Ding Ding Door is open

[TomO]

We hit the next random stupid failure in the KJ yesterday.

We were driving up Corona Pass which is basically a 2wd with ground clearance kind of road. It is pretty rocky in places, so there's a lot of bumping and bouncing going on.

About halfway up I hear the dreaded Ding and notice that the message on the dash is reading Door. I look behind and see that the port-side rear door has opened.

I try to close it and no luck. It will not stay latched. So I muck with the latch for a while and find that I cannot get the thing to stay in the latched position.

We had to finish the trip with a rope tied around the door and secured to the Oh S__t handle on the other side. Every single bump, rock, turn would re-trigger the Ding. Sheesh.

I guess I know what I'm doing this morning. I'm also guessing this means a new latch mechanism, but I want to see if it's repairable before searching for a replacement.

It seems that every freakin' time I drive this car, something stupid breaks! And not the stuff I'd expect to break. Nancy sure is a fragile little beast.

 

[TomO]

Some pics of Corona Pass

Starting out:

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A place for a picnic:

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Stopping for pictures:

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These are not big enough rocks to break things!

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If you're interested in the rest of the pics ( it's a pretty place, but not many pics of the Jeep ), look here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/TomOwens321/110730CoronaPass?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

[Archytekt]

You mean Port Aft door, don't you sailer? Is the mechanism clean? Does it have any function when you use either the inboard or outboard handle? I am just throwing ideas out there. No jams, etc?

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I've never heard of that happening....

 

[sota]

I can only think the latch spring broke.

 

[yellocoyote]

Eugene (my KJ) used to tell me the flipper glass was open all of the time when it wasn't. I eventually sprayed some lubricating spray in the latching mechanism, and that seemed to fix it.

I know it's a far cry from what you've experienced. Hopefully yours is just as easy as cleaning out your existing latch or swapping in another one.

 

[twack]

ya first time ive ever heard of something like this. i would also think that it got jammed somehow. but i guess something could have broken because it happened mid drive

 

[TomO]

I didn't have enough tools or ambition to take it all apart on the road yesterday. I will dig into it a bit deeper today, but first I have some maintenance to do on other cars.

I could not see any broken pieces, and I could rotate the latch from open to the fully latched position with a screwdriver. But it just does not actually latch into the closed position. I can rotate it back to open without touching either the inboard or outboard handle. Both handles feel as if they're still connected. I won't get to know until the door panel is off.

 

[TomO]

I did get it working again for now. I loosened the three bolts holding the latch in place to try and ease any torque that may have been on it.

I then followed that up with alternating PB Blaster and silicon spray lubricant everywhere I could get a small nozzle tube into. The idea was to try and clean / free up any stuck parts.

After about 30 iterations of pushing the latch closed, open, closed, open it finally started latching into the closed position - sort of. At least it became harder to unlatch it with a screwdriver without activating either of the handles.

A bit more cleaning. A bunch more manual activations and it finally started latching properly again.

The only theory I've been able to come up with so far is that the latch was becoming sticky since who-knows-when. Then with all the twisting and torquing going on during yesterdays trip - the door was forced open and the latch dog was forced into a bad position where it stuck. I'm having a hard time believing it myself, but it's the best I can come up with right now.