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Herd WebMaster
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165 Posts |
 Posted - 05/04/2007 : 06:58:10 AM
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SEO 6N1 Door Lock Module:
By Scott Mueller.
There is a little known SEO (Special Equipment Option) available with the Caprice 9C1 (Police package) called SEO 6N1 - Handle, Inside LH Door and Lock Release. Specifying this option equips the car with a different lock module in the driver's door that allows one to open the driver's door even if it is locked by simply pulling the inside release handle. Without SEO 6N1, if the car is locked and you pull the inside handle, nothing happens and the door will not open. In other words normally you have to unlock the door first before you can open it.
The standard B/D-car (Impala/Caprice, Roadmaster, Fleetwood) lock module will not allow any door to open from the inside if the door is locked. This is great for the rear doors so kids or backseat passengers cannot accidentally open the doors while the car is moving, however I am uncomfortable with this especially on the driver's door. For me this is a safety issue, such as if the car is crashed, rolled over, or whatever, and the doors are locked, you will be trapped inside until you can unlock it first!
Most other manufacturers such as Ford and Chrysler have had automatic unlocking when pulling the inside door handle release on the front doors for years now. That is in their cars when you pull the interior handle on the front doors, they will unlock the door and open it whether they were initially locked or not. I actually don't like this feature on the passenger side door, as I have kids who sometimes ride in the front passenger seat and don't want the door flying open unexpectedly.
Chevrolet makes this desirable feature available on their Police package cars, under SEO 6N1. You cannot order it on any civilian model Caprice or Impala SS, however this option is very easy to add to the car. To install the 6N1 door handle release mechanism, all you need are the following parts:
Qty Description Part No Cost Notes
1 6N1 door lock module 16630059 $47.10
4 Aluminum rivets 9442468 0.24 ea (get a few extra)
6 Door panel retainers 10161510 0.15 ea (get a few extra)
To install the new module, you must perform the following steps:
Remove the door panel itself. First make sure the power window is all the way up as you will be removing the switch pod and will not be able to easily move the window later. You will first have to remove the arm rest (2 screws), the switch pod (clipped at the front), and the door handle bezel (one screw). The switch pod can be tense if you have never done it before. The metal clip is towards the front, which is where you should use a screwdriver or preferably a plastic pry tool to wedge in and pry inward and up. Do not pry from the sides or the rear portion of the pod or you will likely break it. Disconnect all wires and remove the switch pod itself.
There is one screw and 6 door panel retainer clips that must be pried out of their holes to remove the actual door panel itself. To do this it helps to have a special door panel clip removal tool. The best one on the market is the one made by Cal-Van (marked as Cal-Van tool #34) that has a U-shaped handle and a long forked plastic wedge/ramp. Unlike the metal pry tools usually sold for removing door panel retainers, the plastic one will not scratch the paint on the inner metal door structure, which can lead to rust and corrosion in the future. JC Whitney sells the Cal-Van #34 door panel retainer tool.
With the door panel off, pull back the plastic water shield and remove the screw holding the rear window channel. This screw is in the lower LH portion of the door. You don't have to take the channel completely out, just pull it down and move it forward in the door so it is out of the way of the lock module. The power window should be up as mentioned earlier.
Then remove the lock module and bracket by drilling out the 4 rivets, and removing the three Torx screws in the door jamb area. When drilling out the rivets use a drill bit that is about the size of the rivet stud itself and you should not damage the door at all. The rivets are aluminum, and drill out quite easily. After the rivets and screws are out, the entire module and bracket assembly can be moved enough to remove the exterior lock and door handle rods from the lock module. These are the two rods that go up to the exterior lock and door handle. The rods are simply snapped into plastic clips on the module itself, and I found that using a curved needle nose pliers made it easy to squeeze the rod end out of the plastic retainers.
At this time the entire lock module and bracket assembly can now be pulled out of the door. On the bench you can remove the original lock module from the bracket by unclipping the two internal lock and door handle rods, and them removing the two screws that hold the module to the bracket.
