This is a 1998 Accord EX. I don't have a door key, which is different than the ignition key. So I bought a fob. It programmed very easily and it worked fine the first few times I pressed the buttons.

Then I locked the car and now it won't unlock. The fob will still open the trunk. When I press lock, I can hear the relay click and the lock actuators engaging. But when I press unlock, I hear the relay click twice (probably just the lights) but NO lock actuators engaging. I'm locked out

Why would it be doing this?

 

I'm pretty sure on accords of that vintage, you can press the unlock button one, then push it again and hold the unlock button. The driver's window should open as you hold the key to get into the car.

I suspect there is an issue with the driver's door lock actuator. There is a common problem with an internal stop that you can repair. There are youtube videos showing the repair. Before pulling the door panel, see if the lock switch inside the car behaves the same way.

 

Good thinking with the window trick. I forgot about that feature. I'll try it when I get back outside and hopefully I won't have to break in with a coat hanger again.

None of the doors are unlocking. They all should unlock, when I press the button twice. So I don't suspect it's an issue with the driver's door actuator. Unless that one actuator being bad, could cause all of the doors' actuators to stop working? I'll check if the lock switch is doing the same thing.

 

One bad actuator can pull down the voltage to the other actuators. If the door switch behaves the same way, unplug the actuator to one at a time to figure out which one is the problem. I think it can be any actuator. Depending on which door, you can keep it unplugged until you determine the best path forward.

 

The window trick didn't work, so I'm still locked out. The fob works for lock/unlock and trunk release. But I'm wondering if the fob is the reason the window isn't opening, because when I hold the button, the light on the fob only lights for a second then goes out. I got it on Amazon, so it's a cheap knockoff. I guess I'll have to get the coat hanger out again 😞

 

Alright, so I broke in with my trusty coat hanger. And the door switch worked perfectly fine, lock and unlock. I went for a short drive and when I got back, I was going to re-program the fob to see if that makes any difference. But while sitting in the car, I pressed the fob buttons and it was working fine. Could this have been some kind of security feature, where it disabled only the unlock function for the fob? But then re-enabled it after the car was started with the key?
Regardless, I don't trust it yet. So I'm leaving the door unlocked. My neighbors probably think I'm a car thief because they've witnessed me fishing a coat hanger into the door twice now.
On another note, I do think the actuator(s) is/are going. The driver's door lock pin stopped responding to the power locks entirely. When I try to lock or unlock, it makes a slight moaning but doesn't move. I was pressing the lock/unlock buttons a bunch of times while sitting there and then I noticed the other door pins weren't always responding either.

 

Since the issue returned after driving, I suspect you have a door lock actuator drawing all the current, so the other door locks won't actuate. I think trial and error by unplugging one actuator at a time until you find the culprit is the easiest route. Then you can replace or rebuild.

I've seen videos where a rubber stop will fall off and cause acttuator problems. The motors can wear out as well. I saw some videos on folks rebuilding the actuator with gluing the rubber stop back and some replacing the small electric motor. I still tend to rebuild parts when feasible. OEM parts are expensvie, but well-built. Aftermarket parts are less expensive, but poorer quality.

 

The driver's door lock actuator is definitely bad, but the bad actuator is not the cause of the rest of the locks staying locked. What's happening is, pressing unlock on the key fob once unlocks only the driver door and disarms the alarm. Pressing it again should unlock all the rest of the doors. But if the car senses that the driver's door is still locked, it will not unlock the rest of the doors on that second press. And since my drivers door actuator is bad, it won't unlock and therefore the rest won't unlock.
Inside the door, there are 2 wire harnesses going into the actuator/door-latch. I unplugged the 3 wire harness, which is the one that does the sensing of the lock position. Now, when I press the fob twice, it unlocks all the doors except the bad drivers door. I can then open the back door, reach in, and unlock the driver door. It's better than always leaving the car unlocked and sometimes having to break in.
I wish I could pull that driver's door actuator out and see if it's fixable, but that thing is tucked behind a bar and I don't see a way to get it out of there. Here's the latch/actuator. You can see the 3 wire harness and the 2 wire harness. The 2 wire one controls the lock actuator. The 3 wire one is for the sensor.