R
Resfeber
VIP Member
This may be of interest.
Out of the blue found that when the sliding door was latched in the fully open position, the internal handle had stopped being able to release the latch/hook at the bottom roller arm.
Removing the cover revealed that the external handle operated the release cable for the latch but the internal handle only moved the latch cable a mm.
Clearly the cable was still attached but what had gone wrong?
Even though the van is under warranty, a 300 mile round trip to the dealer some time whenever didn’t seem an option if the solution was to reposition an actuating cable or reconnect it.
So to work on removing the door card.
4 x Torx20 bolts in the bottom lip where the table sits need to be removed then the 16 trim clips pried loose. (5 gave out but Halfords trim clips worked as suitable replacements.
Once inside it was clear what had caused the failure. The Bowden cable for the inner handle had slipped out of its anchor block for the outer cable resulting in the whole cable moving instead of the inner braided cable that should move to activate the latch release.
Should have been a simple fix apart from
1) Access is tight where the cable seats in the anchor block.
2) The cable route means that the cable needs disconnected to allow it to be moved and aligned to the anchor block, so a simple tool needed to be made using 3mm aluminium rod.
Hopefully these images help with the explanation.
1 Bottom roller with latching hook & actuator
2 Door card removal (4 T20 bolts first) then pry open trim clips from bottom and work up each side.
3 Access to door internals
4 Link block for internal and external handle cables to act on the latch/hook release.
The inner handle cable can be detached here to allow easier positioning/alignment at the other end where the anchor block needs the cable reseated.
5 Anchor block for the inner handle release cable. NB the black shaped end has to sit completely in this block and needs some force to snap it in. I had to make a hooked tool to help move the cable in to position, orientate it and pull downwards to snap the cable back in to the anchor block.
6 Here is the one I made
Reconnect the other end of the cable into the shared connector for inner and external latch release cables.(photo 4)
Check that both inner and outer handles operate as normal before starting to re-assemble.
In my case, I also had to reposition the cable as it had been installed (when the vehicle was built) over the external release cable.
The operation of the external release had levered the inner cable out of its anchor block. Photo at 5 shows it reposition UNDER the external cable.
Refixing of the card starts at the window where there are a series of metal clips that the top of the card slides into.
Work down the sides and then across the table recess and check that the table latch has seated correctly in the door card handle and operates.
7 Table latch in door
8 Operating lug in the door card for table latch release handle that must sit UNDER the metal latch in the door ( shown above )
See part 2 next
Out of the blue found that when the sliding door was latched in the fully open position, the internal handle had stopped being able to release the latch/hook at the bottom roller arm.
Removing the cover revealed that the external handle operated the release cable for the latch but the internal handle only moved the latch cable a mm.
Clearly the cable was still attached but what had gone wrong?
Even though the van is under warranty, a 300 mile round trip to the dealer some time whenever didn’t seem an option if the solution was to reposition an actuating cable or reconnect it.
So to work on removing the door card.
4 x Torx20 bolts in the bottom lip where the table sits need to be removed then the 16 trim clips pried loose. (5 gave out but Halfords trim clips worked as suitable replacements.
Once inside it was clear what had caused the failure. The Bowden cable for the inner handle had slipped out of its anchor block for the outer cable resulting in the whole cable moving instead of the inner braided cable that should move to activate the latch release.
Should have been a simple fix apart from
1) Access is tight where the cable seats in the anchor block.
2) The cable route means that the cable needs disconnected to allow it to be moved and aligned to the anchor block, so a simple tool needed to be made using 3mm aluminium rod.
Hopefully these images help with the explanation.
1 Bottom roller with latching hook & actuator
2 Door card removal (4 T20 bolts first) then pry open trim clips from bottom and work up each side.
3 Access to door internals
4 Link block for internal and external handle cables to act on the latch/hook release.
The inner handle cable can be detached here to allow easier positioning/alignment at the other end where the anchor block needs the cable reseated.
5 Anchor block for the inner handle release cable. NB the black shaped end has to sit completely in this block and needs some force to snap it in. I had to make a hooked tool to help move the cable in to position, orientate it and pull downwards to snap the cable back in to the anchor block.
6 Here is the one I made
Reconnect the other end of the cable into the shared connector for inner and external latch release cables.(photo 4)
Check that both inner and outer handles operate as normal before starting to re-assemble.
In my case, I also had to reposition the cable as it had been installed (when the vehicle was built) over the external release cable.
The operation of the external release had levered the inner cable out of its anchor block. Photo at 5 shows it reposition UNDER the external cable.
Refixing of the card starts at the window where there are a series of metal clips that the top of the card slides into.
Work down the sides and then across the table recess and check that the table latch has seated correctly in the door card handle and operates.
7 Table latch in door
8 Operating lug in the door card for table latch release handle that must sit UNDER the metal latch in the door ( shown above )
See part 2 next
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