Re: Door latch problem

So when the weather gets dry, I have this issue with the passenger door. The first signal is the red light on the door lock button on the dash. The 2nd signal is that when I unlock my car it will beep twice. Finally, if the top is up and my window is up, it won't drop down when I start to pull on the handle. I'm 99% sure it is the switch in the door latch.

I pulled the negative terminal on the battery and got the door cover off. I'm down to the 2 screws on the outside of the door that will release the latch. However, I can't figure out how to disconnect the mechanism that goes from the door latch to the outside handle. Any tips? Any other thoughts?

Also, with the negative terminal disconnected, I'm assuming it is ok to disconnect the door air bag and then remove it so I don't bump into it and damage it.

Thanks.

Greg
1999 Boxster

Quote
Greg
So when the weather gets dry, I have this issue with the passenger door. The first signal is the red light on the door lock button on the dash. The 2nd signal is that when I unlock my car it will beep twice. Finally, if the top is up and my window is up, it won't drop down when I start to pull on the handle. I'm 99% sure it is the switch in the door latch.

I pulled the negative terminal on the battery and got the door cover off. I'm down to the 2 screws on the outside of the door that will release the latch. However, I can't figure out how to disconnect the mechanism that goes from the door latch to the outside handle. Any tips? Any other thoughts?

Also, with the negative terminal disconnected, I'm assuming it is ok to disconnect the door air bag and then remove it so I don't bump into it and damage it.

Thanks.

When the door latch switch (or the handle switch) on my driver's side door went bad the window would fail to drop when I opened the door.

In fact, if you gently pull either the outside or inside door handle but the outside handle seems easier to be gentle with but do not pull the door open the window should drop.

When you lift (but do not pull the door open) the handle switch signals the window to drop and of course the window should drop.

Then when you pull open the door and release the door handle the door latch switch will prevent the window from going up as you release the door handle.

Only after you have closed the door does the door latch signal the window should raise.

This works the same with either the outside or inside handle and either door.

Based on the behavior you describe: the LED on and the horn beeping, these are very similar to the symptoms my Boxster had when what proved to be a the big door lock assembly was bad.

The tech hooked up the diagnostics computer and queried the security system and tried some things and confirmed it was the big door latch assembly and not one of the smaller switches/sensors.

I was not there to watch how the tech gained access to the door innards and how he replaced the hardware.

Some time later the driver's side window would fail to go down and it was the door latch and its switch.

Then just a few months ago one of the windows -- driver's side IIRC -- would barely lower and upon door disassembly the window raise/lower system was worn out. The tech reported the assembly fell apart as he was removing it.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Marc,

Thanks for the reply. When the door is malfunctioning, neither the inside handle nor the outside handle with drop the window. A couple of times someone has opened it forcing the window out of the groove in the convertible top. How it didn't break the window, I don't know. The window would still stay up and not drop. The only way to close the door would be to lower it with the window switch in the center console and then close the door.

When you say "door lock assembly" I think you mean the same part that I refer to the latch. I'm not referring to either handle but instead the part that grabs and holds the door closed.

Greg
1999 Boxster

Quote
Greg
Marc,

Thanks for the reply. When the door is malfunctioning, neither the inside handle nor the outside handle with drop the window. A couple of times someone has opened it forcing the window out of the groove in the convertible top. How it didn't break the window, I don't know. The window would still stay up and not drop. The only way to close the door would be to lower it with the window switch in the center console and then close the door.

When you say "door lock assembly" I think you mean the same part that I refer to the latch. I'm not referring to either handle but instead the part that grabs and holds the door closed.

and a window raise/lower failure I might have confused you.

The door locked LED coming on at random times, the horn sounding for no apparent reason when locking the car, and the (in my car's case passenger) window not dropping when the door was opened or worse coming right back up again once the door was opened, proved to be due to a bad door lock assembly.

This door lock assembly is not the same thing as the door latch that secures the door closed to the body nor it is directly part of the door handles but a rather large (and unfortunately rather expensive) assembly/housing (basically a big old aluminum box -- I think I have a pic somewhere of this thing) that has a lot of the door handle and door latch and door window and door lock smarts, but not all of them.

The inner and outer door handles have their switches and interlocks and the door latches -- the part that does secure the door to the body when the door is closed -- have their switches and interlocks but they are all tied together and tied to the security system by the door lock assembly.

That this door lock assembly was bad -- though at the time I had not connected the dots -- was signaled by the dash door lock LED coming on at various random times and upon occasion the horn sounding when I locked the car. Save for a few exceptions upon checking I would find nothing ajar, like the center console. But by habit I would either open/close center console lid or open/close the rear trunk lid and almost invariably the doors would then lock with no horn sound, so for a long time I assumed the problem was a marginal/intermittent console or rear trunk lid switch.

But when the symptom of the passenger window not dropping began to appear and then way too frequently for my comfort and had me concerned a passenger would break the passenger side window I finally took the car in and upon diagnosis with the PST2 diagnostics computer the tech id'd the problem was with the door lock assembly and he was right for after it was replaced and the security error codes cleared and the security system checked, no more errors popped up.

