Door lock unlocks difficult, greased... no results.

[Andrei Rinea]

First of all by "unlocks difficult" I don't mean unlocking with the key but opening that door by

handle. I pull on the handle but I have to use some force to open it.

With the door open I clicked (using my finger) the locking mechanism as if I would have closed

the door - but leaving the door open. Then I pulled the handle and the mechanism didn't unlock, I

used my other hand to push it into opening and it was a little (a little not too much) difficult.

I greased the outside and did a few exercises of closing and opening the door to help the grease

do its job but nothing!

HOWEVER opening the door FROM INSIDE poses no problems. I suspect something between the outside

handle and the closing mechanism. How can I get there and grease it?

Anyone else had simillar problems? If so, how did you fix them?
Going to a service with only this seems a waste of time,energy and money.
TIA!!,

 

[Andrei Rinea]

anyone please?

 

[tongsli]

Has anything with your door changed? Did this problem just start happening out of the blue??

Lito

 

[hamilgs]

Andrei: You seem to have the classic "pin backed out of the outside door handle" problem. Greasing won't help. Fix is to remove outer door handle by taking out the Phillips (cross point) screw in door jamb. Remember that the right hand side of car has left hand threads-screws are black as I recall for US Spec B4s. Slide outer door handle forward about 6-8 mm, and rotate rear end of handle away from car. You do not have entirely remove door handle. Get flashlight (torch) and look carefully at the rear mechanism on the door handle. Look for steel pin (2 mm dia x 18 mm long) that has backed out. Line parts back up, push pin back in. Now fix pin in place with epoxy, or lock tite, or prick punch & hammer. Should cure your problem. Write me offline if my explanation is not clear.--george

 

[Andrei Rinea]

Originally posted by hamilgs:
Andrei: You seem to have the classic "pin backed out of the outside door handle" problem. Greasing won't help. Fix is to remove outer door handle by taking out the Phillips (cross point) screw in door jamb. Remember that the right hand side of car has left hand threads-screws are black as I recall for US Spec B4s. Slide outer door handle forward about 6-8 mm, and rotate rear end of handle away from car. You do not have entirely remove door handle. Get flashlight (torch) and look carefully at the rear mechanism on the door handle. Look for steel pin (2 mm dia x 18 mm long) that has backed out. Line parts back up, push pin back in. Now fix pin in place with epoxy, or lock tite, or prick punch & hammer. Should cure your problem. Write me offline if my explanation is not clear.--george

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">No, your explanation seems clear...
Although a step-by-step thingie could help more a newbie like me...

1st problem: where is that Philips screw??? I looked and looked and it's nowhere to be found.. Does it hate me and hides away?

I understand this screw (screw him...

) can be found as you watch the door handle from its front on the lateral left (rear of car side of the handle) but... whatever I'll look in the morning again.. after that I have to slide the handle towards the front of the car in line with it? ok.
Next rotate it using as rotation axis vertical line centered in the handle's right end. then fix that sh|tty tiny thing.
Got it.
I'll try it tomorrow.
TNX! YOu helped me a lot!
I will let you know it went.

[ December 05, 2002, 15:36: Message edited by: Andrei Rinea ]

 

[Andrei Rinea]

No, Lito, no.
This problem was since I bought the car. But being my first car ever (and a TDI too !!

) I couldn't be sure it is a problem or not. THen comparing it to other similar cars and comparing even with the driver's door I understood it was a problem.
Hamilgs seemed to supply me the direct solution to my problem but this is still a guess. Time (10-12 h till tomorrow morning

) will tell.
Thank all of you for all the support in the past, present and future.

 

[Birdman]

IF you are talking about the 95 passat. They were driven by a vacumn pump in the trunk Left side and would as all things weaken over time. you might also check the vacumn hoses leaving it and all the noses for hat matter. AT least US cars used this way. yours i think would be the same. We did not get electric locks till the 99.5 a 4 b-5 cars i think.

 

[GMCpatrick]

Maybe this link would be helpful.

Patrick

 

[dbrey]

Does this at all apply to newer cars (specifically, a 2000 Golf)?

I have to pull the passenger side door handle twice to get it open. It opens from inside without a problem.

Any ideas? Thanks!

---- Dave

 

[tongsli]

Slightly different problem. You need to adjust the little cable that attaches to the door handle.

