1998 4.0 4DR

Locks will work one min, then without even moving the vehicle, will stop working and require I use the key to get in. It's not the key fob because the interior light turns on as if I unlocked the jeep. Where do I start to check things? Thanks.

 

All locks or just the driver door?

 

All of them.

 

Okay good. That means it's probably not a bad electric lock unit.

The next thing I would test is if your switch works when the RKE doesn't. That might be tricky, though, right? Because you'd have to either be sitting in the locked car or leave the window rolled down.

Or maybe the next time this happens you can unlock it manually and try the switch and the keyfob and see if one works while the other doesn't.

I'm hoping it's just that the RKE stopped working properly.

 

I can tell you that when I hit the locking switch either on the fob or on the door, I can hear what sounds like a click but obviously, the locks don't move. This is consistent. When the locks stop working, it stops on both the fob and the door at the same time and visa versa when they start working again. Recently the have stopped working most of the time and hardly ever work. It use to be the opposite.

The jeep does have the factory alarm but I always leave it in valet mode if this matters. Thanks for you help thus far.

 

sounds like it might be the door lock control relays going bad or the solder joints going bad on the relays. They can be found on the passenger side control board (the door lock switch) You can remove the switch and re-solder. I would do both the driver side and passenger side. Sometimes bad solder joints on the drivers side can cause intermittent issues too.

I did have an issue after I did my heater core/evaporator core. There is a plug under the dash on the passenger side that I did not connect properly causing the locks not to work. Unless you have disturbed that plug I would think it is one or both of the the control boards causing your problem.

If the problem still exists after you have re-soldered both sides, then I would think you need to replace the passenger side control.

 

Great, thank you! He mentioned door jam wires. Do you think that could be an issue as well?

 

it's possible, but I would be on it being one of the control boards.

 

Thanks Mike, really appreciate the help. I'll post back on the results when I get some time to get in there and work on it.