Door not closing right! HELP

[dumbusername]

I have a 1994 240sx with a door alignment problem. You can see that the door is "off" when you close it there is a slight gap between the door and body of the car. (I'm speaking about the driver's side door) The interior lights flash on and off as does the door "ajar" panel light. You can see that there is new wear on the strike plate ( I think that's what you call it). The door changes position even when parked and I've come out and had the interior lights on. Of course when I drive at night I look like I'm sending secret messages in morse code!

Does the entire door have to be realligned or is the plate moved? I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Thanks

[onosqv]

Is this like something that happened by itself? after an accident? etc?

Try checking the hinges on the door toward the fender and see if they "wiggle" or are loose. You can do the same w/ checking where the door lines up. Since the door on the passenger side should be fine, check to see the relative positions of everything. Perhaps the locking mechanism on the door itself is bad.

When you say gap, do you mean gap between the front fender & door, or door and toward the rear seats side?

Hope that helps you get started.

[dumbusername]

Thanks for responding. I guess I wasn't as clear as I should have been. This is not the result of an accident. I think it's just time and gravity. The door doesn't close flush. The door part is about 1/4 inch from being "closed". Because of this there is a slight "play" in the door and so when I am driving the interior courtesy lights good off and on as the door switch makes and losses contact. If it weren't for the lights I wouldn't notice the problem. I door opens and closes without a problem. And the lock works fine.

I did notice that the lights don't flocker when the window is half or more than half way open. This leads me to think the door is off balance.

Think of it this way.....the other day I had the door open and a friend came over to talk to me. He leaned on the open door the entire conversation. Big guy too! Imagine that happening over 10 years.

I looked at both door this afternoon to see if I can "tell" what was wrong. Couldn't. Maybe I'll take some pictures and post those!

[wayfastwhitey]

my convertible interior lights flicker on hard turns and bumps too...

i haven't narrowed it down to a specific one of the two doors yet... but i hope to get rid of it when i get the time, because i know exactly what you mean...(morse's code's a new one.... i always think of lightning lol)

do you have an fsm or a chilton's or somethin? cuz a lot of times they give procedures for aligning things like hood, trunk, doors...

let me know what you do... if i get a chance this weekend i will definitely see what i can do about it... and i'll shout back if i come up with a fix, if you're still stumped... good luck dude

[al]

i had this problem a couple weeks ago.

have you tried moving the striker (the part that the door latches on to) in more. simply unscrew the screws, then push the plate farther back, then when you screw them back in, it will stay there and the door should close correctly. If this doesnt work, then i think the problem is in the door itself.

good luck.

[nismo521]

I have the same problem. I thought about adjusting my striker, but when I took the screws out the holes in the plate didn't have any room for adjustment, yet the FSM shows that it can be adjusted somehow.

[black240sx93]

Did any of you try replacing the bushings in the door hing. I have the same problem but I am hoping by replacing the bushing well fix the problem.

[corn322]

my passenger side does it. very anoying. I just turned the dome light off and quit worrying about the red light that kept flashing on the cluster.

I took my striker plate off and dremeled the holes out so it actually could be adjusted, it didn't help very much. I just have like 1/8 inch gap between the car and the door edge. and the window wistles at around 60-70mph. anoying.

[dark-sky]

ha ha , i have the same problem too.