SOLVED - FL1 - rear door latch release.

Hi all,
A family owned FL1 for the past 20+ years, now owned by my niece, I've got the job of fixing the tailgate which has been jammed shut since Christmas time.

I had a look at the problem the other day and got as far as finding out the latch lever had disconnected from the actuator within the back door.

So, a tug down on the connecting rod should release the latch, but no matter what it still won't open.
Even with the door pushed in to release some pressure it still won't open.

I can only assume the internals of the latch have failed meaning no amount of pulling will make it release.

Does anyone have any idea on how to release that latch to get the door open?

Hi - I need to tackle a similar issue myself, any updates you get would be appreciated however can you tell me how you removed the tailgate interior door card for access to the internals with the door stuck shut please? Mine is 2004 facelift which I think has 4 screws but they’re under the door

4 screws along the bottom edge all nearer to the latch side. You have to feel for them, and they are angled downwards.
Once unscrewed pull the bottom of the card until it's free, then lift up and over the hooks on the top of the door.

joel4507 said:

Hi - I need to tackle a similar issue myself, any updates you get would be appreciated however can you tell me how you removed the tailgate interior door card for access to the internals with the door stuck shut please? Mine is 2004 facelift which I think has 4 screws but they’re under the door

Click to expand...

Once you've got the door panel off there's a plastic cover which houses the actuator and latch.
There's 2 visible and accessible torx screws to remove, but the cover still won't come off, I had to bend ours up to gain access to the actuator.

Nobody?
Then power tools and big hammer is all I can think of.

I've only ever been inside the rear door to replace the window mechanism.

I suppose if the latch is seized then that would explain why the rod broke.

Looking at your pic, it does not look like the lever on the latch is in a position where it could connect to the actuator, it would need to be pushed away from it to connect even when the actuator is fully pushed in.

Looking at this pic...



It looks like (and I'm assuming here) that the lever on the latch the rod connects to, in normal closed position, would be tucked away inside the latch mech. When the actuator opens the door, it pulls it out.

So from your pic it looks like the lever has been over extended in the open direction.

Have you tried pushing the lever as far in to the latch mech and then pulling it out again?

Hi, and thanks for your input.
Yes, the rod does seem to extend down further than it should.
Once inside the door, and after seeing the rod was disconnected, I did pull on it to try and release the door, but to no avail.
I'm not sure of it's position before I pulled, and I'm not sure if my strength alone would have made it disconnect internally, but this is what I'm left with.

I had ordered a whole new latch/actuator set up, like what is in your picture, and that has arrived today. My niece isn't free until Sunday and that's when I plan to have another look.

I just don't see a way of opening the door if the latch mechanism is jammed shut, other than destroying it in situ somehow.
The only other thought was the stay part that the latch part clips onto, could that be removed by accessing behind the rear side panel?

Maybe get someone to push on the door as you try to release it.

Thanks, yes I tried that already.
With the window right down I pulled on the door to try and release some pressure, but no joy.

The new assembly has arrived, exactly the one GrumpyGel shows in his pic above, and I've removed the plastic to see the latch a little better.
There's no obvious sign of any way to release the latch on the outside of the metal casing, so preparing for some damage.

Had a message yesterday saying the driver's door lock is not accepting the key now, so got that to look at too.
Hopefully it will then be 2 doors fixed, but another possible 3 to go!

Another thought....
Does anyone know what the microswitch inside the latch does?

On the plastic casing as shown above, there is a connection at the bottom which is for the actuator, but there's a second connection which goes off inside the metal casing of the latch.

I just wonder if it's moving something inside the latch (moving it to a locked state), hence making it impossible to open by pulling the rod?
Unless it's just for "informing" the ecu the door is open/closed?

John_l_k said:

Another thought....
Does anyone know what the microswitch inside the latch does?

On the plastic casing as shown above, there is a connection at the bottom which is for the actuator, but there's a second connection which goes off inside the metal casing of the latch.

I just wonder if it's moving something inside the latch (moving it to a locked state), hence making it impossible to open by pulling the rod?
Unless it's just for "informing" the ecu the door is open/closed?

Click to expand...

We had a brand new campervan out on its first hire a couple of weeks ago. Basically a LDV Deliver9 cargo/courier van with windows fitted into the sides and fitted out as a camper.

On the 2nd day the sliding door on the side of the van (ie main entry/exit from the camper) stopped opening from the inside handle. It would still open from the outside handle. Customers had to walk through to the front seats and get out the front doors to open the main door.

It went into a garage - they couldn't fix it. So we paid their fuel to drive the 250 miles down to our depot here in Christchurch for our mechanic to have a look at it. It turns out there is a 'child lock' type lever on the latch that had shifted. Flicked it over and everything was working again.

