Passenger door sticking and I’m confused

[Mashby]

Hi,

I have a problem with my passenger door on my Herald 1360 convertible. When I close the door, (we’ll slam it) I can’t open it again unless I open it from the outside. The inside lever moves freely but the door is jammed.

With the door open, the lock latch looks like it moves correctly when you use the door handle on the outside or the lever on the inside, so I don’t understand 🤔

Any suggestions gratefully received

many thanks

M

 

 

[Puglet1]

Does the rear of the door have a good gap between it and the side panel or is it binding?

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by Puglet1
More information added

[Josef]

Are the anti burst catch and latch part on the b pillar adjusted and tightened down? I had a hard to shut passenger door for ages till I figured these were loose, and they wouldn’t stay tight till the bolts were assisted with a little thread lock.

[Colin Lindsay]

The latch maybe working correctly but the actual door latch plate maybe sticking on the B-post catch and this is what needs a good pull to open the door; see if there's a shiny wear mark on top of the aluminium catch on the b-post. It may be due to worn hinges, check if your door has dropped at the rear and if so you maybe able to loosen the hinge bolts on the A-post and jack up the rear of the door so that it closes less firmly. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by Colin Lindsay

[Mashby]

Thanks both. The gaps are good at the trailing edge of the door. The striking plate on the door was loose but I tightened it today and still no joy. (Not sure about the anti burst catch). 
My confusion is why the outside handle works fine and the inside doesn’t 

[Mashby]

Hi Colin, thanks for the reply. It really doesn’t need a heave to open from outside, it opens fine. Inside, when I pull the lever back in won’t open at all, even with my shoulder to it 

[Josef]

Have you taken off the door card and had a look at the mechanism for the interior handle? Sounds like something is not moving properly or not connected there.

Note your striker / anti burst need to be fitted tightly and in the right position! Sounds like you might’ve just done up the screws? Some adjustment might be needed.

[Colin Lindsay]

16 hours ago, Mashby said:

Hi Colin, thanks for the reply. It really doesn’t need a heave to open from outside, it opens fine. Inside, when I pull the lever back in won’t open at all, even with my shoulder to it 

Neither does my convertible; opens relatively easily from outside but requires a full shoulder to open from inside. The handle just runs along a metal arm to the lock, so possibly the dowel pins are worn where it attaches to the lock mechanism? 

[trigolf]

IIRC, many years ago, I had this problem with my Herald. No amount of fiddling, adjusting the internal linkage would fix it. I resolved it then by fitting a new door lock mechanism, which cured it immediately. I THINK it might be to do with how much the door lock mechanism lifts the lock pin to clear the striker catch when operated by the internal handle?

[Mashby]

On 18/05/2023 at 21:49, Josef said:

Have you taken off the door card and had a look at the mechanism for the interior handle? Sounds like something is not moving properly or not connected there.

Note your striker / anti burst need to be fitted tightly and in the right position! Sounds like you might’ve just done up the screws? Some adjustment might be needed.

Not yet. I’ll probably have to but in my very simple mind, if the latch moves up and down freely the door is open (I can see it) I assumed it would work fine when closed.🤔

[PeteH]

When I took the door lock and fittings off the 13/60, I noted that there are several Links and pins, a combination of wear might easily produce the inability to lift the latch high enough? While the Outer door handle has (I think) only 2 "wearing" parts, and is adjustable.

Pete

[Stratton Jimmer]

My GT6 has a similar intermittent problem in that it can be opened from within but not from without. If it doesn't open from outside, inserting the key and "unlocking" again solves the problem. I have yet to remove the door card to investigate.

[Josef]

Wear, and grease that’s now closer in consistency to concrete!