HOW TO FIX a JK Wrangler interior door handle doesn’t work - WRITE UP

JAGS

Hooked
Well, here’s one for the masses. For a long while my auto door lock wouldn’t work right on the drivers door. Works on the other three doors. Every now and then the lock itself would get jammed up and I’d have to manually and with some force move the interior lock lever to unlocked and locked to get the handle to work.

Long story long, the other day it jammed up. As I was manually getting the lock lever to open and close it finally worked right. Well, with a new problem. The interior handle now does nothing. The lock works again with the fob. And the exterior handle button opens the door.

Any idea on what to fix? I’d obviously have to open up the door inside, but I’m not about to do that before knowing what I might be getting into. Though I dread the expense, is it better to have the dealer look at it??

UPDATE 08/18/18 - Click on the link below to see the FIX and HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF:
https://wayalife.com/showthread.php...ork-WRITE-UP?p=1069460&viewfull=1#post1069460
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
If you don't want to have to pay to have someone fix it, you'll need to remove the interior trim panel and see what's going on. More than likely, you have a bag link bushing.
 

Bierpower

Hooked
It is a pretty simple system. I wouldn't be scared to pull it apart and investigate. It breaks down to a handle, either a rod or cable (not Jeep specific) from there to the latch, and the latch mechanism. The worst part is usually getting the door panel off because of the plastic pins.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

JAGS

Hooked
If you don't want to have to pay to have someone fix it, you'll need to remove the interior trim panel and see what's going on. More than likely, you have a bag link bushing.

Any idea on where I can find a door diagram to know what parts are there and what might be bad when I open it up? Guess it’s a good thing I have jeep #2.

It is a pretty simple system. I wouldn't be scared to pull it apart and investigate. It breaks down to a handle, either a rod or cable (not Jeep specific) from there to the latch, and the latch mechanism. The worst part is usually getting the door panel off because of the plastic pins.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using WAYALIFE mobile app

Happen to know where I can find instructions on opening the door panel?

I can think of 01 Solution:

View attachment 306202

Lol, that’s not too far from what I had to do in the Home Depot parking lot when I arrived and found out the handle didn’t work. Luckily the outside handle worked.
 

Seahawkfan

Hooked
Any idea on where I can find a door diagram to know what parts are there and what might be bad when I open it up? Guess it’s a good thing I have jeep #2.



Happen to know where I can find instructions on opening the door panel?



Lol, that’s not too far from what I had to do in the Home Depot parking lot when I arrived and found out the handle didn’t work. Luckily the outside handle worked.

https://www.quadratec.com/parts/jeep-wrangler-jk-front-full-steel-door-parts Will this help?
 

VeruGE*144

Caught the Bug
There’s a bunch of videos online on how to pop the panels off. Make sure you have plastic pry tools, they help a lot
 

JAGS

Hooked

Nice find. That’s awesome. Thanks.

There’s a bunch of videos online on how to pop the panels off. Make sure you have plastic pry tools, they help a lot

Yeah, I’m sure there are. This literally just happen a couple days ago so haven’t really begun to dig around. Figured I’d ask here in case others have any personal experiences, dos and donts.
 

Bierpower

Hooked
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Here the plastic clips that Eddie was referring to. If that all looks good then you have to open up the door.
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If it comes to that you'll want to roll the window all the way up and put a couple strips of masking tape up the window and over the top of the door to hold the window up. Then just remove the bolts around the black panel, open it up, and check the other end of the cables.

If you have manual windows the crank can be a little tricky. Here's the clip you have to release.
IMG_20180718_201420.jpg
IMG_20180718_201442.jpg

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

JAGS

Hooked
UPDATE: Let the fix begin (2012 with power windows/locks)

Remove the screws to remove plastic door panel. You’ll need an Allen wrench, a T25 and Phillips screwdriver.

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After the 5 screws are removed pull the trim. You’ll need to go around starting from the bottom. Use some force. There are a bunch of plastic fasteners. Once off you’ll want to unplug the electrical connection.

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The culprit.

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Ordered best replacement part I could find in stock and easiest to get. It ended up being slightly different then stock, but decided to still give it a try.

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Push the clip into the handle hole first. Then insert the end of the latch rod end through the clip and into the handle hole. Then make sure the end is pushed into the clip guide. It was a tight fit so I found some pliers to help.

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Checked the latches and it worked! Because the clip wasn’t exactly perfect, I put a couple drops of super glue on the clip guide to help keep things in line. But it was working fine without the super glue.

To put trim back on, make sure the plastic fasteners are on the trim side and not the door side. Some clips needed encouragement to come out of the door. I used the best tools I had available. Probably some trim tools would work great here. Once fasteners are on the trim, align all the clips and start pushing trim back in place. Put back the five screws and you’re done and back to normal.

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Pretty rare issue, but maybe this might help others if they are looking how to fix something with the doors locks/handle/etc.

And if JAGS can do it, you can do it. [emoji23][emoji106]
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Nice job Jason! I hope you don't mind, I changed the title and moved your thread into the Write-Up forum.
 
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