Driver's side door isn't closing...

[Loki]

Yea, I searched, but I didn't find any answers in the threads. Or maybe my search-fu is just weak. I dunno.

Anyways....I was planning a road trip today, but as soon as I step into my car and close my door, my door swings right back open. I had this happen awhile ago when it was fairly cold, but after fidgeting with the latch I got it to work. Some other days the door will be closed, but is still open about half a centimeter or so, maybe less.

Now it won't close at all and I had to call off my trip. Does anyone have any expertise in the locking mechanism in the door and can enlighten me on what may be wrong? I think I might just take the panel off when it gets a bit warmer and scope things out. Thanks as always!

[94_240sx]

I have a lot of experience with the latch. Mine came that way when I bought it. On the body of your car, holder(bottom one in the pic) should have round black plastic inside. If it's gone, door won't close. You can fab some soft plastic piece and secure it with electrical tape. If it's to thick, it won't close either. You might have to move both parts in the pic up and down, in and out to align your door. It's a simple job. Let us know how it goes. I found out that only vert has top part which looks like a bullet.

[WoDan23]

happened to me the other day too....found out it was just frozen....(btw im northeast PA too) ands its 12 degrees right now so could be a possibility, if thats not it it could even be something as simple as some lubrication...check to make sure its not frozen before you do anything major....(blow dryer)

[Loki]

Yea, I figured it was frozen. Had my locks freeze on me too. Thanks for the help 94

WoDan: You ever meet a guy named Mike with a red vert? He was the last owner of my car and he lived down in Wilkes. I'm just a bit east of you up near lake Wallenpaupack.

[ishkabibble]

Lube those lock mechanisms... I had the same thing happen to me all of the time in MN in the winter.

[94_240sx]

Frozen lock... Man... that's something that doesn't happen often down here.

[Loki]

There's how my lock looks. I can see from here that the bullet thingy is worn on the top. Anything else look particularly wrong with it?

[ishkabibble]

The lower striker (bronze colored) is supposed to have a round plastic piece around the center cylindrical part.

And it's dirty.

[Loki]

Well duh, winter's dirty out here I figured something like that was missing, but I didn't fully understand 94's post. I'll look around and see if I can find anything plastic that might work for that. I'll get back to ya

And my newb question of the day...what is the top bullet thingy for/called? Does the wear it has matter?

[94_240sx]

There's how my lock looks. I can see from here that the bullet thingy is worn on the top. Anything else look particularly wrong with it?

Like I said, door won't close without the black round plastic piece. Your door doesn't have enough grip to hold on to. Trust me. Put some electrical tape in proper thickness and it will work.

The wear on bullet looing part doesn't matter, so don't worry.

[Loki]

Will do. If the snow clears up tomorrow I'll test this out.

And while I'm here, my door has one other problem: when I open the door, the interior light doesn't come on. It comes on just fine when you open the passenger side. Any expertise in this area 94?

[ishkabibble]

Check your door switch. It's the third thing in the pic. The piston in it should be extending when the door is open. Push it in and out with you fingers and see if the light comes on at any point. Also, you might want to check of there is any corrosion around the switch or the wiring.

If it's not working, I might be able to pick one up for you the next time I head to a junkyard.

[94_240sx]

when I open the door, the interior light doesn't come on. It comes on just fine when you open the passenger side. Any expertise in this area 94?

Mine was that way when I first got the car. There's one screw holding the switch that ish was talking about. So I removed it and guess what? Switch was unplugged. I plugged back in and it worked like a charm. If I opened the door, every interior light is on. Driver's/passenger side floor area, lights under rear view mirror and interior light above rear view mirror. I found that it's kinda annoying and figured that might be why previous owner disconnected it. Anyway, I have a couple of extra switches laying around, so let me know if you need one.

[Loki]

Well, I put some electrical tape around the latch, hopefully it'll be okay now.

As for the other problem with the light switch...I managed to take the switch out and found out that mine was unplugged also. Here's where I get stuck however...I can't see any way of plugging it back in AND putting it back in its slot because the bullet thing blocks it. I tried taking that off, but with my crummy little Allen wrench set only the short end fits, but I can't turn it for the life of me anyway. Is there some way of accessing the light switch from the interior?

And to add to that, even when I took the whole switch out of its place and plugged it in - no lights came on. Really considering just leaving this as is.

[94_240sx]

Well, I put some electrical tape around the latch, hopefully it'll be okay now.

Good to hear that!

As for the other problem with the light switch...I managed to take the switch out and found out that mine was unplugged also. Here's where I get stuck however...I can't see any way of plugging it back in AND putting it back in its slot because the bullet thing blocks it. I tried taking that off, but with my crummy little Allen wrench set only the short end fits, but I can't turn it for the life of me anyway. Is there some way of accessing the light switch from the interior?

Yes, there's a way. You can plug it from the back if you remove back seats and interior panel. Space is VERY tight, but you can do it. Be gentle with allen wrench, you don't want to strip those. I'd try PB Blaster or WD-40 before remove interior panel.

This is what I usually do. Turn the switch when it's in about half way. Hmm... it's hard to explain this. You see the screw hole on the switch? That portion will be stay away from bullet thing as it goes in, and as soon as it passes the bullet thing, turn it to match up the holes. If this doesn't work, you should do it from the back or remove the bullet thing.

And to add to that, even when I took the whole switch out of its place and plugged it in - no lights came on. Really considering just leaving this as is.

You must screw the switch in. That way your switch will have positive and negative. If you don't screw in, only positive goes through the switch. You can hook it up with some wire and test to see if the switch works. Good luck!

[Loki]

Good to hear that!

Yes, there's a way. You can plug it from the back if you remove back seats and interior panel. Space is VERY tight, but you can do it. Be gentle with allen wrench, you don't want to strip those. I'd try PB Blaster or WD-40 before remove interior panel.

You must screw the switch in. That way your switch will have positive and negative. If you don't screw in, only positive goes through the switch. You can hook it up with some wire and test to see if the switch works. Good luck!

Shows how much I know about electrical junk. How many screws do I have to remove in order to get back there anyway? I took off the first two I saw, and I think there's one hidden in a button-snap type thing farther back, but I wasn't sure.

[94_240sx]

How many screws do I have to remove in order to get back there anyway?

Total 8 screws IIRC. 4 on the top(2 are hidden), 2 close to the switch and last 2, you will see after you remove back seat. Those last 2 are fairly long compare to others. Interior panel is snap on, so don't break it when you pop it out. It's a very expensive piece.

[Loki]

Wait, I gotta take out the backseat to get back there? Time to go shopping for another allen wrench set.....

[94_240sx]

Wait, I gotta take out the backseat to get back there?

Yes. New allen wrench set and PB Blaster should work. Besides, if you move the bullet thing to the correct position. It won't worn out anymore and interfere with the switch. That's what I did to mine.

[Loki]

Behold the power of not wanting to do that much work! Yea, just put a little pipe over the allen wrench to give me more torque, broke the bullet free and installed it all. Lights work fine now, just have to be careful to close my door all the way so the lights won't stay on. Problem solved, as far as I can tell!

Thanks for the help 94, much appreciation

[94_240sx]

Behold the power of not wanting to do that much work! Yea, just put a little pipe over the allen wrench to give me more torque, broke the bullet free and installed it all. Lights work fine now, just have to be careful to close my door all the way so the lights won't stay on. Problem solved, as far as I can tell!

Thanks for the help 94, much appreciation

Good job! You are very welcome. Glad to hear that everything worked out fine.