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.

 

Sounds like door lock actuator, but I am not an expert. I have bought actuators from amazon that work amazingly, I will attach a picture of them for reference. Very little modification to make them work, and they are reasonably priced. Good luck! I have replaced all of mine twice with units from donor cars before using the amazon, safe to say all of my door panels rattle from coming apart so many times.

 

I am in the process of swapping my springs on my door locks right now and have been thoroughly going through each handle & locking mechanism. They are not pleasant to work on. I would send you a pick right now, but I just reinstalled the latest panel and do not have the other panels open right now.

When you turn the key, you should hear and 'feel' an audible thump as the key lever moves the mechanism from lock to unlock, pulling up on the lock thumb, and pulling & extending the actuator out. My first issues appeared to be the actuator. After inspecting, I realized the spring was broken on mine. Intermittently, I was not getting anything to happen when I turned the key - it felt like spinning in air.

You can very easily test the actuator simply by pulling the panel and then with the battery still connected, pull out on the actuator. If it works, then you know that is not the issue. Since my issue first appeared to be the actuator and was intermittent, it is difficult to say one way or another if it is your spring.

I have a few spare driver's side actuators laying around that I have pulled from other Discos - I have tested them and they work. If you need one, let me know.

 

DHTaylor, that is a very much appreciated offer. One question, on a NAS 1997 D1 (obviously WITH an alarm), is the actuator a '2 wire' unit? or a '4-wire' unit?

I'll send you a private message.

 

Neither: 6 wire unit.
Looking at the photos, you can see there is a 6-plug (only five actually have connections).

Push forward and get your panel off. After removing that and the plastic, you will see the actuator. You will see there is a bar that attaches to the loop on the left side of this actuator I have pictured. give it a gentle pull - it barely takes any effort. If the actuator activates, you have a spring issue. if the actuator does not actuate, you can remove it and disconnect the plug, then test flow of current. You can get some alligator clips and connect to your car's batter (disconnect the negative to the vehicle while testing) or any other 12V source. Keep playing around until you sort out which of the fire are the ones that activate the actuator. If you do not get any life out of it, then that is your issue - and we can move forward after that.

I am about 50/50 that you have an actuator issue, though. You are not out of the woods on the spring. That may actually be your issue. Lucky8 sells them and they have a video on how to swap. It's a serious pain in the backside - not going to lie. But, there comes a time in every Land Rover Discovery owner's life when they have to bite that bullet.