When my left rear door lock quit working on my 1998 D1 I started searching the forums for answers. Many suggested replacing the Johnson motor in the door lock solenoid. On one post someone said he just replaced the solenoid with a universal unit with no further explanation. Here is what I found and how my problem was solved:



Two universal units for $8.29 from Amazon.


Snipped the old unit out keeping the original plug, then wiring the Universal blue wire to the Discovery orange wire and Universal green wire to Discovery pink wire. I used the quick connector that has a bit of solder in the middle that melts nicely with a little heat and shrinks down creating a great seal.


Here is the original solenoid showing the Johnson motor that burns out. Note that the shaft is short and has a cog type brass wheel. This unit is glued together so I used wire cutters to open it along its seam.

The great thing about using the universal unit is that its mounting holes aligned perfectly with the original unit. No further modifications needed. Another great thing about using the Universal unit is that I don’t have to glue the original unit back together. Replaced the door panel and everything works as it should.

I’ve learned so much from the forum so I hope this helps someone in the future who has a dead rear door solenoid.

 

Great info thanks.