Bay Door Actuators

After fixing the remote/key fob so the bay door lock actuators trigger, a simple wiring issue at the main connector, I figured I was done only to find out the actuators triggered but most were no longer working.

The actuator contains a small electric motor with a set of gears to move the lock. The original manufacturer, VPA, stopped production for this actuator many years ago, so you need to use a universal style and make some small adjustments so they work as expected.

Old Parts

I removed a few and opened them up, hoping there may be an easy fix. Unfortunately they had pretty much grenaded inside, there were not enough good parts from the ones I opened to get a single Mr. Potato head one working.

With some effort the broken parts could be modeled in 3D and then 3d printed. That could be fun but the cost of the print material and time to do it exceeds simply purchasing new universal replacements.

I replaced them with a universal power door lock actuator, there are many available from a wide range of manufactures Universal power door lock actuators, we used ones from MES.

Universal Actuators

The original actuators traveled in a short arc, the replacements are linear. I found placing the new ones at a angle to the lock arm/cam worked best.

The new control rods are a smaller diameter than the original. This becomes a problem when you try to use the nylon retaining clasps on the door lock cams. I found sliding a small section of fuel tubing (like you would use on a lawn mower) filled the space and made for a solid connection. In the picture you can see a small section of orange tubing in the nylong clasp.

I installed everything with a VHB foam tape (like the originals) and screws. Do not depend on just the screws, the actuators have a strong “snap” action when activated and the screws will loosen as they are only threaded into thin fiberglass.

I sanded down the mounting face/bosses, they were proud of the body surface and I wanted as much tape to body contact as possible. Using rivets or rivnut may be an option here as well.