Passenger door stuck

[CFI]

Well it finally happened. The passenger door got stuck closed on a quick trip to pick up donuts this morning. The good news is the donuts were delicious.

When I finally got the door opened, I noticed a broken piece of white plastic hanging out of the front latch mechanism. I removed it with pliers. While fooling around with the latch I managed to push it into the latched position and now it I can’t get it to the unlatched position.

Anyone have an idea for my next step?

5855658557

[Riley88]

start here i think. I wish the parts list had a better blown up photo, looking at that as well http://support.delorean.com/kb/a101/door-latch-modification-new.aspx

[CFI]

start here i think. I wish the parts list had a better blown up photo, looking at that as well http://support.delorean.com/kb/a101/door-latch-modification-new.aspx

Thanks. I’ve got the trim off (pain in the butt) and the latches out. I’m not sure what happened but I’m going to clean and relube the latches.

I’m considering leaving the lock rods off. I’m wondering if my son hit the lock button and somehow caused the lock to stick. Either way I don’t want that to happen again. I never lock the doors, so I’m really curious what went wrong.

[Michael]

While fooling around with the latch I managed to push it into the latched position and now it I can’t get it to the unlatched position.

Anyone have an idea for my next step?

5855658557

Make sure the door is unlocked(should be) pull up on the door handle and it should unlatch, if not, pull the latch with a screwdriver blade while pulling up on the release handle.

[Roberto]

You should consider doing a wedgectomy on your latches.
Best thing I ever did to my doors. You can find instructions elsewhere.
Robert
vin 3915

[CFI]

Make sure the door is unlocked(should be) pull up on the door handle and it should unlatch, if not, pull the latch with a screwdriver blade while pulling up on the release handle.

Thanks. I did try that several times after cleaning and lubricating them. I found every now and then the front latch will stick a little with the door open, unlocked, pushing down on the latch with a screwdriver while pulling the release handle. I’m not sure why. Most of the time the screwdriver could push the latch open with no problems, and then maybe after 20 successful tries the latch gets sticky and requires more force on the screwdriver.

[CFI]

You should consider doing a wedgectomy on your latches.
Best thing I ever did to my doors. You can find instructions elsewhere.
Robert
vin 3915

I’ll look into that, thanks.

[David T]

While it may seem the easy way out, disconnecting and removing all of the locking mechanism, it is there for 2 reasons. The first one (the obvious one) is to prevent anyone from entering the car that doesn't have a key (or a remote fob if installed). The less obvious reason may be more important. In the event of a crash, if the latches are locked, the door can't be opened because the release mechanism is disconnected when the door is locked. This is meant to prevent the accidental opening of the door to maintain structural integrity of the car and prevent the occupants from being ejected in a crash. During a crash the inertia switch is supposed to unlock the doors so a first responder can open the door and remove an unconscious occupant. I mention this only so anyone disabling the locking mechanism also knows it is a safety system too. Like bypassing the inertia switch, removing the capture brackets for the hood, and other built-in safety items meant to protect the occupants.

[CFI]

While it may seem the easy way out, disconnecting and removing all of the locking mechanism, it is there for 2 reasons.

Thanks, I hadn’t thought of that. I left the lock rods installed. Drove the car today with my son and had zero issues.

[Josh]

While it may seem the easy way out, disconnecting and removing all of the locking mechanism, it is there for 2 reasons. The first one (the obvious one) is to prevent anyone from entering the car that doesn't have a key (or a remote fob if installed). The less obvious reason may be more important. In the event of a crash, if the latches are locked, the door can't be opened because the release mechanism is disconnected when the door is locked. This is meant to prevent the accidental opening of the door to maintain structural integrity of the car and prevent the occupants from being ejected in a crash. During a crash the inertia switch is supposed to unlock the doors so a first responder can open the door and remove an unconscious occupant. I mention this only so anyone disabling the locking mechanism also knows it is a safety system too. Like bypassing the inertia switch, removing the capture brackets for the hood, and other built-in safety items meant to protect the occupants.

You are over thinking this.

I have removed my front lock rods. Makes these doors a little less of a nightmare.

If you get into bad of enough of a crash to flip down the locks, it would likely bend the rods if they are present.
You could also wire the lock arm up so it doesn't move if you are that paranoid.

[David T]

Leaving one latch to lock is better then none. While it is a bit tedious to get the whole door system to work properly, it can be done. I also forgot to mention the latches are not supposed to be able to lock unless both latches are in "second locking position". No way you would know that if you disable the locking function. If the doors are not adjusted properly it is most often because one or both latches were not in second locking position and then the door lock was forced into the lock position bending the actuator rods inside the door. Once the rods get bent it becomes possible to lock the door but one or both latches are not in second locking position. It is always up to the owner what short-cuts he wants to take, I like to get everything working the way it was intended to work if possible. With some patience and time you can get the doors to work properly unless they got tweaked. Once they get tweaked (forced and bent) the welds and glue come loose and the door becomes floppy. It is impossible to get it to hold any adjustments. Usually happens when you hit the open door moving in or out of your garage.