Look at this PDF pages 7-10. It shows how to remove the lock or blank and the cable that you have to adjust.

The inside door handle and outside handle access the same lock but in two different places.

The inside one is a fixed cable length, but the outside cable attachment has about 1/2-inch of adjustment one way or the other.

Regulator Removal

Lito

[ December 06, 2002, 11:23: Message edited by: tongsli ]

 

[dbrey]

Thanks for the reply! I'll be keeping that pdf for future reference

I've adjusted the cable as described, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference. I did notice that the outside handle works fine after the inside one has been used. Once the car is locked and unlocked, it's hard to open from the outside again.

Maybe I'll take a look at it again later...

Thanks again!

 

[Andrei Rinea]

Here is the latest update:
This night I got home earlier and thought of looking into the door handle... (right front door handle)

Took off the screw, slided the handle but (Bad luck!) it won't come out because of some wirings linked to the key device. It was late and cold (-5 deg.Celsius, 23:14) and thought I have to take off the doors interior er... mask? or however it is called and almost quit.

Then I went for the rear right door handle wich also worked difficult. This one doesn't have a lock so I took out the handle completely!

Examining the handle and how it works it seems that pin is alright and so on.

THE PROBLEM IS VERY CLEAR TO ME NOW! :
The "thumb" that presses that thing in the door in order to unlock the door barely reaches it and that is why it is difficult to unlock the door.
I read something in the manual that the handle has an adjustable thing and the handle should have a "dead movement"

(I'm really not familiar with english language technical terms) ("dead movement" means here the distance that the handle can travel before it actually does something - measured in mm or other distance unit)

I noticed something interesting: At doors which open difficult the handle can be moved more than 15-17 mm with no effect and their opening effect takes places in the last mm of their movement.
At doors which work excellent the handle can be moved only 5-7 mm before it actually unlocks the door.

Having noticed that I conclude it has to be the adjustable pin the presses that unlocking plate in the door. I will try different methods to adjust it and will keep you posted.

Thanks!

 

[jag60mk2]

Andrei,

If your door latching mechanisms are the same as my 97 Passat, they are mostly external to the door in a square enclosure.

Between the mechanism and the outer door shell, there is a small 5.5mm nut that is the adjustment to the "dead movement" or "freeplay".

You will need a 5.5mm wrench to adjust in place or you will have to remove the entire mechanism and use a socket.

WARNING

THE FREEPLAY ADJUSTMENT NUTS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DOORS HAVE REVERSE THREAD

WARNING

Hopefully this is a big enough warning!!! On my first attempt to adjust the right rear door on my Passat, I promptly broke the adjustment by trying to loosen the adjustment nut in the wrong direction. ( Didn't have my manual yet

) I'm afraid to ask what a new mechanism is going to cost me.

I did however successfully adjust my driver's door so it opens very well.

Hope this helps

Matt Ross
1997 Passat TDI 85K

 

[Andrei Rinea]

Originally posted by jag60mk2:
Andrei,

If your door latching mechanisms are the same as my 97 Passat, they are mostly external to the door in a square enclosure.

Between the mechanism and the outer door shell, there is a small 5.5mm nut that is the adjustment to the "dead movement" or "freeplay".

You will need a 5.5mm wrench to adjust in place or you will have to remove the entire mechanism and use a socket.

WARNING

THE FREEPLAY ADJUSTMENT NUTS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DOORS HAVE REVERSE THREAD

WARNING

Hopefully this is a big enough warning!!! On my first attempt to adjust the right rear door on my Passat, I promptly broke the adjustment by trying to loosen the adjustment nut in the wrong direction. ( Didn't have my manual yet

) I'm afraid to ask what a new mechanism is going to cost me.

I did however successfully adjust my driver's door so it opens very well.

Hope this helps

Matt Ross
1997 Passat TDI 85K

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">1) Car identical.
2) Please more details on the adjustment of the freeplay nut !!! - all members
3) Thankfully I was warned before by members and my manual about the fact that passenger side doors have leftside screws

4) Door handles with problems are : front right and rear right.

My problem was that front right door handle has a cable and couldn't be taken out like the rear right door handle.

ANY PICTURE OF ADJUSTING THE DOOR HANDLE FREEPLAY ??? - please...

TIA!