I might add before I took the car in the symptoms had me checking the cabin carpets and doors for signs of water intrusion. Thankfully though the car's interior and doors have remained water free.

Now subsequently the driver's side door latch failed which is why the driver's window would lower as I lifted the handle but then raise as soon as I had opened the door and released the handle. The switch in the door latch was failing to register the door was open. The door handle was working ok for the window would drop as soon as I lifted up on the door handle and remain down as long as I kept the handle lifted and yet left the door closed.

Then the driver's side window raise/lower mechanism just wore out.

But the biggie, the door lock assembly, accounted for the door lock LED and horn behavior I mentioned above and then the passenger window not going down when the door was opened, or worse going down ok when the door was initially opened then coming right back up again after the door had been opened. It is bad enough (at least it sounds bad and feels bad too I might add) opening a Boxster door when the window fails to lower, but you ain't heard nothing until you try to close a door with the window up. The few times this happened to me, or happened to my passenger when I was near or in the car... I flinched expecting to be showered with fragments of a busted passenger window. The window never broke or even cracked or chipped. Tough windows.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Well, Marc, you've got me convinced that you could be correct. Do you have a rough guess where the door lock mechanism is located? Is it attached to the latch? If you have a picture of it, that would be very, very helpful. Also, I'm assuming both doors have their own lock mechanisms, right?

Yes, closing the door when the window has not lowered does scare the crap out of the passenger!

Greg
1999 Boxster

Marc,
Are you talking about part 14 on this page: [www.autoatlanta.com]

the car, the passenger window failing to go down when the door opened or worse going down but going up again after the door had been opened, it was part #14 that was replaced.

MarcW.

You're correct.
It's the door mechanism.
You do not need to disconnect the battery nor the airbag.
You need the battery on to be able to move the window and operate the locks.
After you remove the door panel, raise the window up all the way.
Remove the four 10 mm hex bolts that hold the airbag.
Fashion a little support from wire in the form of an "S" and hang the airbag from the door.
Peel back the plastic material to completely open where the airbag used to be.
You can now insert your arm and disconnect the connector on the mechanism.
Now you can remove the two screws that hold the mechanism to the door.
You'll need a triple square bit not a torx or a hex.
After the screws are out you can just wiggle the mechanism out.
The trick is putting the new one back in since you will have to attach the outside lock actuator and the outside latch by feel only.
Good luck.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Pedro,

I've peeled back the liner and gotten my hands in there and looked around. I see where the mechanism connects to the outside handle. However, I can't figure out how that disconnects. Any help?

Greg
1999 Boxster

Once you remove the two screws and disconnect the connector just remove it.
The latch and handle connections will just come out by themselves.
Again, the tough to describe part is the reassembly.
You'll have to study the new mechanism to figure out how to reassemble it while connecting the outside latch and lock.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

See this page:
[www.autoatlanta.com]

Am I disconnecting part 9 from 12, removing 9 from the handle or removing 12 from the mechanism? 12 connects to part 14 on this page: [www.autoatlanta.com]

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Ah! When I looked in there, it looked like 9 screwed into 12 but I could only get my hand on it and it wouldn't move too easily.

I had a similar problem last year. I took the inner skin off the door and it turned out that one do the pins in the connector to the door lock actuator was a wee bit loose. The microswitch in my door actuator is also wearing but it's still got a bit of life left in it.

In addition to the lock LED on and horn honking when unlocking. My window would go down the 1/2" when openning the door, but raise again while openning the door, (it thought my door had already shut)

Peter

Quote
Petee_C
I had a similar problem last year. I took the inner skin off the door and it turned out that one do the pins in the connector to the door lock actuator was a wee bit loose. The microswitch in my door actuator is also wearing but it's still got a bit of life left in it.

In addition to the lock LED on and horn honking when unlocking. My window would go down the 1/2" when openning the door, but raise again while openning the door, (it thought my door had already shut)

Peter

Any problems getting the latch and actuator out (assuming they are tied together)? I plan to hit the car again this weekend but last weekend I had trouble determining how the latch disconnected from the bar connecting to the outside door handle.

Greg
1999 Boxster

MarcW,agree with you!!!

"Experience is inevitable in life; learning from it isn't."
door handle
[www.sencart.com]

After I dropped off the car he hooked up the PST2 and queried the car's security system and based on the error codes did some tests and these eliminated the various secondary switches/etc and pointed right at the door lock assembly. He told me he had hoped it would be something else because that is the most expensive piece of hardware in the door. But it was the door lock assembly that was bad.

Now it might be possible that something else might be able to cause the same symptoms. The actions of the tech in taking the time to confirm the door latch assembly was the cause of the symptoms and not something else suggests there might be other possible causes of these symptoms.

So, if one does not make the effort to have the true cause of the symptoms determined then saying what's wrong is just a guess. Since I'm not in a position to work on my cars and throw parts at symptoms I rely upon the tech making a diagnosis. A small diagnostics charge (labor: which has been in every case that I can recall waived) is a small price to pay in my situation to ensure that when the tech does replace something the labor and parts cost is not for naught.

Sincerely,

MarcW.