P38A Cannot open drivers door

Hi all again. I am getting my doozel back on the road after a 20 month break. All is good, starts etc, apart from the drivers door will not open from inside or outside. When I lock or unlock it from the fob or lift the door button, the locks open and immediately close. When the lock is cycling, I cannot get the door to open with the inside door release or the outside door handle.

I think it is the latch release as the door latch would not shut when it was off the battery. I put the battery back on it and was able to get it to shut and lock but cannot get it to unlock. I tried to get it to unlock

So, after removing the door trim what do I need to do to get the door to release so I can tackle the issue of it sticking? Tips on how to get it to let go seeing as its stuck appreciated too, apart from going around it with a cutting torch..

I had this happen about six months ago. If the cable operated linkage from the interior handle doesn’t return fully it does exactly what you describe as the wire release needs to push the latch back into the correct position for opening. The cable needs replacing but in the interim & to confirm the cause of the problem you could do as I did. By opening the window & shining a bright LED torch down the slot I was able to squint down the slot & clearly see the other end of the cable at the lock. Using one of my wife's knitting needles I was able to release the catch by pressing down on the arm operated by the cable from the interior handle. Pressing down on the arm at the rear then allowed me to pop the door latch up & open the door.

Unfortunately that didn’t fix the underlying problem as the latch got stuck again when I re-closed the door but opening the window shining the torch, squinting down the slot & using the knitting needle allowed me to reliably unlock the door. I became quite slick at the manoeuvre & was able to get in & out of the drivers door at the filling station & shops with just a torch & knitting needle. I tried liberally squirting WD40 into the the latch mechanism & release wire to no effect. I realised in retrospect that for some time I had found both the exterior & interior handles 'sticky' & reluctant to snap back into position when released.

It might be the most expensive 30cm Bowden cable in the world but replacing it cured the problem. Part number for the cable is ALR6968. Genuine costs £56.48 (https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/alr6968-cable-front-door-internal-release.html) and even Britpart is still pricey at £39.30 (https://www.lrdirect.com/alr6968-cable-door-release-p38-rh).




Part number for the cable is ALR6968, genuine isn’t cheap (https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/alr6968-cable-front-door-internal-release.html) and even Britpart is still a bit pricey (https://www.lrdirect.com/alr6968-cable-door-release-p38-rh).

@nigelbb - Thanks, I will give it a go this luchtime.

nigelbb said:

I had this happen about six months ago. If the cable operated linkage from the interior handle doesn’t return fully it does exactly what you describe as the wire release needs to push the latch back into the correct position for opening. The cable needs replacing but in the interim & to confirm the cause of the problem you could do as I did. By opening the window & shining a bright LED torch down the slot I was able to squint down the slot & clearly see the other end of the cable at the lock. Using one of my wife's knitting needles I was able to release the catch by pressing down on the arm operated by the cable from the interior handle. Pressing down on the arm at the rear then allowed me to pop the door latch up & open the door.
...
It might be the most expensive 30cm Bowden cable in the world but replacing it cured the problem. Part number for the cable is ALR6968. Genuine costs £56.48 (https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/alr6968-cable-front-door-internal-release.html) and even Britpart is still pricey at £39.30 (https://www.lrdirect.com/alr6968-cable-door-release-p38-rh).
Part number for the cable is ALR6968, genuine isn’t cheap (https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/alr6968-cable-front-door-internal-release.html) and even Britpart is still a bit pricey (https://www.lrdirect.com/alr6968-cable-door-release-p38-rh).

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Thanks for this - printed and saved as it is exactly the sort of solution to keep for future reference.
Mind you, now that my RR knows that I know how to fix it, it won't go wrong.

P38 Monkey said:

Thanks for this - printed and saved as it is exactly the sort of solution to keep for future reference.
Mind you, now that my RR knows that I know how to fix it, it won't go wrong.

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It will, it'll just go wrong in different and more interesting ways.

Col

EntropyUK said:

@nigelbb - Thanks, I will give it a go this luchtime.

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At first I really didn't understand what I was doing & was just wildly poking the knitting needle down into the mechanism where the end of the cable attaches. Once I had released it a few times I recognised exactly which part needed to be depressed to operate correctly.
Interestingly the cable I removed doesn't seem particularly sticky but I think that the last inch or so may have become bent over the years thus rendering it ineffective. I did try straightening the tip & replacing it but that didn't fix it. As soon as I fitted the new cable at it worked perfectly. I opted for Britpart at £1.33/cm rather than genuine Land Rover at £2/cm.

Colthebrummie said:

It will, it'll just go wrong in different and more interesting ways.
Col

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Silly me - of course you are correct.
D'oh! - I have just remembered that I actually did change one of these cables when I was fixing the passenger side latch last year. I noticed that the cable was beginning to fray at the internal lever end. Picked up a "new old stock" one on eBay for £24.99 inc postage. I made sure it was well greased before installing, particularly where it joins the lever, to avoid flexing in use.

P38 Monkey said:

Silly me - of course you are correct.
D'oh! - I have just remembered that I actually did change one of these cables when I was fixing the passenger side latch last year. I noticed that the cable was beginning to fray at the internal lever end. Picked up a "new old stock" one on eBay for £24.99 inc postage. I made sure it was well greased before installing, particularly where it joins the lever, to avoid flexing in use.

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Sounds like you are about to have tailgate issues!

@nigelbb Thanks for the advice, this was exactly how I managed to get the door open. That trick saved me hours of effort and all done and back together in an hour. Once the door trim was off I sprayed the latch with brake cleaner to try and get as much crud off as I could. Then sprayed it in WD40 followed by White Grease spray. Once that was done, I used a bent toothbrush to directly coat the wire in white grease whilst moving the inner latch to try and get some lubrication into the sleeve. Repeated at the other end. All done and now opening and closing without a problem.

EntropyUK said:

@nigelbb Thanks for the advice, this was exactly how I managed to get the door open. That trick saved me hours of effort and all done and back together in an hour. Once the door trim was off I sprayed the latch with brake cleaner to try and get as much crud off as I could. Then sprayed it in WD40 followed by White Grease spray. Once that was done, I used a bent toothbrush to directly coat the wire in white grease whilst moving the inner latch to try and get some lubrication into the sleeve. Repeated at the other end. All done and now opening and closing without a problem.

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Nice low cost fix

EntropyUK said:

@nigelbb Thanks for the advice, this was exactly how I managed to get the door open. That trick saved me hours of effort and all done and back together in an hour. Once the door trim was off I sprayed the latch with brake cleaner to try and get as much crud off as I could. Then sprayed it in WD40 followed by White Grease spray. Once that was done, I used a bent toothbrush to directly coat the wire in white grease whilst moving the inner latch to try and get some lubrication into the sleeve. Repeated at the other end. All done and now opening and closing without a problem.

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I'm glad that my experience helped you. When I was stuck with a door that I couldn't open I Googled & found that people with the same issue had gone to such extremes as removing the front wing so they could undo the hinges or removing the rear door from its hinges so that they could smash the latch to pieces with a hammer & cold chisel. I was pleased that a gentler approach with a torch & a knitting needle was successful.

I had same problem few weeks ago but it was the arm that the inside handle cable connects to on the latch was too stiff to allow the spring in the latch to pull it back down. Latch was only 18 months old so swapped the bracket and arm with one from original latch which moved a lot more freely.
Interesting thing is ordered a new latch fearing the worst and the same arm is stiff to move. Possibly a manufacturing issue with the last batch of latches to be made?

Colthebrummie said:

It will, it'll just go wrong in different and more interesting ways.

Col

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For "... more interesting...", read "...infinitely more challenging..."