a vehicle door lock operating mechanism wherein a reversible electric motor 6 drives a pivotally mounted sector gear 10 through a centrifugal clutch 7 and reduction gears 8 , 9 and 32 . the sector gear is coupled to the pivotal actuating lever 2 of a lock mechanism 1 by means which permit the free travel or play of the actuating lever over a distance equal to its stroke between the locked and unlocked positions . a manual operating knob 3 is also coupled to the lever 2 , and a spring 15 biases the sector gear 10 back into a neutral or middle position whenever the motor 6 is deenergized , whereby low force manual operation may be performed independently of the sector gear and reduction gears . the centrifugal clutch , when disengaged in response to the motor deenergization , enables the spring 15 to easily drive the sector gear back into its neutral position .