QPV Door won't shut

Alan Surrey

Alan Surrey

Member
Messages
1,156
2008 Quattroporte
The offside rear passenger door can be swung closed perfectly but the latch won't catch to hold it there. The car alarm tends to go off and annoy the neighbours and I can't drive the car anywhere for fear of the door swinging open on its own.
I recently had to use the mechanical door release lever in the door handle (rather than the usual, rather nice, electrical microswitch) to open the door and the mechanical lever has jammed in the "open" position, so it seems reasonable that the catch won't hold the door closed. A good squirt of WD40 to the lever half an hour ago has yet to make any difference.
Any suggestions? I really need to get this door latched closed.

By way of background....
I've had battery trouble, so I disconnected the battery for a few days and charged it at 11Amps for a few hours here and a few hours there. The chap comes tomorrow with a new battery and I've managed to get enough charge into the old one to start the car and move it to a good place for him to work on it tomorrow.
Along the way, with the battery disconnected from the car and on my 11A charger, I needed to get into the back. That's why I used the mechanical door release....
I've reset the body computer by locking and unlocking from the key fob and the boot now opens, closes, locks and unlocks properly. The driver's door opens properly via the microswitch in the handle. So all seems ok except for the offside rear mechanical door release,

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CatmanV2

CatmanV2

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52,112
If I recall, the link rods in the door can snap / come loose. I suspect that's what's happened here.

C
 
Tallman

Tallman

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2,286
Give it a try again once the new battery is in, I wouldn’t be surprised if that would sort it. You can always still take the door card off later to inspect the mechanism if the new battery doesn’t sort it.
 
gb-gta

gb-gta

Member
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1,235
This has happened to me. It’s just lack of use I think of the mechanical option. If you can, just use something to push the mech button back, it’s quite tricky getting something to grip it enough to push it back, but that’s all I did.

It probably makes sense to use all 4 every now and again to stop them getting stuck to keep them free moving.
 
Zep

Zep

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9,835
I think the handle is where you need to lube, but likely as not, you’ll need to take the door card off.
 
jebroni

jebroni

Member
Messages
160
I had this on my drivers door a couple of weeks ago after I forgot to switch on trickle charger.
Micro switches not working & drivers door would not catch.
boot lid wasn’t shut properly & this was my issue as I couldn’t calibrate key remote to car.
 
DLax69

DLax69

Member
Messages
6,118
Can attest that the battery going caused similar havoc with mine, where only the mechanical would open a couple of doors. Did you already try & push the latch back out of the way...?
 
Alan Surrey

Alan Surrey

Member
Messages
1,156
So, an update then.
The door now shuts, latches shut and can be opened again by using the mechanical door release button in the handle. So the job, as originally specified, is complete. And there is WD40 around all four mechanical door release buttons in the handles. They all operate very smoothly now. All that remains are the "while I'm in there, I'll just..." items. These are:
1) Making new waterproof membranes for the door.
I've done this before, very successfully, using a roll of the material they use as underlay for wood flooring in your lounge. If you fancy replacing yours, take care to remove the old membrane in one piece (it will want to come off in several pieces, so have some gaffer tape to hand to effect repairs at once. Don't wait until you have half a dozen random shaped pieces of membrane.) Now that the membrane is off and in one piece, hold the it against the door. Is it actually the best shape? Typically it could do with a bit of extra width here, a deeper scallop there. Bear it in mind. Now use the old membrane as a template. Tape it in place with masking tape to stop it moving. Draw round it with a marker pen to get the right shape on the underlay. This is where you get to add the extra width and scallops. A pair of scissors and its done. Fix it into place on the door with hot melt glue.
2) Replacing the broken stud fittings. Please HELP.
The door card is held in place on the door with a number of black plastic serrated studs. I've bent one and and some stage in the life of the car a couple have been lost so I want to buy and fit new ones.
Where can I buy them? It would be nice to go to a fairly nearby shop and come home with them rather than having to wait for delivery from an online entity.
What are they called? and,
Do they come in different sizes?
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Scaf

Scaf

Member
Messages
7,236
Glad you have it sorted.

Halfords do various trim / panel slips and plugs, or take one to your local motor factors
 
Alan Surrey

Alan Surrey

Member
Messages
1,156
Nipped out to Halfords (thanks Scaf) and found they have similar but not identical fir tree clips for holding the door card in place. So I'll try online now. Thanks for the link Zep.
Meanwhile I've fitted my new, hand crafted and actually rather lovely inner (of the two) waterproof membranes. I've reinforced the cut outs with gaffer tape to stop the cut spreading, just in case. Hand crafting the big one this evening.

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