Can't Open My Drivers Door - Door Catch Possibly Stuck On? :(

[R4CH]

Hi guy's, really hoping someone can help me with some advice pretty please!

 

Last weekend all my doors and electric windows stopped working so I dived on to these ever so helpful forums to discover the problem might be with the electric wiring in the drivers door loom.

 

Sure enough it was, a severed cable jumped out at me immediatley so after some struggling I taped it back up (it must have happened before with the previous owner as cables were taped up) and everything was fine again. I did sttruggle though as there wasn't much give in the wiring and I thought that the taping up may only last a while before I had the problem again.

 

Sure enough I now can't use my driver's side door at all, it won't open with either the key or central locking fob and feels like the door catch has 'stuck on' meaning I can't get in or out of my car using the driver's side door :*(

 

I tried disconnecting the battery off for a while but that didn't release the door so I figure it has to be something to do with the door catch itself? If the door wires have broken again could the door catch now be stuck on and that's why my door won't open?

 

I've tried wiggling the key in the drivers door continually for 5 minutes and that did nothing so I don't know what else I can try next.

 

Is there a way (hopefully easy enough) of somehow getting access to the door catch to release it from the inside of the car by removing I'm assuming the door paneling? If so are there any instructions on how to remove the door paneling?

 

I'm really hoping someone can help talk me through what to do as I was recently made redundant and can't afford to take it to the dealer and constantly 'bum hopping' over the gear stick area from seat to seat to get in and out of my car is starting to take it's toll on my back and doesn't look good when you turn up for an interview! (Don't laugh :P)

 

Many thanks in advance and hope some of you technical geniuses out there can help talk me through what I need to do next!!

 

Rach x

 

2003 Ford Galaxy Mk II 2.3 Petrol

Edited March 4, 2014 by R4CH

[gregers]

im sure somewhere on here there are instructions on how to remove the door card,have you tried looking in our faqs found in the technical part of the forum?

 

iirc there are a couple of screws on the handle and 1 on the lever?once the lever is lose remove the cable/knuckle from it,also be aware there will be a small cable going to the red light on the door card,this will need to be unclipped,then once all screws are removed you should be able to slide the card upwards,then you should find a plastic liner stuck onto the door gently remove this and then you can gain access to the innards of the door.

[BrianH]

Hi guy's, really hoping someone can help me with some advice pretty please!

 

Last weekend all my doors and electric windows stopped working so I dived on to these ever so helpful forums to discover the problem might be with the electric wiring in the drivers door loom.

 

Sure enough it was, a severed cable jumped out at me immediatley so after some struggling I taped it back up (it must have happened before with the previous owner as cables were taped up) and everything was fine again. I did sttruggle though as there wasn't much give in the wiring and I thought that the taping up may only last a while before I had the problem again.

 

Sure enough I now can't use my driver's side door at all, it won't open with either the key or central locking fob and feels like the door catch has 'stuck on' meaning I can't get in or out of my car using the driver's side door :*(

 

I tried disconnecting the battery off for a while but that didn't release the door so I figure it has to be something to do with the door catch itself? If the door wires have broken again could the door catch now be stuck on and that's why my door won't open?

 

I've tried wiggling the key in the drivers door continually for 5 minutes and that did nothing so I don't know what else I can try next.

 

Is there a way (hopefully easy enough) of somehow getting access to the door catch to release it from the inside of the car by removing I'm assuming the door paneling? If so are there any instructions on how to remove the door paneling?

 

I'm really hoping someone can help talk me through what to do as I was recently made redundant and can't afford to take it to the dealer and constantly 'bum hopping' over the gear stick area from seat to seat to get in and out of my car is starting to take it's toll on my back and doesn't look good when you turn up for an interview! (Don't laugh :P)

 

Many thanks in advance and hope some of you technical geniuses out there can help talk me through what I need to do next!!

 

Rach x

 

2003 Ford Galaxy Mk II 2.3 Petrol

 

The door latch is held in place by 3 screws on the side of the door (only accessible when the door is open). Your best bet might be to try and remove the door card (afaik its held with a single screw near the door handle on the inside) and pop the rest of the clips off (they are bound to break so be prepared to replace some of them if you decide to go down this route). I suspect whats happened is the door lock has got itself into the deadlock setting and now you can't get it back out of that setting. You may not be able to get the card out without either damaging it or removing the drivers seat first.

 

If you can gain access to the inside of the door you may be able to find a broken wire again in the gaiter, but i suspect you may struggle to get to it down to the door being closed and the gaiter being compressed making access a bit difficult.

 

 

What does your key do in the lock? does it just keep turning round or just won't turn at all or not as much as you expect?