I know the F1 can only be opened from the outside - but its a pretty strange and weird setup that the handle is only a switch that talks to the computer under the dash which then pulls a solenoid to open the latch - so its possible that latch is from some "parts bin" and the solenoid pulls on the inside handle lever - which may be disabled by a lever somewhere on the latch.

The lever on this Deliver9 is a tiny little thing that unless you looked closely you would not know was there. Can you see anything like that on the new unit (as its out of the vehicle and you can have a good look at it.

Incidentally, on our older 3 berth LDV V80 based campers that have 3 seats across the front, you cant walk between the seats obviously, so the company designed the camper so that the kitchen units cross behind the seats right up to the sliding door and obstruct the handle to open it. So a switch is fitted on the B pillar that fires a solenoid we bolt inside the door that pushes the rod connecting the handle to the latch (actually there's 2 solenoids fitted for extra oomph). Very similar to a F1 rear door without the computer getting involved! Causes me all sorts of grief in my job because I have to fix them and they fail quite often - usually the door/pillar contacts that the wire connections are made with, but also faulty solenoids, and wiring inside the door, fuses, the switch - basically anything that can go wrong... does.

WD40 for the drivers door key.

The microswitch tells the car the door is open or closed.
I've only been in that area once but I found it relatively easy to open the door by either pulling or pushing (sorry I can't remember which).
I've never heard of them seizing before so I'm wondering was there something in the way of the door and it was forced closed. In that case it will take a hefty shove from the outside to release it.

Thanks again for the help and pointers, I appreciate any contribution.

I've taken some pics of the latch itself, one shows the side. I won't have access to, the rest are facing the way I will see tomorrow....

1st, the "wrong" side...



Close up...

Then the side I will see.....



Close up....




Then some from around the sides.....




No "quick release" that I can make out.

And thanks for the wd40 for the driver's door barrel tip, she said she's already soaked it so I'll find out tomorrow if it's done the trick.

Ok, so the 'jaws' of the latch (that hold the bar on the body) are not connected to that rod that the actuator pulls.

The jaws rotates by itself, It is pushed around by meeting the bar as the door is closed. When the jaws are pushed around far enough (ie when the bar can be held by it), a spung clip/rod must catch on it to stop it returning and releasing the bar.

The lever that the solenoid pulls releases that sprung clip/rod to allow the jaws to then rotate back (on a spring?) and release the bar (thus allowing the door to open).

Looking at your original pics and comparing that to the new ones, it very much looks like the lever the solenoid pulls has become detatched from (what ever is) the clip/rod that stops the jaws from moving.

If it has become detached by something breaking, then I'd say you've got no chance of allowing the jaws to release the bar - short of "destroying it in situ somehow"! If its come loose because something has over extended or something, then you may be able to wiggle that lever back in to pull on the clip/rod (what ever it is).

You can tell I don't know much about how these work! ...and anything I've written is not advice... its guess work.

Alternatively, a lock smith's bill (who may know exactly where to drill!) may be less of a cost, to both your wallet, knuckles and mental wellbeing in the long run

I found a YouTube video showing someone dismantling the latch. His problem was that his rear door would not stay shut.
It shows the internals of the latch, springs and all.
I'm posting it for reference, and in case anyone else has this problem....

Did you get the back story to this fault?
Before it jammed was it hard to close? Was she having to slam it to get it to close? Was it opening easily? Did it spring open fiercely when she opened it.
There might be a clue here that will help get it open.

Like I said before, I've never heard of the latch seizing although I guess it's not impossible but I'd be looking else where first.

Is the solenoid still operating when you lift the handle? If so maybe try to use it somehow as it will be stronger than your fingers.

John_l_k said:

I found a YouTube video showing someone dismantling the latch. His problem was that his rear door would not stay shut.
It shows the internals of the latch, springs and all.
I'm posting it for reference, and in case anyone else has this problem....

Click to expand...

Nice video.

So, it look like you have to rotate the piece he has between his fingers in this pic (anti clockwise in this pic)...



You might be able to do it by poking something up from where the rod to the solenoid goes (maybe remove the solenoid for access).

It looks like that solenoid would have pulled, so there must be some pivot on that arm, because what it is working on needs to be pushed.

In fact I think you can see it in 1 of your pics, arrowed here...



It looks as though it will be at the top, so near the window and possibly not accessible - unless you remove the window and rubbers? Maybe, you can get something round the side of it, once again, from the solenoid area.

If the latch was operating before, presumably it can't be seized to much because they are only little springs in the video. Mind you seizing maybe why the arm the rod connects to has broken free!