Doors Don't Lock In Gear

[Chaz9496]

Sorry but for some reason I can't search the forums using my phone. The keyboard disappears, so I have to just ask again if it's been asked before about the same issue. On my latest LS2 I got in June, one problem is the doors don't lock when put in gear. The doors unlock when the keys removed. Could it be a BCM problem ? I thought it may have been because I had no remote but that didn't do anything when I got one and had it programmed. Any suggestions ?

[02 LW300]

The doors don’t auto lock on my Ls1 either. Every other L series cars that I have had auto lock when you roll out from the stop. This is the only first year car I have had that ran, all the others have been 01, 02 or 03. It is also the only abs car with rear drum brakes. The 03 had drums and the 00Ls had drums but no abs.

[pierrot]

Originally Posted by Chaz9496

...On my latest LS2 I got in June, one problem is the doors don't lock when put in gear. The doors unlock when the keys removed. Could it be a BCM problem ? I thought it may have been because I had no remote but that didn't do anything when I got one and had it programmed. Any suggestions ?

The automatic door lock and unlock features are set through the power door lock button and each is set separately. One can program the automatic feature so that only one of the two is in use. You need to program the automatic door lock feature.

From my 2000 L-Series Owner's Handbook:

"You can activate and de-activate this feature by turning the ignition key to "RUN" and pressing the "LOCK" portion of the power door lock switch for three seconds. If the horn chirps once after pressing the power door lock switch, the automatic door locking feature will operate. If the horn chirps twice after pressing the switch, the automatic door locking feature will not operate.

When this feature is activated on vehicles with automatic transaxles, all doors will lock as the transaxle is shifted out of "P" (Park) if the ignition key is in the "RUN" position and all doors are closed."

I cannot imagine that this feature was ever deleted from the BCM programming. If the auto-door-lock will not operate after an attempted programing then I'd suspect that the BCM would be the likely culprit.

[Rj 2000 LS2]

Great information!

[Chaz9496]

That's correct. I remember my mom's did that once too. I saw a video on YT on it and followed the procedure for some GM vehicles and it did fix it. I forgot about that. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Chaz9496]

I know this isn't related to the problem but the door ajar lights don't work either. That may be a fuse issue or something, I have no idea about those. I just wondered if they both may be connected with the same issue with the BCM or something. The dome light doesn't work as well. Are they tied in with the same circuit possibly ?

[pierrot]

Originally Posted by Chaz9496

I know this isn't related to the problem but the door ajar lights don't work either. That may be a fuse issue or something, I have no idea about those. I just wondered if they both may be connected with the same issue with the BCM or something. The dome light doesn't work as well. Are they tied in with the same circuit possibly ?

Questions: will the interior lights not illuminate at all regardless of which door is opened? Will any light illuminate regardless of which door is opened? What position is the dome light switch set at?

If your vehicle came with an Owner's Handbook then look for a section towards the back of it that tells you where to find a fuse and in which fuse block it is located - Under Hood Fuse Block (UHFB), Left Inner Panel Fuse Block (LIPFB), Right Inner Panel Fuse Block (RIPFB) - and which circuit, or circuits, are being protected. If your car's entry lighting system is working correctly then the dome light and a door light, or perhaps all door lights, will illuminate. If your dome light stopped working before the door lights quit then one should consider that there might be a burned out bulb there. If the dome light and door lamps all failed to illuminate at the same time then one should look for a bad fuse first.

The principal use of the BCM in controlling the interior lights is to automatically turn them off after a specified period of time once they've been turned on through the door light switches. It also turns off interior lights (and exterior lights) which have been left turned on after keys have been removed from the ignition and the doors have been shut.

[Chaz9496]

Nope, none of them do. I checked the dome light switch position. The dome and door ajar lights never worked since I've had it. The reading lights on the sides in the rear don't either. I'm not sure what's going on but I haven't checked for blown fuses yet, till I can locate it. I'm thinking they're on the same circuit as stated above.

[floridasl22002]

Chaz

Just to clarify something Your profile states you have Two SL2 cars. You said at the beginning of the thread you had an LS2.

So is the LS2 you got in June an L Series (LS2) or is it one of your Two S Series (SL2).

Saturn really knew how to confuse people with that early naming nomenclature of the L Series.

