin freely giving us the “whirring” sound. I replaced mine with a J/Y actuator for six bucks, but there’s probably some method to get the gears working again unless they’re all chewed up and missing teeth.