Heads up - Dynolock failure

I have had a Dynolock electric lock on my tailgate since about 2010 near as I recall and just had my first issue. I was at Lowes picking up 1000 pounds (20 bags) of crushed stone paver base and when I went to load it into the truck the tailgate would not open. The actuator was making a clicking sound but I was not hearing the usual solid thunk. Lowes guy helped me load the stuff then when I got home I pulled the plastic panel off the tailgate and found the problem.

Turns out those little coarse thread screws that mount the actuator to the aluminum plate had stripped over time (plastic hole in the actuator stripped, not the screw itself, of course) and many many cycles. One had come completely loose and the actuator went adrift leaving the locking pin essentially stuck in the lock position. Easy enough to fix with some new screws. I used some bigger screws but you could just as well use machine screws and nuts. I also put some glue on the screws and in the holes to provide some extra strength and vibration resistance.

I'd recommend folks having a look at this before you find yourself in a situation like I did.

 

Thanks for the heads up

 

Any pics?

 

Sorry, I didn't think to take pics, but there are several old threads around here about the install. Easy to get without the pics, however... the actuator body is plastic and the screws that hold it to the mounting plate just strip out the plastic in the screw holes.