Door Latch Stuck

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11-13-2018, 08:00 PM
Gr8Stang

1 Attachment(s)

Door Latch Stuck

Hey Guys,

Was doing some testing tonight in my car and wanted to ensure the dome lights would not be on while the drivers door was open, so I used a screw driver to pull the latch closed when the door was open. Worked great....until I tried to reset it and get the latch back into the open state so I could close the door. Now when I try to open the latch back up by pulling it open with the screw driver, appears the latch does not come back to the original open position. I compared both doors, and the one that's not closing, you'll see in the picture below, the latch end (paint missing) towards the interior side is sticking up vertically, while the passenger door one sits more flush (downward) when the door is open. I cannot get the latch to move any further downward.....and don't want to reef on it too hard.

PS> when the door latch is pulled back towards the open the position, the window automatically comes down a crack, and when the latch is closed (when you shut the door) the window goes up (normal behavior)...tested this manually with the screw driver by pulling the latch closed, then using the handle to try and open.

Wondering if I need to disable the power/disconnect the battery to get the latch back to open? Any ideas, I'm all ears. This is on a 2008 Shelby.

Really hoping I don't need to pull the door panel off....

sorry for the pic. orientation....not sure why it's like that. Bottom side is the one with the single screw below the latch.

Attachment 15395
11-13-2018, 08:04 PM
Ponyryd

This may seem obvious, but is the door locked? And are you using the inside or the outside handle? It should open by just pulling the handle without a screwdriver in the latch, or a screwdriver lightly in the latch, if needed.
11-13-2018, 08:29 PM
Gr8Stang

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ponyryd

This may seem obvious, but is the door locked? And are you using the inside or the outside handle? It should open by just pulling the handle without a screwdriver in the latch, or a screwdriver lightly in the latch, if needed.

Thanks a bunch. I thought I'd unlocked it previously when I was trying to get it reset. Went back at it and re-tried again and the latch freed up and worked as it should again.

Think I was getting a bit frustrated when it wouldn't initially close for me and likely had the door locked. Good lesson.....always take a break when you have a problem that you can't seem to fix. :-)