Barn doors won’t unlock - fix. ‘99 Tahoe

[Hoesgottaeat2]

Only because we had barn doors on a previous GMC Suburban of this generation did I know how to approach this. Hope this helps someone in the future.

This happened to me about a week or two ago...
Our current ‘99 Tahoe would not unlock via key fob nor via door unlock button inside any of the doors. Everything else would lock and unlock normally. Just the rear barn doors would not. So I next moved onto the door lock/unlock button just inside the rear barn doors. The rear barn door would not open even when using this button.

 

[Hoesgottaeat2]

I proceeded to pop open the inner door panel on the passenger side where the door handle mechanism is located. I was able to unlock the door through that access point FROM INSIDE the vehicle. I actually did this before getting the door opened. This pic I took only as an illustration.

 

[Hoesgottaeat2]

On our ‘98 I did some trial and error until I discovered the solution...cleaning the contacts. Here on our ‘99 I went right for it without trying anything else. And it was the fix. Cleaned these contacts with some scotch brite. And put a little oil on a rag and wiped them off to slow down the corrosion that’ll inevitably lead to this happening again.

 

[Hoesgottaeat2]

Hope this helps someone! I'll try to give back when i can. You folks are great around here!

 

[Mean_Green]

Mine was similar when I got it, but the mechanism itself was bound up. Didn't even really want to move with the key. Shot it all full of lubricants and freed it up to work easily. Then buffed all of the contacts and plates with contact cleaner.

 

[Hoesgottaeat2]

Mine was similar when I got it, but the mechanism itself was bound up. Didn't even really want to move with the key. Shot it all full of lubricants and freed it up to work easily. Then buffed all of the contacts and plates with contact cleaner.

Actually, I never even tried the key lol. I try to regularly use the key in both front doors so they don't seize up. I'm adding the rear to that chore now too