Alright- this is odd... A while back I had the 'door handle not returning' issue in my '01 XJR. I made a temporary cable from a bicycle cable, which worked fine, but finally got around to installing the proper part from Welsh today.

Everything feels as it should except that the door handle no longer unlocks the driver's door. The doors can be unlocked with the key fob or dash button (with key in the ignition), so the actuator seems OK, but pulling on the handle or up on the lock gets you nowhere.

My thought is that I missed something in the install- but after going through all the same threads I can't figure out for the life of me what. It seems like the locking mechanism isn't getting the signal that it's time to unlock- does anyone have any thoughts on what I might have done? Thanks in advance!

 

Just a quick bump to see if anyone has experienced (and hopefully solved) a similar issue. I hate to pull the door card too many times without an idea of what's gone wrong or what parts might be needed...

 

Sounds like a physical cause.

 

Welcome to the forum chevre,

The door card is definitely going to have to come off again. First check the 3 levers for exterior handle, interior handle and lock button operate at the door latch unit.



If they do, check the link rods/cable are connected properly.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Thanks for your thoughts. Will spend a minute on an intro shortly. First the brain dump:

I pulled the door card back off (which goes faster every time) and reexamined the recently-replaced cable and its entry into the latch. It, the lock knob (?), and exterior handle all appear to be correctly/solidly connected and routed. I also took a handful of pictures for reference:




X308 Driver's (left) door cable routing



X308 Driver's (left) door cable from above



X308 Driver's (left) door cable routing detail

Of course if something looks wrong here please let me know.

When pulling on the interior door handle, after the free throw and about half way through the latch arm travel I can hear what sounds like a microswitch triggering- which I'm assuming is the switch that tells the lock actuator (which works when told by the dash switch, passenger door, or key fob) to unlock the door.

Finding nothing visibly wrong I also did a hard reset (disconnect battery, short cables), which didn't resolve the issue.

So I'm beginning to think that my time with a too-short improvised cable may have damaged the switch and/or latching mechanism. Does that sound right? I hate to blindly order new parts, but short of disassembling the current latch that sounds like the next step.

What do you folks think?

 

UPDATE!

So I replaced the door latch mechanism today following @jimlombardi's instructions. The process went reasonably smoothly once I figured out how to "withdraw" the locking sleeve (pull down, not up, like the arrows show). Reconnect the battery, power everything up and...

The key fob no longer locks the driver's door.

My original problem (interior handle not unlocking door at exit) is resolved, but now I must use the key to lock the driver's door. The other three lock normally (with fob) and all unlock normally- what on earth?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.