1999 ML320 Door Actuator Repair

• Remove the lock assembly from the door. There are excellent
descriptions in the forum how to do this. (may want to search under
“machine-gun lock problem”.) As observed by others in the forum…
– It is not necessary to remove the outer door handle retaining bracket
located on the inside of the door (held by two hidden Phillips screws
from the outside).
– To remove the lock/actuator from inside the door it is necessary to
swing/move the rear vertical window rail (see next page). However, in
1999 ML320 you can not remove both rivets on the top of the rail as one
of the two rivets is behind the airbag plastic cover. You can only
remove one of the two rivets (away from the airbag). You need to
remove both rivets at the bottom however. With the window raised
(closed position) this would allow to “swing” the vertical rail (around the
remaining rivet) towards forward of the door. This would create
necessary space to move/remove the actuator lock assembly out of the
door. When putting it back together instead of using rivets I used screws
and lock nut as I did not have access to a rivet gun and I have a feeling
that in few years I will have to remove the lock assembly again.

Information/instructions provided in this document is for informational

purpose only. Use it at your own risk. Author assumes no responsibility for
accuracy, durability or correctness of the procedures/instructions provided.

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Once you remove the door panel this is what you should see (may
vary between years and production date – this is from a late 1999)

Airbag

Rivet
Location Window vertical
rail

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 • In 1999 the airbag gets into way of the lock cable that connects to the door
handle lever for unlocking the door from inside. This cable is tightly pressed
behind the airbag. (I could not move this cable as suggested in the forum
and ended up removing two top trox attaching airbag to the door.)
• Remove the two trox screws that holds the air bag. In my car air bag was
riveted at the bottom but there were two screws at the top (may have been
done by the dealer when the lock was replaced under warranty around
2003).
• Once screws are removed you can push the airbag assembly slightly
forward to allow removal of the door unlock cable.
Warning: Follow necessary precautions/protection when working around the airbag.
An airbag can remain energized for long time after the car ignition is turned off. An
airbag can induce serious damage/bodily injury if not treated with respect. If you are
not sure how to deal with airbags please search the forum for pointers.

Trox holding airbag

Door unlock Cable

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 Remove the screws holding the lock actuator assembly and remove
from the door after disconnecting the electrical connector
• There is a plastic shroud around the lock assembly. Remove the shroud.
• There is a small screw holding the motor and micro switch assembly. Remove
the screw.
• Once the screw is removed, the motor, microswitch and connector assembly
can be separated from main assembly by working around the plastic tabs using
a small flat screw driver.

Plastic tabs

Gear

motor
Motor, microswitch & Main assembly
Screw connector assembly
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 Inspect the lock drive gear
• Remove the plastic drive gear and inspect for any issues. In my case the
center hub was broke and separated from the gear. I cleaned the gear using
alcohol (to remove any grease) and glued back the hub to gear using crazy
glue (:>). To provide additional strength, I inserted a thin stainless steel
washer/sleeve on the other side (see next page) and also glued it to the
gear.

Lock drive gear

Gear hub
Drive notch

Motor
Lock micro switch
(closed when locked,
open when unlocked)
Door micro switch
(closed when door open,
open when door in closed position)
Connector provides 12V to the motor (two pins on the right hand side).
The other three pins provide a common and input from two micro switches..
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 Inspect the lock drive gear and motor
• I took the gear to my local hardware store (Ace Hardware) and found a
thin stainless washer that matched nicely.
• If you believe there is no issues with he motor you can stop here.
Otherwise remove the motor.
• Using a small flat screw driver around the motor as a lever detach motor
from the assembly.

A thin stainless
steel washer added
to provide additional
strength.

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• The micro switches in the lock assembly inform AAM the state of the
door (lock/not locked, door open/not opened). If the state is not valid
AAM will retry the whole operation which sounds like a machine gun
in action.
– If your car is set to auto lock at certain speed, AAM will repeat this
operation every time you are starting from a stand still (like moving out
of a stop sign).
– Note that a valid input to AAM is as follows:
• door switch open
• Lock switch close
• If motor seems to be OK (see next page) check voltage at the motor
connector while activating the lock and unlock from your remote or
center console. You should see 12V being applied by the AAM. If no
voltage found check the cable/connector and AAM.
– If the door lock is moving up/down, while machine gunning, clearly
motor is working and voltage being applied – so the micro switch is
probably suspect (assuming no mechanical issues).

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 Inspect motor and test to make sure it is working properly
• Insert two wires into the motor connector slots and connect a power
supply (below 12 volts) and see if the motor runs. You really do not
need 12V - anything more then few volts will turn the motor with no load.
If the motor does not turn move it with hand and see if starts to rotate.
• Connect an ohm-meter across the motor connector and very slowly
rotate the shaft to make sure there is no spot where you get a complete
open circuit. If you see open circuit that would indicate that you have
bad/worn out motor brush. This was exactly my case.

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 • There are two tabs both sides of the motor holding the brush assembly. Using a
narrow flat screw driver or any other convenient tool straight out these tabs and
carefully jiggle out the brush assembly. Do not worry if the tabs brake off. They
really do not provide any strength once the motor is installed back in the
assembly housing. However, brush holders are made of very thin material and
can easily be damaged mechanically if not properly handled.
• Using any of the electronic cleaning products, (I used one from Radio Shack)
clean the brush area and inspect. In my case the brush completely wore off and
that was the main problem.
Tab

Remaining
Brush
Tab
Before cleaning
After cleaning

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• Without knowing exact specifications of the motor it was difficult to replace the
motor. The little bit of marking in the motor was not at all helpful. Searching the
net I found that it was very similar to the Mabuchi FC-280PT-22125 class of
motors used in some of the Japanese automobiles for similar application.
Apparently this motor is also used in fax machines.
• I located one in e-bay for $10 and with shipping total around $13. (Search in e-
bay for door lock actuator motor. Also seen similar stuff in Chinese web sites.
They cost less than a $, but you have to buy in thousands. ) Below is the old and
new motor side by side.
• The new motor has different shaft/drive structure (compatible to Japanese autos)
as well as most likely different rating. Since they are designed for drive lock
actuator I felt that they will be close enough for ML application as long as the
brush assembly fits mechanically.

Old motor New motor

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 • The idea is to take the brush assembly from the new motor I bought from e-bay
and use it in the old motor. That way I do not have to deal with the drive shaft
issues as well as the motor spec issues – since I am still using the old/stock
motor.
• The brush assembly fits perfectly into the old motor. This new brush seems to
have a small inductor/register in series (probably to suppress noise…) I left it in
place.
• After testing the more motor and I put it back in reverse order into the door. It has
been more than a month and there has not been any problem (or machine gun)
with the lock so far.
Old motor with new brush
Brush assembly of new motor
Inductor/
register

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