Then install the new 6N1 lock module back on the bracket with the same screws, and re-attach the lock and door handle rods to the module by pushing them back into their clips. You can now test the module by locking it, setting the latch, and then pulling on the inside handle release. When you pull on the inside handle release, the module will unlock and the latch should release.
Then reverse the previous steps to re-install the lock module and bracket assembly (using the new rivets you bought). I recommend re-testing the lock and door opening action once the module is installed, as you may have to bend the rods slightly to get the proper action to occur. I also noticed that the rods were possibly going to contact each other or the bracket so I bent them slightly to minimize the chance of any future rattles. Then re-attach the window channel, re-seal the plastic water shield, and reinstall the door panel itself (using the new retainers you purchased). That's it!
Now for some extra tips. Since I had to take the door panel off to install the new lock module anyway, I also decided to perform my de-rattle treatment to the door (although I did not have any rattles at the time), and also add the little light that came on the '91 to '93 models which illuminates the door control pad. If you look at the area of your door panel where the handle is, in the rear upper inside corner (towards the inside of the car) there is a little triangular cutout. In the '91 to '93 Caprice models with the deluxe interior, there was a little flood light in here which lit up the power window, seat and mirror controls on the door. I made up my own version of this light by epoxying a small piece of clear plastic over the hole as a lens, and taping a #74 bulb right over the lens. Unfortunately you cannot purchase just the light socket itself as the factory had it in '91-'93, you would have to purchase the entire door wiring harness which costs something like $250! If you can get one out of a junkyard, that might be better, but it was easy enough to affix a bulb behind this hole with duct tape.
I can't believe they took this feature away! The passenger door never had this feature, and does not feature the little cutout for the flood light, however I will soon be adding it to that side as well. Without these lights, it is very difficult to see the window, seat, and mirror controls at night.
To wire up the light, run one wire to a ground and the other through the flexible conduit to under the dash and connect it to the dimmer circuit. This allows the door panel control floodlight to dim with the interior lights just as the factory did it in '91-'93.
With the door panel off, there are several areas I identified that can cause rattles. One is the sheet metal itself. What I did there was to purchase some rubber/asphalt sheeting material specifically designed to sound insulate a car. This stuff goes under different names, one manufacturer calls it Dynamat. I picked it up from JC Whitney, but most stereo places will carry it. The stuff comes in different sized sheets that can be cut to fit virtually any panel, and has peel and stick adhesive on one side. I had 12x12" sheets, which I cut up to fit the inside of the door panel outer skin.
The next area of rattles is the door lock module itself. In my case one of the original rivets holding the lock module bracket to the door were loose, which would have caused a rattle in the future. I drilled out the loose rivet and repaired it by installing a new one. Actually I removed and replaced all of the rivets since I was installing the 6N1 door lock module anyway. The lock module bracket is held in place by 4 special aluminum rivets (p/n 9442468, cost 0.24 each).
Also running from the lock module to the door handle are two metal rods, which were close to contacting several parts of the door or each other either with the handle relaxed or pulled. I purchased some velcro tape, and used the fuzzy side to wrap the rods in two or three places where contact may occur. I also put this tape on the handle area, where one of the rods was near contacting. Finally, some minor bending of the rods insured that they would clear everything properly.
Another area of potential problems is the window regulator mechanism. I basically checked this out and made sure everything was tight. Note that when the window moves up and down it places stress on other parts of the door, so even though your rattle went away when your window was partially opened, the rattle could still be caused by the lock mechanism or other area of the door.
Finally on re-assembling the door, I added extra silicone grease to the door lock module, the door handle, and the clip that the rods slide through. I also stuffed foam into the door armrest area and under the switch pod. I added some thin foam pieces behind some of the wiring harness connectors and wires, to make sure they would not contact the door metal. All of this has conspired to make the door THUNK quite solidly now when it is closed. It is noticeably different from the other side (which I have not done yet) and if I do say so, makes the car seem more like a Lexus! "Is that a new Lexus or something" Ha! I've been asked that myself on more than one occasion. Now the sound of the doors closing will further that impression.
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SEO 6N1 Door Lock Module