 

[tonyp]

Andrei,

Assuming 96 Passat is the same as 97, here is how to get at the freeplay adjustment screw:

1. Carefully remove the plastic cover, so that you don't break the tiny plastic clips it holds on by. They all hook in along the edge where the latch housing meets the door sheetmetal. Unhook the two closest to the car interior first.

2. The screw is along the outside edge of the latch (i.e. farthest from the car interior), near the top. It's pretty obvious once you get it off.

For the record, I just doused the interior of one latch with white lithium grease. Suddenly the door opening problem went away. I haven't done anything else yet but just wanted to report this might be enough in some cases.

Tony

 

[jag60mk2]

Andrei,

Once you have loosened the freeplay adjusting nut, move it up or down then retighten and try the door again. If at first you don't succeed, try again in the other direction.

The wire on the right front door handle is for your central locking system and can only be unplugged after removing the door panel. You shouldn't need to remove the door handle to adjust the freeplay. Everything is on the lock/latch mechanism.

Good luck,
Matt Ross
1997 Passat TDI 85k miles
New Shell Rotella T Synthetic - What a difference in cold weather starting and noise over Dino 15W40

 

[Andrei Rinea]

I found that freeplay adjustment nut but using an adjustable small wrench that I could fit in that tight place I couldn't unscrew it really.

Can't I get the latch out of there or is it major PITA? anyway I have to remove the door inner panel in order to disconnect that power lock wire which is connected to the door handle making it impossible to take out (without ruining that wire ofcourse).

So.... let's say that either by unscrewing and taking out the whole latch either by not doing that I manage to gain access and unscrew the freeplay adjustment nut.
WWhat then? I have to move something and rescrew it right? What exactly? Helpppppppp please....

 

[jag60mk2]

Andrei,

Easy man, it really is quite easy....

Once you have the door panel off, you will also have to remove the inner water barrier to get to the wires for the locks, both for the door handle and the central locking system.

The wire that goes to the solenoid on the door handle runs to the back of the window track down and then up to it's plug. Make sure you run it in the same way when you put it back or it will interfere with the window.

The central locking system needs to be unplugged to allow you to pull the latch mechanism away from the door without it trying to actuate.

Once you have these two unplugged, remove the screw in the door to remove the handle and remove it. Be careful not to pull too hard on the wire. Check to make sure there is a white, round plastic piece on the door handle inside. The white part is what actually operates the latch. The white plastic piece is missing on mine and has been replaced by a "wire nut". It is not correct, but it works well.

Remove the plastic cover on the latch mechanism and remove the two screws holding it to the door.

Now you can pull the latch mechanism away from the door enough to see the freplay adjusting nut and get to it with a socket.

You will see that the adjusting nut is tightened on a stud that extends out of the latch mechanism through a slotted opening that provides the adjustment.

Loosen the freeplay adjusting nut and push the stud as far up as you can then tighten the nut. That will give you the minimum freeplay. I found mine about in the middle of the adjusting range.

Reassemble the latch mechanism to the door, then reinstall the door handle.

Try the door now - it should open much more easily.

Next, reconnect the wiring fro the solenoid and the central locking motor, making sure it is not interferring (sp?) with the window. Now, close the door again and try to lock the doors. If the drivers door tries to lock, but doesn't, you will have to remove the door handle and reinstall it making sure the locking tab on the handle is fitted properly to the locking mechanism. Take a look inside the door and you will see what I mean.

Reinstall the door inner panel and recheck everything including the power windows.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more. Take your time and don't force anything and all should go well.

Good luck,
Matt Ross
1997 Passat TDI

 

[jag60mk2]

Andrei,

I almost forgot,

make sure you heed the warning on the reverse threads on the passenger side doors

.

Once you have adjusted one, you will be a pro and will want to do any others that need it. The driver's door is the most difficult of them all.

Matt Ross
1997 Passat TDI

 

[Andrei Rinea]

jag60mk2 you have been of great help!!!
Now I know exactly how to do it. Unfortunately in the meanwhile I had a rather serious hit in that door and it might require replacing the whole door. Over that the snow is heavy no garage and no mood right now will postpone this operation to spring... Anyway I'll keep you posted then how it works

Thanks again jag60mk2 and everyone that helped me down here !!!

 

[Andrei Rinea]

PS: At the right rear door's handle I broke off the white little plastic thing on the handle's tip but I glued it back using super glue and it holds it well...
I tried to get it a little more "down" so it would push the unlocker pedal easier but it seems that it was a wrong approach, right?