Frozen doors

[Fred Munro]

Sean;

I had this problem on my '91 200q when moisture got into the cable that
connects the interior handle to the door latch mechanism. When the moisture
froze, you could open the door, but the return spring wasn't strong enough
to pull the cable into the "latched" position, and the interior handle
wouldn't snap back into the door. I had to remove the cable, thaw it out,
and run WD40 through it to flush out the water. Resist the impulse to push
the interior handle back into place - this can pop the cable off inside and
lead to another series of problems.

Fred Munro
'94 S4
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sean Ford" <audi_92_100cs at yahoo.com>
To: "12vList" <v6-12v at audifans.com>; "QuattroList" <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 10:14 AM
Subject: Frozen doors


> Over the past month or so, my rear passenger side door has been
> unwilling to open if icy conditions exist. I generally reach around
> through the front door and open it, then everything's fine. Ok, I can
> live with that.
>
> This morning, we've got ice conditions (rain last night, sudden drop in
> temp overnight). My driver's door will not open, what a PITA. I reach
> over from the passenger side and open it. The interior handle didn't
> automatically retract; I push back in place. Ok, now the door won't
> latch! Damn, my wife's CRV to the rescue.
>
> After an hour or so, I retest the door, it still won't latch. I fiddle
> with both interior and exterior handles, slam it a few times... voila!
> The door will now latch.
>
> This little experiment leads me to believe that the latching mechanism
> is becoming frozen. Since this has never happened in the 5 years I've
> owned the car, I have to assume that water is now getting into places
> where it shouldn't.
>
> Has anyone had this situation and also had it remedied? Is this a
> simple coating issue, whereby I could spray a little graphite or deicer
> somewhere?
>
> Thank God this happened on a Saturday. If it had been a weekday I
> would've been forced to drive with an unlatched driver's door. :(
>
> =====
> Sean Ford
> audi_92_100CS at yahoo.com
> http://www.geocities.com/seanford.geo
> '92 Audi 100CS 5-spd non-q
> '00 Triumph Daytona 955i
> '89 Suzuki Katana 600
>
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