:help: I have a 96 Caravan... :help: The sliding door wont open, when you unlock all the doors it wont unlock or lock. If you do it manually it still wont open,.. ANY ideas!??
HELLLLLLLLLLLP
Thanks
gas28man
09-26-2005, 04:39 PM
If it's not something obvious, like a latch rod or lock rod that has popped off, I would look at the mechanism that disables the door if you have the fuel filler door open. This is a driver-side only feature.
Rick
jrabcz
09-26-2005, 08:43 PM
Rick,
I guess I am really not sure where you are talking, I can't seem to find my owners manual.
So I am really lost......
Rhonda
gas28man
09-27-2005, 12:25 AM
Rhonda,
I checked my owners manual, and it doesn't go into any detail on how the feature works, but there is a mechanism that disables the driver's side sliding door when you have the fuel hatch open. I don't know how it works myself, but perhaps something in that mechanism has failed and is keeping your door shut.
The other possibilities require removing the interior panel to see if one of the latch rods or lock rods has popped off.
You also have a child safety feature on the rear doors that, when it is engaged, keeps the doors from being opened from the inside. But you should still be able to open them from the outside though.
That's the best I can suggest.
Good luck.
Rick
jrabcz
09-27-2005, 02:55 AM
Rick,
While you were posting........
I was outside, taking the panel off, and nothing is off, everything is working, except, the lock.. okay this is what I did, when I could see everything, I went to the front and pressed the lock button, and nothing moved, unlock and nothing moved did this several times, then it locked, then it wouldn't do anything else... but on the other hand I can not locate the lock for the gas tank switch ... any ideas on this? I think I can remove this so It wont happen again...
Rhonda
gas28man
09-27-2005, 08:25 AM
If I'm reading this right, you're saying you move the button on the faulty door to the unlocked position manually, and the door still won't open from the inside, right? So if you can't open it from the outside either, I would suspect the problem is a faulty fuel door lock. You'll need to take it to somebody who knows what they're doing on that and get it fixed. This is a safety feature you won't want to disable as it keeps one of your rear passengers from opening the door when you're refueling and spilling gas everywhere.
If you CAN open it from the outside with the button in the unlock position, then it's your child safety system, which you can set back to normal by changing the position of the switch that's on the front edge of the door.
Good luck.
Rick
jrabcz
09-27-2005, 11:29 AM
Rick,
Yep that is right, its not the child safety latch,... And I really dint want to spend anymore money on this van this month..just had everything changed out, spark plugs, etc....I guess I was just hoping that I could somehow fix this..
jrabcz
09-27-2005, 11:10 PM
Well, I went to the loal dodge dealer, and they told me it was the motor, but what I can not figure out if its the motor (acculator), why wont the door open when you unlock it manually?? He said that there may not be enought force or powere to do so. They also stated that They had another caravan not long ago, and they could not open the door at all, So I am not taking my van to them,....... HMMMMMMMM I can get the motor, but they wont take it back if its not the part. Go figure!
gas28man
09-28-2005, 08:48 AM
It never ceases to amaze me when dealerships let you down like this. Taking a vehicle to the dealer for a repair is always more expensive and less convenient than taking it to an independent repair shop. The one value proposition the dealership's service department has going for it is superior product knowledge. When they can't deliver on that, especially on the minivan, which is the product Chrysler has sold more of than any other, they might as well close the door and turn out the lights because they have no business being in business.
