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my interior unlock button bulb went out (see attached photos)

3K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  kq702 
#1 ·
Hi, I just recently got myself a 2006 pontiac G6 (45K miles). I noticed on the pasanger side, when its dark outside there is like an LED illuminatng the unlock button, so one can easily hit it to unlock or lock the door manually.

However on the driver side, the bulb inside the switch appears to be out. It functions perfectly fine (all doors lock and unlock) but its just annoying that the bulb is out.

I took the door panel off and the wiring looked good (from a visual inspection). There is only three wires (from the wire harness) that plug into the back of the unlock switch. See my second photo I numbered an area 1, 2, 3, that represents the plug from the wire harness with the three wires that make up the plug. Just to check if its a lose connection I plugged it back in (with the door panel removed still) and I jiggled the wires and still no ilumination. The button still worked when I hit it to lock or unlock, just no illumination!

Since its only three wires and its a two way switch (lock and unlock) I would think the bulb does not have a dedicated wire (from the harness). If it did had a decicated wire just to power the LED bulb then the problem could potentially be the harness, but since it only has three wires for the entire module, and since it seems to me there is no dedicated wire to power just the LED, and since the lock and unlock buttons function fine I would think the only problem it could be is the LED. Does anyone agree with me on that?

Below are the photos.

Automotive exterior Bumper Auto part Door handle Vehicle


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#3 ·
Any ideas how to remove the original switch?

I couldnt figure out how to pop it out so I googled pontiac g6 unlock switch and most posts only talk about the remote unlock (not the manual unlock button which is mounted to the handle frame). Also searched this forum and could not find any info how to remove that part.
 
#6 ·
Yea I did that to get the door panel off (had to remove the bolt and cap on the handle). The only problem is once you unbolt it, that does not allow it to be removed, it only seperated it from the door panel.

My car is in the shop right now getting a few scratched removed but I will have it Mondy. I will take a pic from a more distant view, but in the above photos the cap and bolt are already removed.
 
#12 ·
Well didnt go very well. I took the door panel off to access the handle easier and I couldnt get it off. There is a plastic piece that attaches to the back of the handle (its like a plastic housing) I have no clue what the function is, but it seems like all it does is hold the lock cable to the handle better. I think it would be fine without it but I am not sure. It seems to be glued in place, so you have to rip it off to remove it. Below are some photos of what the piece looks like. I ended up snapping part of it (as shown in pics) but even with it snapped I cant get it removed without destroying it.

Dont think it would do any harm with it removed but I am not positive so rather then try it I decided to stop here and remove the actual lock switch from the handles so I used my original handles and just swapped out the switch button (it pops out when you press the sides with a flat head). The switch pops out foward so when reinstalling the new button just insert it from the front end and once you press it in place firmly it latches down. Plug the wires back (from the harness to the back of the lock switch) and put the pannel back and buttoned it all up and the new one works. Still would be nice to have switched the whole door handle out but since the new factory sealed part did not include the housing piece I didnt wanna take a chance and destroy the original.

But anyways below are the photos showing the plastic housing that has to be broken (as far as I can tell since mine woulnt pop out)


Automotive exterior Bumper Auto part Automotive lighting Door handle


old vs new door handle (back view) the new one does not come with the replacment part that I believe you have to break.

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Mine snapped, still couldnt get the rest of it off.

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another view of the new handle (you can see how the plastic housing piece fits inside the switch assembly- just slides in place (it appears) so the original may be glued in place douring installation at the factory.

Font Technology Bumper Auto part Electronic device
 
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