Well, after fixing the headlight issue on my parent's Dakota, they want me to fix the door locks..

The driver's door will lock/unlock with the key and will lock and unlock when you manually pull them up. The passenger side door will NOT lock or unlock with the key or manually pulling them up unless you press the unlock button inside the truck.

When you press lock or unlock inside the truck, neither door will unlock or lock. It makes a abnormal noise thats hard to describe. I can get a sound clip if anyone wants to hear.

Anyone got any ideas? At first I thought the actuators have gone bad, but its weird that both would go at the same time..

 

Sounds like the passenger's side actuator is binding up or is shorted internally. I would try disconnecting the wire connector at the actuator itself and see if the driver door lock works correctly. If it does, you need to replace the actuator in the passenger door. Actuators will make a funny buzzing noise when they are worn out.

Dodge does not sell the actuator by itself. They only sell the actuator and door latch mechanism as an assembly, but you can buy an actuator at Pep Boys, or any car audio/alarm shop. You can disconnect the OE actuator, leave it in place in the door and install the aftermaket one to the door lock rod for a lot less money. Then just connect the 2 wires to the existing door lock wires in the truck. It's a reverse polarity system so if your lock works backwards just reverse the connections.

Jimmy