As the title says, I think the cable either snapped or became disconnected. This wouldnt be so bad if the door panel had already been removed .. or if the door had been open.

So I am now sitting here wondering how in the hell I am going to be able to get the door open. It's not the end of the world, but its annoying none the less.

I think theres five options unless you guys know something I dont

1. Try to maneuver through the door and window sills .. and go fishing for the cable
2. Pull off the inside door handle and go fishing that way (tried this ... does not look promising)
3. Rip apart the door panel (would much rather not do this .. but wouldn't be to expensive to replace the panel).
4. Somehow get the locking mechanism itself open where the door contacts the body
5. Other

Thoughts?

 

oh man that sucks. A good choice would be to call a locksmith to open the door. Another would be to remove the seat and take remove the door panel to acces the lock mechanism.

 

sounds like the handle itself broke... pull it out and put in another.

common problem

 

^ Yep hes correct.

 

wait.. you cant open it from the inside??

 

If the cable snaped, no. Remove the door handle cover on the inside of the car and try to fish for the cable, if that fails not sure what else ya can do lol...

 

yea i cant open it from etiher side

 

This happened to me too. I took it to the dealership and they had it good to go in a few hours without breaking anything and didn't charge much!

 

Do what I said mate, its the furthest you'll get instead of just browsing here we had both sides break, one was the handle, one was the inside handle part on the other door.... but for the cable snaping off what I said above is the best advise I can think of

 

Ain't no cable thar.

Main Entry: 1ca·ble
Function: noun
Pronunciation: 'kA-b&l
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old North French, from Medieval Latin capulum lasso, from Latin capere to take -- more at HEAVE
1 a : a strong rope especially of 10 inches (25 centimeters) or more in circumference b : a cable-laid rope c : a wire rope or metal chain of great tensile strength d : a wire or wire rope by which force is exerted to control or operate a mechanism
2 : CABLE LENGTH
3 a : an assembly of electrical conductors insulated from each other but laid up together usually by being twisted around a central core b : CABLEGRAM ; also : a radio message or telegram
4 : something resembling or fashioned like a cable <a fiber-optic cable>
5 : CABLE TELEVISION

It sounds like the rod isn't attached to the door handle mechanism anymore. The idea from the post above where he suggests pulling the passengers seat (only four bolts) and then removing the panel seems promising. Might work. Maybe.

There's no way the exterior door handle can be removed without pulling the interior door panel.

 

angle grinder

it solves a lot of problems

 

HAILERS

If he removes the inside handle stuff he may beable to pull the rod

oh yeah your right no cable, its a rod I remember now, that was soo long ago though that I had the doors open (trying to get the side speakers working.... gave up lol)

 

anyone havea picture of a door without the panel on so i can see where exactly i shold try fishing for the rod

 

No picture here. But with the panel pulled, you'll need access to the rear end of the door, and all the way up and across from the exterior door handle. Window up. You remove the plastic sheeting from that area and reach in thru the holes in the metal door sheet metal and feel for the linkage on the exterior door handle and pull/push on the linkage.

No. That's not a very good description. Maybe someone will come up with a picture.

I was just being a smartass about the cable/rod in the post above. humor.

I think it's still going to be a bit hard getting that interior panel off even with the seat out. Seems the only way without destroying the exterior handle.

Makes me wonder. If the window is down, there might be enough room to fish with a ????coat hanger for the linkage??? I might go out and look at the car later and see.

 

Your looking for the HOLE shown in this J-RAT picture attached. It' the only picture I could find. https://www.rx7club.com/forum/attach...6&d=1181516677

I searched for a name J-RAT and the words DOOR HANDLE. His other pictures don't show the whole door, but you might take a look.

 

The rod went in the large 1/4 inch hole above the body of the door handle assy. Pictures attached of a handle.

 

Glad you all resolved that issue with the cable vs rod matter. As you found out, there are several rods attached to the door handle.

My first instinct is to ask if the inside locking slide mechanism and the inside pull handle have any effect on opening the door. (Here's a stupid question...is the door locked from the inside?) If the inside door handle will not open the door and the outside handle doesn't open it, as you mentioned, I believe that the only way you are going to access this problem is to get the door panel off to look inside.

If possible, you'll have to access the several screws on the bottom of the panel, one at the top front, the 4 long ones that hold the door pull handle and the small screw that secures the inside door opening handle behind which sits another screw that attaches to the large inside door pull handle. Also, try to carefully remove the outside mirror triangle that covers its mounting screws. That one might break as the plastic is brittle, but they are easily sourced.

Once you have all of that removed, you will have to carefully try to pry the door panel off. This will be difficult I think since it will be jammed against the body of the car by the door.

As stated, try every other method cited above and by other posters to avoid having to remove the panel inside the car.

 

If you can get the windows to roll down, you'll see the latch rod(gold'ish colored) at the very rear of the window. Use a thin plier or vise grip to hold the rod, then push down. If you don't have a plier that fits, use a fat screwdriver to push the rod down. If the door is unlocked, you should be able to open the door that way.

If you don't see the latch rod, then you might have to remove the door panel to get your hand in there.

 

Fish with a telescopic magnet, call a locksmith...worst comes to worse tear the door apart....Start with the handle though.