1987 Chevrolet Power Door Lock Switch

Yeah, I noticed that after I posted. The reality is that the 1980s weren't GM's finest hour, and they weren't trying very hard (which explains a lot...). The 1980-1990 B-body wagons are all identical from the firewall back (they all use the Chevy sheet metal). The only differences are the front end sheet metal and the marque-specific dashboards, both of which are actually covered in the Chassis Service Manual, not the Fisher Body Manual. I have a 1986 FBM for my 1986 Caprice wagon, and while my book also says Buick/Olds/Cadillac, everything in it applied to the Caprice also.

The B-O-C logo on the manual is apparently the result of Roger Smith's ill-fated consolidation of GM's divisions in 1984 into the C-P-C (Chevy-Pontiac-Canada) and B-O-C operating groups. Under that re-org, despite the nomenclature, B-O-C was responsible for building all big cars anyway.

 

Joe, you never cease to amaze on how much you know, lol.
Update: Got the armrest off and found the underside of the power door lock switch to appear perfectly normal and clean. Found three wires, one light-blue ("unlock"?, one orange ("lock"? and one black (ground?) For less than $40 it appears I can purchase an NOS replacement which I may do anyway. I'm hoping there's nothing wrong with the other end of the wire that goes into the door to god knows where.
Also still not finding the FB manual...the ones I was looking at following my earlier post have been sold (hand slaps forehead). At any rate, thanks again everyone here for the guidance. Problem not yet solved, but at least I'm a step closer.

 

If it's like most older GM pdl switches there is no ground wire. The orange wire is the power/feed, light blue is unlock, and black is lock. You can easily test it with a jumper wire between the orange and blue or black terminals on the plug.

 

Done! I finally fixed my driver's side PDL switch. The part took nearly a month to get here. In addition, I replaced the four-switch cluster to the power windows; the button for the driver's window was also shorting out. Both were ACDelco exact replacements, so I'm very happy. This probably would have been a small victory for most people here, but I'm not mechanically nor engineering inclined, so kind of a big deal for me. Thanks again for the guidance!

 

Woo Hoo! And everything works as advertised?

 

Yup, they sure do! I don't have to reach over to the passenger door to lock my doors anymore! Whenever I had a passenger with me, I'd inform them they were my "doorman", asking them to please lock the doors lol. I'm also happy to have use of my driver's window again too.

 

I have a slight issue with my door locks on my 1986 pontiac parisienne wagon but my lock switches are different than yours, mine are single switches but do not have the surround like your lock switches do, they look more like the cluster window switches.

 

I have a slight issue with my door locks on my 1986 pontiac parisienne wagon but my lock switches are different than yours, mine are single switches but do not have the surround like your lock switches do, they look more like the cluster window switches.

 

Can you post a picture?

 

Hopefully this worked, and pardon for the crudeness of the pic, it was dark when I took the picture.

 

^ ^ ^ Yeah, that's the exact setup I have. Mine work OK, except the master doesn't unkock the tail gate.

 

Here's a link I just pulled up for an '86 Parisienne at Rock Auto. The switch looks identical to the one I purchased, but the part number is different.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...l+307cid+v8,1259670,electrical-switch+&+relay

Here are two photos of my switch. It appears to me the only difference between yours and mine is the square chrome bezel (face), which would likely be due to your model having the wood trim. What I'm trying to illustrate in the photos I have below is that this chrome bezel is removable via the two metal retaining clips. The "working" part of the switch and its connections in the back are likely identical. I hope this helps. Oh, by the way, shop around for price. I ended up finding the true, ACDelco OEM part on Amazon, of all places. Rock Auto helped me confirm the part number lol.

 

if you could get that bezel off and post a pic that would be great, the one thing that's different (aside from the bezel) would be (and I might be nit picking here) the word "LOCK" being on the inside top edge of my switch because as most of us know GM thought making the switch lock in the "UP" position was a good idea, just my thoughts on that though.
It would be funny if you removed the bezel and it had the word "LOCK" on that hidden top edge.

 

Sure, here's a photo of the switch I just disassembled. Turns out it's not the same switch as yours. This seems to suggest that while Rock Auto's part number may be correct for your car in the link I sent you, the photo they offer may not be (your part number IS different than mine despite the image being the same). I would try searching other sites using your part number to see if someone else offers a photo of YOUR switch. At least this solves the mystery of whether "LOCK" appears on the inner switch; that really would have been kinda funny. Hope this helps!