I’ve spent near an hour searching here and on the net, but all I come up with are problems with the lock actuators. Could some kind soul point me to an article that pertains to me? My searching skills are lacking.

the car is titled as an L, so I’m assuming that it’s the limo package. It has more room in the rear than the front. Idk if it makes a difference.

when I originally purchased the car, this door would only open 1 in 20 attempts. I removed all the gunk, looked like dirt, old grease, a feather etc... from the lock area, and soaked it a couple times with pb blaster silicone. It opened for 9 months easily, like you could open it with your pinky. Now it won’t open at all.

my actuator is working, it pops up and down. The little pull knob pops up and down.

i was able to remove the interior door panel. The interior wire is attached to the handle. It feels like the exterior is attached by the pressure felt when moving the exterior handle. Thanks to Robert diy for his video, I wouldn’t have thought that the panel could be removed without removing the rear seat.

when I pull the handle from the inside, I can see the wire move on the other end. It looks like a spring moves and it moves a strike bar up a little... but it doesn’t seem to hit or move anything. The further I pull the interior handle, the more resistance can be felt. The handle stops at about 70 degrees to the door. I’m hesitant to force it anymore in fear of breaking the wire and or the handle. Perhaps remove the wire from the handle and pull it hard with needle nose?

i am not familiar enough with lock mechanisms to figure out what part is not attached or not moving correctly.

is there a trick, first, just to get the door open. I have 5 herniated discs as of 2014, and with DDD, I probably have much more, along with the nerve damage associated with it. I can’t sit, curled up upside down very long to try to look inside the door. Some old pos that I had when I was a kid, had a linkage that I could just push up with a screwdriver and the door would open. Is there something similar? If I could just get the door open, it would be much easier to work on.

I apologize for the rambling. After my excursion yesterday in the back seat, I’ve had to take pain pills and muscle relaxants, and I’m agitated that I wasted an hour trying to find what I thought would be an easy, quick fix. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong in my search phrases.

So basically I’m looking for a cheat to get the door open, and articles pertaining to the lock mechanism but not the actuator.

thank you x 1005!

joe

 

I dusted off my old laptop and searches on that brought me relevant search results. Guess my iPad hates me. So I’ve found the faq and some other posts, enough to get me going again.

thanks

 

Hi Joe, ...first off, I have a friend who is in similar condition, he's had a few surgeries and 3 discs either bird caged or fused and he still is in intense pain...he manages 2 hrs sleep at most in stages. He has 2 more upper degenerative ones.

So, back to your issue...someone in your condition may not want to tackle such a task. But, like my friend, where there's a will? ...I think it more pride providing the will? So let us know where you wind up and what you discover. Pics are a big plus. Don't be afraid of the cable, if you break it just by pulling it on it, it will break with the handle and need replacement anyhow. The most common issue is, and my bet, ...the cable stretches and that may simply be it.

One thing to keep in mind, your car is 20 yrs old. If you find your assembly may be the issue, check with this site... https://shop.everydayxj.com/XJ8_XJR_...003_s/1841.htm ...Dave is super nice and if you don't see what you need, just ask him. Anyways, there's 2 latches, a LR and a RF. Most of his stuff is NOS (new old stock). Cables on the other hand, eBay seems to be a quick source, but we can give you more links if you prefer other sources.

 

Stubbornness, pride and money all play in effect. We’ve adopted our nephew while he goes to college. Food and gas add up quick with a teenager in the house. Both my parents had fusing done. One can’t walk and the other od’ed on pain pills... so I’m au natural.

i found a bunch of info, but not the exact thing that I need.

I have disconnected the wire from the handle so that I wouldn’t break that and pulled with my full 230lbs, and a pair of pliers, but the door won’t open.

where and what does the internal latch look like, so that I can manually trip it and get the door opened, so that I can work on it sitting on a chair?

ive pulled, pushed and pried everything that I can see with my inspection mirror, but nothing has released the door.

i can only see two things move, when I operate the actuator. The first is the pull knob rod, the second is the little accordion sleeved thing with an arm above it. It seems like something else should be moving to actually unlock it, but I’m unable to find it.

im tired of slicing my hands open and being curled up on the floor. Please help!

thanks
joe

 

Review this video (this guy is pretty descent) and since you have your door card off already, skip to the 7 minute mark...
...and again at the 9 minute mark he has the assembly in his hand. I suggest watching the whole thing, but make note of those points.

Let us know...

Back again, this isn't the best detail parts assembly drawing, but it may help?

 

I watched Roberts video to get the panel off, but stopped when he could open the door by lifting the actuator and pulling the wire. Thanks for letting me know that he holds one. Every eBay pic of one is either really dark or just shows one side, hopefully between Robert and your diagram, I can figure out what I’m missing. If not, I’ll take the other panel off the passenger side.

i also realized that I’m pulling from the back seat. Going to try pulling the wire from the front, might be able to get a few more pounds of pressure.

every single video I’ve watched, they simply pull the inside wire. I’ve even yanked the rod from the exterior handle with pliers to no avail.

i need to find my wife’s stained glass working gloves, I’m getting sliced up by something in there. Think it’s the piece of sheet metal on the bottom of the window. Probably need a couple stitches, bah! No feeling in that hand, so I don’t know that I cut it until an hour later. Getting old sucks lol.

thanks again, and I’ll update one way or the other probably in the morning. Going to go at it a bit more

 

This sounds like the mechanism may have failed internally. You can contact Dave at that link I left you at Everyday XJ and he has always been real nice to me in responses....email him and see if he has an idea and some direction.

 

Alrighty, I sent him an email. Pulling from standing at the front door didn’t open it. Off to comparing the diagram and Roberts video.

thanks so ,uch

 

Tore the right door apart.

the only difference that I see is how far the wire moves on the end above the actuator. The “bead” stops 1/4” from the stop plate that differentiates the coated wire. On the other door, the bead hits the plate where the wire runs through.

what could possibly be holding the wire back that I can’t pull it taut

 

When the working door is locked, the cable stops maybe 1/8” from the plate that the wire goes through. When unlocked, the wire bead barely touches it.

on the non opening door, locking or unlocking makes no difference. It might be more like 3/8” from the plate, where it stops. Little hard to judge because I’m using a mirror. But major difference between the two doors. Also, my access point is smaller than the one in Roberts video or the faq writeup on the replacement of the wire/cable. I’m guessing that this is the limo package then. Just making things more difficult. Or it’s a different year than those pictured. Shrug.

havent had any luck prying the arm that the wire attaches to, but going to try a bit more until I admit defeat. Also going to try to place a couple lock washers over the cable. Saw in one post where they cut nuts... but a lock washer seems easier to me. Supposed to make the wire a bit tighter. Maybe just a little less slack will be enough. Shrug

 

Right now all we can do is work with your view. One other thing I can suggest....get another family member to push in on the door from the outside while you operate the cable. It may be bound by pressure.

 

Sorry for delay, family drama.

nothing has worked, so I’m admitting defeat. Stopped snowing so off to put panel back on.

thanks for the ideas and help

joe

 

Awww....c'mon now Joe...isn't there an Inde' (independent Jag tech) who can look at it or give you a suggestion?