driver's door lock actuator? or spring?

[WaltNYC]

Driver's side front door lock appears to be dead. No movement whatsoever when using the fob. All other locks operate as intended. Using a key will lock and unlock the door and the other doors follow.

Is this a 'change the little spring in the mechanism" issue (I already have the springs), or a "your actuator is dead"?

I haven't had time to open the door card and test for electrical connectivity yet.

 

[4Runner]

If your lock works normally with the key and the door just opens with the handle from both the inside and outside, then it’s your actuator. When the little spring goes out, usually your interior lock knob will drift down and mess with you. You will have to pick it up the last 20% to be able to open the door from the inside. If you have no movement with the fob then I would look at the actuator or its related wiring. Good luck.

 

[Tugela]

Having replaced the lock springs in a couple of my doors, my experience is that the spring is the issue when you can see the lock plunger move up and down when operating the central locking but you can only open the door by holding the door lock with the key turned (or holding the plunger up while pulling the door handle from the inside). With a spring failure the plunger won't sit as high when unlocked relative to the other doors.

 

[p m]

Walt - more likely the actuator is dead. Piece of cake to replace.

As for the springs...
Given the amount of pain required to remove and reinstall a front door latch (right or left), replacing the spring only makes no sense.
Buy a new latch and replace the whole thing.
It is the closest thing Land Rovers have with the OBGYN. No matter how many latches I have done, I still can't do it under 2 hours.

 

[WaltNYC]

OK. Can the driver's door actuator be replaced with an generic 2-wire unit from Amazon ($20), or is this a $300 issue?

 

[p m]

OK. Can the driver's door actuator be replaced with an generic 2-wire unit from Amazon ($20), or is this a $300 issue?

IIRC, the front is a five-wire job - but on a D1 it may only be the left front.