[Chaz9496]

I still have the SL2, and a LS2, which are both 2000's. I just couldn't remove the one SL2 on my profile that's now for sale. 96k and no offers for 3 weeks now. Huh, odd how 2 dealers have told me how good these cars sell at top prices today. Yeah, sure. I'm looking into the problem being the aux 20A fuse under the hood being the possible culprit. I can't find anything in my manual and in the Vehicle Documents at work on the dome light circuit fuses. I don't see a dome light option anywhere. I can only check it I suppose.

[floridasl22002]

OK Chaz. Thanks for clarifying that point. It's not the first time we have had threads on the L series but the cars are S series, all due to the early naming of the models.

On my son's L300 (2003) the central light unit has 2 spotlights for the rear with their own on/off slider switch and the main roof light has a 3 position slider switch. Outer most position on 1 side of the switch is permanently off (OFF). The slider switch at the opposite end is permanently on (ON) and the middle position (DOOR) works in conjunction with the courtesy light switches on the doors. The light in this position also works on a timer and goes off when the doors are closed or after a short period of time (less than 1 minute).

The complete unit just unclips from the roof panel and you can check the bulb then. It could be as simple as a blown bulb, or the slider switches are dirty/dusty and need cleaning.

I just looked through the manual for his car and there is nothing specific as the fuse for the interior lights. You have 3 fuse boxes on the car. The main one is underhood. The other two are located at both ends of the dashboard. Both covers have a diagram to identify the respective fuses and the circuit they cover.

[Chaz9496]

Bulbs good. The rear reading lights and trunk light doesn't light as well. From what I read on Google that those are all on the same fuse. The person that was answering the dome light questions from 2009 stated that the fuse is in the left side panel. I'll check into it and see what I find. I'm thinking there may be a short but we'll see.

[Chaz9496]

There's no dome light fuse. I've pulled all the fuses and all are good. No idea why the interior lights don't work. Possibly someone has disconnected something due to a short. Anyway, there's nothing that's blown.

[pierrot]

A post that I was writing and believed that I had uploaded several days ago, did not get uploaded. I found the same thing in my Owner's Handbook as did floridasL22002 - in particular, that there was no fuse listed as protecting an interior light/trunk light circuit. What seemed logical to me about a fuse was incorrect. I believe that the whole interior lighting system is directly tied into the BCM, but that's still just what I believe. In order to verify that I'd have to go into one of my FSM Volumes and look into the wiring schematic to see just exactly how it was set up (21 years ago!).

[Chaz9496]

If that's the issue, I can get wiped BCM I believe from a company that specializes in ECM's and BCM's for Saturn. They program them from your VIN. If you find your correct, I may have to purchase a new wiped BCM and have it programmed. I really need the dome light to be operatable. All my other vehicles had dome light fuses, but of course worked different than Saturn, which just went off at the close of the door and we're early 90's as well, which would make sense. I think you're correct. I never thought of it.

[Chaz9496]

I forgot that when I got it I noticed that the sun visor mirrors had been removed and the visors where the mirrors were looked like they'd been burned. The wires were hanging out of the visors as well. I'm wondering if they fried the BCM circuit for the interior lights. Kinda sounds like it. I'd never seen that before. It may need a new BCM to fix it as I stated above, if I can get one.

[Chaz9496]

Update, I found a BCM 2 fuse blown in the main fuse box. "And we have light !" Thanks for your suggestions.

[fdryer]

Great feedback on finding a blown fuse instead of presuming bcm failure.

Fuse checking was mentioned back in post #7 by pierrot. While most fuses are labeled for their electrical function in circuits, some may be including sub circuits that are only found in service manuals showing circuitry. As you may or may not know, Saturn uses blade fuses, color coded and translucent for removal and visual checking of the S element that melts to show a blown fuse. Most blade fuses have two exposed metallic points to probe with a multimeter; ground probe to bare metal ground, red probe poking each metal on the head of these fuses to measure for 12v. Good fuses will show 12v on each point but a blown fuse will show 12v on only one point to indicate a blown fuse. Removal can verify it. I've always pulled fuses to visually inspect them thru their translucent plastic housing. Having a multimeter in the glove box and handy fuse puller among with a multi tool makes field troubleshooting less stressful. An adjustable head lamp makes for night time troubleshooting easier in the dark.