changed door cable but still not opening

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dougalf1

Member
Hi, I just got my car last week and the first job was to change the passenger door outside handle Bowden cable. Thanks to all on the forum for the guides it went OK though I forgot to disconnect the battery before removing the airbag so the airbag light is now on. Will sort that at my local garage.

However the main problem is the the new cable isn't working either. It feels like its stretching like the old one. Any ideas what else could be affecting it? The inner handle works fine so I'm not suspecting the latch mechanism.
 
Is the cable secure on both ends? Sounds daft but the cable only works if the tension clips are securely seated, otherwise the cable just moves, rather than pulling the mechanism.

I know, not very clear but if you look at the two ends of where the cables attach, one is a plastic plug that can't really go wrong as it's either fitted or not, the other has a ball notch like on an old pedal bike brake, that needs securing to allow the handle to pull the inner metal cable and move the door mech rather than the whole cable just flop around.
 
Thanks for the reply, yes its connected and the lever works fine when its cold but as soon as the sun gets on that side it goes all stretchy. I thought about added a washer to effectively shorten the cable but that sounds like I could put too much tension on it. Plus its a new cable which makes me think something else is wrong. Perhaps I should just park in the shade :tumbleweed:
 
Weird.

Best 'bad' pic I could find to explain what I meant.

ne6y2yry.jpg

So if it cools down it works again?
 
I've had this same problem.....Leave the car in the sun on a hot day and the drivers door wont open from the outside. Cools down and it works perfectly....very weird. Luckily we don't get many hot days up north. I checked my cable and its all seated correctly...

Only happens now and again so have put up with it...Bizarre !!!! :headbang:
 
T2FFN said:
Weird.

Best 'bad' pic I could find to explain what I meant.

So if it cools down it works again?
Click to expand...

Yep when it cools down it works (but still feels a bit squidgy compared to the drivers side).

Thanks for the picture, it looks different to the set up on my 2003 2.5. The top end circular retaining rod on the cable end (that you say twist to release) is horizontal and seats in a different formation than the one you have shown.

I'll take it apart one more time and see if I've missed anything, I cant work out how the handle mechanism pulls on the cable for instance. I took the handle off and its just got what looks like a rail that must push down on something when you lift it. I'm wandering if the issue is in that bit that I'm not understanding.
That said when its warm it does just feel like the new cable is made of spaghetti.
 
Sorry should've stated that was just any old pic off google, to demo the notch in the cable. No other ideas I'm afraid. Good luck.
 
I took it all apart again last night, including the latching mechanism. I've taken pictures of the complete mechanism and will post them as soon as I work out how. I packed out any play in the cable system using soldering wire (its soft and easy to roll around the cable and fit in the smaller gaps) and one of those twin forked electrical connectors (it''l l make sense when I post the pictures) as I couldn't find washers small enough to fit.

It feels much more direct now, no slack when I pull up the handle. I've left it out in the sun today so will see if it works.
Also got my local garage to reset the airbag light, fingers crossed it stays off.
 
This post has lots of posts on how to get to strip the door and get to the lock mechanism
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&p=736903

And this tells you how to take the outer door handle off. You need to do this to disconnect the top end of the cable (circled in the photo below). It sounds worse than it is you just need to be able to push the brass coloured rod.
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=10075

Here is a picture of where I packed out where the cable clips in with an electrical connector.
SAM_0088.jpg

The circled bit is where I coiled soldering wire around the cable mounting point to pack it out. You're trying to essentially extend the length of the cable and take out slack in the system. In total its only a couple of mm but seems to make the difference.
IMG_20140726_160144.jpg
 
Glad to have found this thread. I've had the same symptoms over the Summer. If I park in the sun on a hot day I'm left opening my driver's door from the passenger side.

Anyhoo ... I'll take it all apart someday over the Winter to sort things out...

Regards,

Brian
 
Is there a module that tells the window to lower when the handles are pulled? Mine is being problematic, I was hoping the striking panel was out of alignment, easier fix.
 
Just a quick follow-up on this. I dug in a few weeks ago and although not replacing the cable (which I know should be replaced) went the cheap-fix route and cleaned/lubed the latch mech. Seems to have helped as there was a lot of dirt and dried grease in there. This can be done without removing a single part. Just open the door and take a good close look with a flashlight at the latch. I used several Q-Tip swabs soaked with degreaser/alcohol, then switched to a lightweight teflon lube.

It helps to continually, and manually actuate the latch, then release. Clean, repeat. Just sliding the down toward the bottom and pressing toward the outside of the door cleans/lubes the lower latch plate that the pivoting latch makes contact with. Hope that makes sense.

Incidentally cleaning/lubing my hood (bonnet) latch had excellent results too. It was quite stiff prior ... but no more. All this friction might lead up to the stretched cable symptom to begin with, so a little preventative maintenance would be a good thing. :thumbsup:
 
Friction is engineers worst enemy... Most of the time. I done the same on my door, hadn't cleaned it but sprayed shed loads of Teflon lube in there and has helped a bit. Aim to give it a good going over next year.

Never understood the, it's not working replace it attitude.
 
I did post on the original read that the issue was most likely to be the latch mechanism.

I've had the same issue on almost all of BMs over the years, a thorough clean, lube and continuous maintenance sees them good as new. It COULD be a cable issue, but why strip everything out without trying the easy bits first.
 
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