Door Locking Arm - Stuck in fully locked position.

Anything related to the 206CC
SAnt
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:16 pm

Door Locking Arm - Stuck in fully locked position.

Post by SAnt »

Hi all,

I've decided to get the car back on the road since things are easing now but I've got a problem with the drivers door not opening. The key turns & you can hear the mechanism click, but pulling on the door leaver (inside & out) will not open the door.

I've pulled back the panel on the inside of the door as much as I can to see if there's anything I can do but all metal rods going into the plastic covered mechanism won't release it. I've experimented on the passengers door to try and understand the mechanism and it seems there's 3 positions for the locking arm: open, closed & locked-in. It seems that the inside door locking leaver can only go up & down when the arm is in the locked-in position. This happens on the drivers door, so I know the arm is in the most locked-in position.

I've tried throwing WD40 at the mechanical bits I can see, but it won't budge. I can't find a way of removing the lock-bar on the inside rear speaker panel since there's another column of metal in the way. So it seems the only way is via the inside of the drivers door. But I can't see any easy way of pulling the mechanism off.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

-- edited with an update --

Had to smash it off from within the door & replace the unit. Here's some details in case this happens to anyone else in the future.

Put the front seat as far forward as possible, then sit on the back of it. Undo the screw at the top of the door sleeve thats on the edge, it will just about unscrew in the small area you have. Remove the intenal handle grip & internal door release latch trim. Pull the door sleeve up & over the internal door lock lever, then it's possible to pull it forward & get your hands behind it. The door sleeve won't fully remove due to other screws that you cannot get at with the door closed.

WARNING: It's probably wise to do the battery disconnect procedure before attempting this next part.

The electrical clip is a bit of a pain to move, but you can just about pull the plastic locking clip away by reaching around the back of the U shaped cover on one side and then giving it a tug at the same time.

I couldn't work out a way of removing the black plastic cover over the mechanism, so with a flat-head screwdriver & a hammer I punched through at the top right hand part (this is on the drivers side door, so it's the location closest to you) of the black cover just below the white cover. Once punched through then I gave it another big whack and if you got the location right it will hit the locking lever & release the locking arm. This was more blind luck than judgement :)

Once the door is open then remove the door sleeve fully with the remaining 2 screws, one is inside the small piece that houses the small speaker.

There's 3 rods going into the locking mechanism. Remove the internal door release handle, this slides towards the front of the car before pulling away, then free that from the metal rod. Undo the 3 screws holding the locking arm mechanism to the door, then rotate it slowly to free from the key barrel rod. I found it easier to turn the door key as you would to unlock the door, then I was able to rotate the mechanism out.

Now release the internal door lock rod & the internal door handle rod. The outside door handle rod was more of a pain since there's some kind of plastic retainer at the top join, so slowly manuover the mechanism around to free that rod without damage.

Finally do that all in reverse with the replacement mechanism.

Took a while, but finally I have a door that will now open :)
2002 206cc 2.0 Manual