Well first I've got to say this forum is great. Everybody here is great, no b s, I mean it. Craig, awesome site, thanks. I love my new/used max and will be rebuilsing and enhancing it over the next two years.

I am a new 92 GXE owner, got it for $1350. It needs some work, I won't get into all the problems now, but quickly to the age old question:

What the F?! is wrong with my locks? Going throught the forum, even without the search function (!!), I found many people with this same problem. So here's a fresh post with the most relevant info I've found so newbies won't have to go filing through to page 1,400!! Ha ha.

Here's what I've gathered, and what I've done to check on the problem (this is a slightly edited note to the alarm guy who I'm dropping the car to on Thursday):

This is from a yahoo forum on the max re: the keyless entry system and how to

reprogram:
************
Yes its
located behind the glovebox and is silver in colour and
square.The number your looking for starts with s and
digits.Go to the key pad and first push ST and the code
numbers taken from the keyless entry box.You will hear a
constant tone,at this time enter your personal 4 diget
number.tone will continue,then you will hear constant beeping
then it will stop.At that time you are ready to use
your key pad.Always start your code with the ST button
then your chozen number and it should work.<br><br>
Good Luck!!<br><br> Walkley Nissan Tech.
****************


And this from our max forum re: the locks (craig posted this):
*******************
it's most commonly the door lock timer that's acting up. if you pull

the plate off under the steering column, it's the box in front just to

the right of the column. there's two plugs in the bottom. you can pull

those guys out and you'll then have "manual" locks. send the box to me

and I'll repair it for you.. If you're good with a soldering iron, then

pull it out and resolder all the connections on the board. If not, pull

it out and send me money.
********************
I tried pulling the plugs but did not get 'manual locks'.

In addition, I was under the dash to left of the steering wheel. There

you will find another black box, this has something to do with the

stock alarm I think. I left it as I found it, with no wires connected

to it. I cut the zip tie on the cords there so I could connect the

wires to this black box and see what happened. Four small connections

on top, one big on the bottom, and two wires (green and black that loop

back into the box). (And, a black wire (ground?!) coming from the box

but with no obvious connection.) When I connected the wires, the alarm

went off, the led on the dash flashed. This was with the drivers door

open. I tried to reprogram the code to shut it off, didn't work, so I

disconnected the large connection to the black box and the alarm went

off.

I checked the connections in three of the doors: driver, passenger

front, and right rear passenger doors. Everything seemed ok, but you

should double check to be sure I didn't miss something. I checked all

the fuses in the fuse box and under the hood, as for the circuit

breakers and other fuses, I didn't check those.


SORRY FOR THE LONG POST

Any advice? What should I check next? Craig, what do you think?

 

I read your posting twice. So ... what's YOUR problem with power locks? If you need somebody to help you with it - clearly indicate what it's wrong with your power locks.

 

when i lock my doors, i can't get back in the car. key will lock but won't unlock drivers side door, it does nothing in the passenger's side. keyless entry won't work thanks for getting back to me, any ideas?

 

u might have to get new locks, i dunno

 

So how are you getting into the car now?
anyway you look at it you are going to have to go inside the door and figure it out.

 

If your key doesn't open doors at all (like you said "it does nothing" at the passenger's side and you can't unlock door with a key at the driver's side) - my best guess would be that locks' links are not properly connected or bended. It has nothing to do with power locks but with mechanical side of locks.

If it locks back when you try opening it - following Craig’s instructions and if you do it correctly you SHOULD get "manual" locks.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the help rrrforma. My next stop after the alarm guy is the locksmith. How much do you think the dealership would charge to replace the locks?

 

Alarm guy ...??? - what would he know about maxima factory alarm?
If you want a good thing to happen to your car - have an aftermarket alarm installed with keyless entry (don't forget to disconnect factory alarm). That might worth paying money for.

Nissan dealership will charge you big time and suggest to replace almost everything leaving you with a huge bill to pay in parts AND labor).

Just take off door panels (start with driver's side one) and inspect all of the links going from/to door lock. Try to open the lock by pulling links (that way you'll find out if your actuator is causing a problem - meaning a lock timer).

Don't pay money for what you can do yourself!

Follow the link to find instructions how to remove door panels:
http://www.geocities.com/craigbrace/