P38A Driver`s door will not open and windows will not open

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Rover9676

Active Member
Posts
192
Location
Michigan
Hello all, my 1996 range rover p38, 4.0 se was running very good. The only non working item was the cruise control. My 18 year old was using it one day and when he returned had to exit out one of the rear doors because both front doors locked. The fob remote would not unlock the front doors. I drove it in the garage where I could work. Put the key in the driver's door and attemptd to unlock doors with no success. Next the windows and hatch stop opening. I disconnected and reconnected the battery which immobilized the engine. I reviewed rave again and as many threads and posts as possible. I disconnected the battery for charging and left it for a few months to tackle another vehicle and get son off to college. Yesterday I got the front passenger door open with a coat hanger and got excited thinking I could get the front driver's door open using the same method, Not. I put the key in the driver's door and used the turn 1515 method to partially disarm the alarm. All locks now seem to work as they should, lift gate opens and the engine fired right-up. However, the driver's door will still not open. The driver's door lock goes up and down like the others but won't open, so I can't remove the door card and access the latch. Oh I get the message to reset each window and sunroof. When I bought the RR used 20 years ago I was unaware of a security code and one was not in the the manual that accompanied the vehicle. Any help, ideas or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jesse
 
I am thinking the driver's door might be superlocked and / or the lock rod has popped off. That shouldn't affect the windows though. Windows sounds like an issue with the switchpack, an earth somewhere or possibly the BECM if the carpet is wet.

The fact the car took the EKA seems to indicate the lock microswitches are working.
 
If you have had battery disconnected you will get reset windows message aswell as reset sunroof. Fuully open windows and then close straight away and keep hand on button until message on dash says window set. Sunroof is fully open and close in all directions with out stopping should reset. Instructions are in Rave, handbook section.
 
Datatek said:
If the cill button goes up and down, it sounds like a failure of the lock mechanism, you may have to cut the the latch bar to open the door.
Click to expand...
Good afternoon and thanks for responding. The driver's door will not open. How can I gain access to the connecting rod?
Thanks
 
Grrrrrr said:
I am thinking the driver's door might be superlocked and / or the lock rod has popped off. That shouldn't affect the windows though. Windows sounds like an issue with the switchpack, an earth somewhere or possibly the BECM if the carpet is wet.

The fact the car took the EKA seems to indicate the lock microswitches are working.
Click to expand...
Good afternoon and thanks for responding. Is there anyway to access the lock rod with the door closed or removing super lock on Just the driver's door? Carpet has not gotten wet.
Thanks
All of the windows were working fine and rr has been in the garage since the day windows stopped working. Seems odd that none of the switches work. I will check for corrosive wires. Can you give an idea of the most likely earth ground location?
 
Rubberknees said:
If you have had battery disconnected you will get reset windows message aswell as reset sunroof. Fuully open windows and then close straight away and keep hand on button until message on dash says window set. Sunroof is fully open and close in all directions with out stopping should reset. Instructions are in Rave, handbook section.
Click to expand...
Good afternoon! Thanks for replying. Since I can't open the driver's door, do you have any ideas of how to turn off the super lock on the driver's door? Attempting to get as many ideas on how to open the door other than a pry bar.
Thanks
 
If the fob is working and you open with the fob it should unlock the door. Before cutting anything I would be tempted to see if I could get the door card off and have a look inside. Tricky with the door shut but probably possible. Might have to take the seat out to improve access.

I seem to recall Marty said there's a wire near the seat runner that sometimes gets trapped and can cause problems with the windows. Other favourite spot for a broken wire would be at the door where the wires flex. I cannot recall where the earth points are but it will be in RAVE. You'll need a working copy of it if you haven't already.
 
Grrrrrr said:
If the fob is working and you open with the fob it should unlock the door. Before cutting anything I would be tempted to see if I could get the door card off and have a look inside. Tricky with the door shut but probably possible. Might have to take the seat out to improve access.

I seem to recall Marty said there's a wire near the seat runner that sometimes gets trapped and can cause problems with the windows. Other favourite spot for a broken wire would be at the door where the wires flex. I cannot recall where the earth points are but it will be in RAVE. You'll need a working copy of it if you haven't already.
Click to expand...
Well I was able to bend back the door card back just enough to use a extendable mirror to see the rod connected to the door handle pull has popped out from the latch. The door card won't clear the lower speaker near the floor. The back half of the door card toward the rear door can be pulled away from the door enough to see where the rod goes in but I can't maneuver my hand in to position to press it in and rotate the clip around. its literally a 30 second fix if I can get my arm past the steel wedge the arm pull screws attach or I can remove the door card. I'm going to try again tomorrow. Any more insight from all is helpful and much appreciated.
Thanks
 
Rover9676 said:
Well I was able to bend back the door card back just enough to use a extendable mirror to see the rod connected to the door handle pull has popped out from the latch. The door card won't clear the lower speaker near the floor. The back half of the door card toward the rear door can be pulled away from the door enough to see where the rod goes in but I can't maneuver my hand in to position to press it in and rotate the clip around. its literally a 30 second fix if I can get my arm past the steel wedge the arm pull screws attach or I can remove the door card. I'm going to try again tomorrow. Any more insight from all is helpful and much appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...

As one of my neighbours says: "why design it to be almost impossible to get to it when with a little more thought they could have made it completely impossible".

I recall it being fiddly with the door open so I don't envy you. Only thing I can think of is get a child with small hands to do it. Is that allowed these days?

Incidentally, some people cut the wire that does the superlock on the actuator or glue up the thing in the lock actuator that does it so it can never lock them out. I just never superlock it.
 
Grrrrrr said:
As one of my neighbours says: "why design it to be almost impossible to get to it when with a little more thought they could have made it completely impossible".

I recall it being fiddly with the door open so I don't envy you. Only thing I can think of is get a child with small hands to do it. Is that allowed these days?

Incidentally, some people cut the wire that does the superlock on the actuator or glue up the thing in the lock actuator that does it so it can never lock them out. I just never superlock it.
Click to expand...
I needed a good laugh! No small hands around here. I almost got my arm stuck trying to maneuver it in a position.
It occurred to me this morning, since the rod is not attached to the latch and the key and fob works as they should I just need to move latch lever while pulling on the inside door opener. Maybe I 2get lucky and get the coat hanger in the latch h hole where the disconnected rod popped out. Will let you know.
Thanks
 
Good evening all, looks like I will have to take my 1996 range rover 4.0 SE to a european auto repair shop. Today I bought a 3 feet round rod, bent it to fit the hole in the latch where the linkage rod goes. I looked through the opening of the lock on the door sill, placed the rod in the latch hole and began mo ING it up and down while pulling the inside latch. No luck! I also had someone to turn the key and press the fob unlock while I worked the rod and inside door latch. No luck! I studied the passenger front door very well and by performing the same opening operations the door should have opened. What I observed through the opening: Both rods move when the key is inserted and turned. The latch with the rod I inserted moves the latch down when pushed downward until it seems to contact the key-barrel rod. All 3 other locks (Passenger front and both rear door locks) unlock and lock when pressing the fob. The lift gate lo kandy unlocks as it should. The side orange marker lights flash when locking. The red flashing security arming light flashes when locking and slows when the interior lights time-out and go off. Engine fires right up and runs as it should.
I think that covers everything. If anyone has other thoughts on how to my front driver's door please share.
Thanks
Jesse
 
Small saw blade in through rear passenger door I’ve you can see in can you see the small green clip attached
 
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