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door catch stopped working properly


Fizzy

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Posted

yesterday my door stopped shutting properly, wondering what i should be looking for first when i get back from work later. whats happening is i shut the door, then from the catch (i think) i hear a click, and the door opens slightly. the door is held by the catch, but the door isnt flush with the tub, its sort of secure, but half open. sorry about the bad description in a rush late for work cheers

Posted

Assuming our car has the early design of lock, it sounds it has failed to catch to second position on the striker plate and fallen back to the first one.
This can be due to the striker plate moving on the pillar so worth checking and repositioning if necessary.
That's providing that the door was not being prevented from closing fully by anything such as the seat belt buckle getting in the way.

Posted

thanks for the reply. i will investigate in a bit. this has happened before, but i cant remember how i fixed it. i tried moving the plate yesterday evening, but it would appear it didnt help much. if the problem is as you describe, would that mean the plate needs to be pulled closer to the door ?

Posted

well ive had a fiddle, and ive also been out working on the lock  ;D

it seems to have a mind of its own, with no obvious fault. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. i cant isolate a situation where it doesnt work or works all the time. the problem is in the lock itself, as oppose to its interaction with the striker plate.

pushing the locking disc round with a screwdriver, sometimes it stays shut, sometimes it doesnt catch at all. ive taken the lock off the door now, but not really sure what to do with it as you cant get in it, so i cant see much. leave it to soak in some WD40 ? then give it a shake and hope loads of grime falls out ?

Posted

worked it out with the lock off the car. the paddle that the outside handle operates wasnt moving back into position properly, staying the 'open the door' position, meaning the rotating bit was never going to catch. liberal coatings of wd40 and oil, and lots of poking gunge out with a screwdriver, and it seems to have done the job.

cheers

Posted

WD40 is wonderful stuff! Funnily enough I've just been discussing the merits of WD40 on another forum. I use it for all sorts of things where friction has become a problem, including stuff in the house. It's good for de-icing car door locks too.

Posted

Cold mornings gives  you all sort of strange behaviour - not only car-related  8)

I am using an old Peugeot 309 as a cheap runabout - didn't know a car could have so many electrical problems.

But then... its not a proper car   :P

Posted

Steve_Curton wrote:
WD40 is wonderful stuff! Funnily enough I've just been discussing the merits of WD40 on another forum. I use it for all sorts of things where friction has become a problem, including stuff in the house. It's good for de-icing car door locks too.

I think it's been posted on here before but I agree WD40 is wonderful and so is gaffer tape!

Posted

Steve_Curton wrote:
I use it for all sorts of things where friction has become a problem.
In fact, WD40 isn't that good a lubricant.   Known that ever since I tried, and failed, to fit some very tight bushes using the stuff.   Some silicone oil did the trick, and it's by far better for rubber and similar applications that any hydrocarbon based lubricant.

Fizzy wrote:
liberal coatings of wd40 and oil, and lots of poking gunge out with a screwdriver , and it seems to have done the job.
(My underline)
I think that's the important bit.   With the lock off the door, a soak in engine cleaner and a thorough brushing, followed by small quantities of grease on the wear areas, would be best.

John

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