 

If you look on the passenger door you should be able to see what holds the lock in place (look around the area with the slot for the door latch).

[R4CH]

Thanks for the reply Brian, when I turn the key in the driver's door it turns as normal and feels no different. It still locks and unlocks all the other doors but not the drivers door.

 

The electric windows on all doors have stopped working again now too so this must be a problem with the door loom wiring again surely?

 

I think you're right in that the door lock has got itself into the deadlock setting but why can't turning the key in the lock fix this? Since I taped up the damaged wires in the door loom last weekend I've only ever used the key fob to unlock the doors. Is there no other way to get a door out of the 'deadlock' setting?

 

I've had to hop over the passenger seat no fewer than 24 times today in total and this problem is really starting to wear me down now.

 

I'm not sure if a call to the RAC might be a good idea? Are they likely to have one of those slim-jim device's that they could use to slide down the side of the window to release the door catch?

 

I really don't fancy taking the door apart myself as I don't want to make matters worse, especially as I really don't know what I'm doing.

 

Any recommendations on the type of tradesperson I need to take a look at this, a lock smith, an auto-electrician etc? Help!

 

Thanks again for the replies, your time and help is really very much appreciated x

[insanitybeard]

As Brian said above, your problem is that trying to get the door card off with the door shut and the driver's seat still installed is going to be a nightmare, you'll have very little room to work plus the dash itself is going to get in the way, if you can get the door card off at all with the door shut I'm sure it'll involve being brutal with it. Not an easy solution unfortunately, unless you can open up access to any of the latch retaining screws on the drivers door by either opening the driver's side rear door or even taking said door off, which is an option if the other door locks are still working.

 

I take it the inside handle on the driver's door isn't doing anything either?

Edited March 4, 2014 by insanitybeard

[R4CH]

The driver's door handle from the inside is pulled in like they appear when they are in the 'lock' poition, if I try to pull on it to try to make it unlock it just does nothing unfortunately no matter how much force I put on it.

[BrianH]

If the window has stopped working that wire has probabbly come apart again. I suspect if you can get to it somewhere and reconnect it you should be able to get the door lock working though there is no guarantee.

 

Start by seeing if you can find another door card for the door - if you can then hacking it off becomes an option. Even if you get the card its going to make it cheaper to get someone else to deal with it than if they have to get one for you. Its going to be difficult though as the cables will be obscured by the dash.

 

from what you describe the dead lock seems to be active which stops the internal handle unlocking the door -- i've seen this on other cars but not the galaxy so maybe someone else can confirm it has one? If so the only options really are get the catch working again, or break the catch off.

 

You could try the rac but tbh since you can get into the car i suspect they will be limited to taking you to a garage to get it sorted.

[insanitybeard]

Having just looked at my Galaxy, with the rear door open you can certainly see all but one of the driver's door latch retaining bolts, crucially you can also see the bolt that holds the lock cylinder & surround in place and also an access hole that lets you see/ remove a retaining bolt for the linkage rods that operate the driver's door latch from the handle. I'm not sure if you'll be able to access it that well without removing the rear door, and if the latch is jammed in deadlock position it may not help anyway but it's worth a look......

[R4CH]

OK guys I gave the RAC a ring and they guy came out within 45 minutes which I thought was good. I told him the problem and like others have mentioned he said that it would probably mean ripping the door card off and as a garage was likely to charge

[BrianH]

OK guys I gave the RAC a ring and they guy came out within 45 minutes which I thought was good. I told him the problem and like others have mentioned he said that it would probably mean ripping the door card off and as a garage was likely to charge

[R4CH]

Thanks for that Brian, I'm truly grateful for all the help that's been offered on these forums.

 

I'll call an auto electrician to get a quote on how much repairing the door loom wiring is likely to cost, fingers crossed not to much I hope as it can't be a lengthy procedure can it?

 

Anything has got to be better than the quick 'slap some black insulation tape around it' fix that I just barely managed to get around the severed cable due to their being no give whatsoever with the movement of the cables.

 

I'm still chuffed that I can get in and out of the car using the drivers door as I had envisaged at this rate that I was going to end up climbing in through the boot! :)

[BrianH]

Hard to say - but thats the point of getting a quote. if you know whats involved you should have an idea if the quote is reasonable or not!

[chromedome]

When repairing the wiring you really need to insert extra lengths of wire. Just joining the two ends together makes it shorter and puts more strain on the wiring. Cables being a bit short is the main cause of these problems. Manufactures saving little bits of wire on thousands of vehicles is a big saving.

 

It's a shame you are not closer, I'm a dab hand at soldering.................