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Door opening problem

1262 Views 6 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  wwjdd44
My passenger door does not open from the outside, after being locked and unlocked. Once it is opened from the inside, it will work from the outside, until locked again. I know this is an known issue. My problem: I put on replacement door panels. Apparently, when I hooked up the door handle, I did not get the cable seated very good. I did not try it before shutting and locking. Now, the cable is not seated and will not open from the inside or now the outside, since I locked the door. I just paid over 200.00 for the door panel and really do not want to have to destroy it to get to the cable. Any ideas??
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You may be able to resolve the issue from the outside.

There is a cable that is adjustable that connects to the outside door handle.

A single screw in the door jam can release the door lock blank and you can adjust the cable as needed. If the door latch has ever been replaced, this adjustment may be off.

This info may mention the convertible but it is pretty much the same.

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thanks for the reply. I spent a couple of hrs. messing with it and got the problem solved. I took the two screws holding the handle in and that gave me enough play to pry the panel up and away from the window seal, which let me get to the cable and release the door from the inside. Hard to believe I did not crack anything. Guess I need to fix the problem completely now. I think the lock device needs replaced.
Door latches on these cars are problems, but it is usually broken solder joints and bad micro switches.

My 2003 convertible is on it 2nd full set of replacement door latches!
Okay, so if I lock the door, it will not open from the outside until it has been opened from the inside. Then it opens from the outside with no problem, until it is locked again. I unlocked the door with the FOB from the outside....would not open. I leaned my hip against the door and it opened. It seems as if the lock is not completely releasing the door. By putting my weight against the door, it seems to let the lock release completely and the door opens as it should. Is there an adjustment for the lock/striker??
Lock/striker adjustment is on the hood in the rear door jam.

Loosen the 2 triple square/XZN bolts and the hoop will move in and out and up and down.

But again, the key is the small cable that connects to the outside door handle, if not positioned correctly the the handle will bottom out or stop before the cable is pulled enough. Again, very simple adjustment that is only a single screw (small triple square/XZN) that needs to be removed in the door edge/jam to remove the lock blank.
Sometimes "a simple adjustment" seems to kick my a$$. :D
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