Door wont open

Rear door, drivers side 96 XJ.
Problem... push plunger all the way in --door wont un-latch----some times,and is getting worse.
Something has worn to the point of not being dependable--but what,push button handle. connecting rod ,,,, I dont know.Anyone else with this problem?

Thanks,

Open it from the inside, and you'll see an elongated slot, on a diagonal. With the aid of a bright flashlight, peek in, and you will see a small Allen/hex-head bolt, which accepts a 4mm hex key. After a squirt of penetrant or lubricant, loosen the bolt, and simultaniously cycle the door handle's plunger. Adjust the sliding bolt within the hole to give the highest 'bite' on the plunger. This trick works on all four doors, and my son just discovered it last summer, while replacing the troublesome rear door mechanisms on his '95. My '92's rear doors never worked right until we found this trick!

Thanks,
Just need to bring a 4mm allen wrench home from work.

Yeah, the front doors have the diagonal slot too, but up near the handle is an opening covered by a plastic plug, which gives access to a nut that holds the handle on. Pop this plug off, and you can watch the action behind the button. Good time to lube it, too.

Well I didnt wait to bring allen wrench from work--Went to Lowe,s got a pack of Kolbalt wrenches($4.08).
Got home opened door ,adjusted,tested-OK:cheers:...Took longer to get wrench out of packaging than to do the job.

Thanks.

Coool!!

Finally a solution! I have had the same problem and could'nt figure it out, mines also a 96, maybe a flaw for that year

works for me too... fix my rear driver side

I,ve started an epidemic........eace:

Wayne Sihler said:

I,ve started an epidemic........eace:

Click to expand...

Hopefully I've prescribed a solution...

And, no, it's not just a '96 problem....

Here is one for you my rear driver side door does this. The problem is now the door doesn't open at all from inside or out. how do i get it open? :rattle:

Ugh, I give up. A Sawsall?

Seriously, you're gonna have to remove the interior panel, and start pulling on the rods, or reach up toward the lock mechanism, and see if you can get something to work. Possibly a rod from the handle to the mechanism has fallen off?

If the mechanism is seized up and won't unlock, try this: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1003779

Done it on a couple jeeps now. At worst you wreck a door card, and those are a dime a dozen at the yard.

Subscribing to this one... My old '96, which my 21 yr old son now drives... has the Drivers side door stuck and won't open. How do I access the locking mechanism if I can't open the door or take off the interior panel?

As a side note... this has a Viper Alarm installed. When the shop did the install it has a feature that if you try and get in one of the doors while the alarm is ON... it will deactivate the doors all together. You would need to use the key and lock/unlock/lock/unlock to get in the doors. My son forgot he set the alarm when getting gas and then was unable to get in the drivers side door. However, after trying the key/lock method several times it still won't work. You can hear the lock working (locking and unlocking) when hitting the key fob. Not sure what's going on...

You have to find a way to take the interior panel off. On a 96 they are just fiberboard with foam and vinyl glued over, so buy one at the junkyard and then rip the old one off in pieces if you have to.

If you look at the pic in the thread I linked it gets clearer what is happening - the lock/unlock toggles basically push a lever that pushes the open/close lever to the side so it doesn't contact the latch release bar. When the mechanism gets gummed up, the lock/unlock seizes, and if you get unlucky, the open/close lever will stay pushed to the side so no matter how many times you lock and unlock the door, the open/close lever will never hit what it's supposed to. The force-unlock method I showed there just bypasses the whole rube goldsbergian lever assembly and puts your hand directly on the last lever in the chain, the one that unlocks the door.

The lock mechanism on the door latch has three different input sources--the exterior key cylinder, the "lock" button on the door panel by the interior handle, and the power lock actuator/motor for when you use the power locks. If none of those work then the lock mechanism on the latch assembly is probably damaged, and the latch mechanism probably needs to be replaced (it may just be gummed up with petroleum wax).

You'll probably have to figure out a way to remove the interior panel while the door is still closed. There are a couple of #3 philips screws in the armrest, a #2 philips holding the interior handle plate, and the rest of the panel is held on with plastic anchors (barbecue fork will get behind them but you'll need to bend the tip 90 degrees or more with the door still closed). After the clips are released the panel should slide up and off the window drip.

Once you have enough room to reach in the door, you might try disconnecting the rod from the electric motor actuator--your background text makes it sound like that could be the problem.

My 96 has child safety locks--- door can only be opened from outside -IF -the little switch is pushed. Switch/tab is below the latch and must be all the way out{back) to allow the inside handle to work.