Went out to the truck today and hit the unlock button on the key fob and everything but the drivers door unlocked. I tried the key after that and that also wouldnt open the door, there is a lot of resistance. So I reached around from the back and pulled up on the lock inside, everything seems to be jammed up. I pulled up on the interior handle and the door opened.

Im betting someone tried to jimmie it last night, and it up for me.

Anyone run across this problem before?

Mods... wrong forum, sorry, please move to the appropriate one.

 

I would pull the door panel , then check to see if there is any disconnected linkage / wiring ect.
Then would check to see if electrical current is going to lock solenoid when your remote is operated .
Then does it move when power is on .
Disconnect linkage to see if both the solenoid & linkage work separately .
By then you should see the issue .

 

That was the plan tomorrow.

I can hear the actuator trying to move it...

 

if upon inspection you find nothing wrong and the actuator is working then i would replace the latch assy. i replace about 1 a month. sometimes it's the right door sometimes the left.
you can also try to take it out of the door and clean it and relube it and put it back if you bench test and it works. but it may only work for a while. they aren't that expensive. i don't get paid to clean them i get paid to replace.

 

DieselAvenger: I had the same thing happen to me late last year. I was sure someone had tried to break into my truck but that turned out not to be the case. Turned out to be a problem with the latch assembly (may not be actual name but you get the idea.) Your symptoms sound exactly as mine did so I suspect you will need to change this part out. Pics attached.

Assuming your 4.5 is the same as my early 05: You will need to remove the door panel and this is simple to do. There are four (phillips) screws to remove. Two small ones along the bottom of the panel and two bigger ones (one in the middle of panel and one up towards the mirror). I also removed the door latch to make things easier (one star headed screw).

There are "fingers" holding the door panel to the door. So at this point, all you have to do is lift the panel and it will come off. You will need to disconnect the "control panel" for your windows, locks, mirrors from the door panel before you can completely remove it. If I remember right, there are two plugs to disconnect.

Changing out the latch assembly is a little more difficult because there is not much room to work inside the door. There are three (star headed) screws holding it to the door. There are rods that go from your manual lock, door latch etc. that feed into the latch assembly. These are color coded which you can see in the pics. You will just need to remember which rod goes to which color. I believe there is only one wiring harness that plugs into the latch assembly.

Put it all back the way it came out and you should be good to go. One tip that made things easier to go back together: After you have to door panel back together, plug in your "control panel," push down on it gently and it will snap back into the door panel. I found this much easier than trying to plug it back in while holding the door panel at the same time.

The Dodge dealership will charge you an arm and a leg to do this job. My cousin works for an auto body shop so he got the latch assembly for $48 if I remember correctly. I'm sure the dealership would have charged several hundred to do the entire job. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

You all were right... busted latch.

I took it apart and now I can open the door using the key... but the keyless is done.

 

same thing happened to me about a month ago... replaced latch assy... all better..

 

I found one at a salvage yard. All better.