door handle stopped working

[ChrisXoxide]

My driverside door handle just completely stopped working.

Any suggestions ?

Car isn't under warranty, my dad is a mechanic, he asked me to come on here incase anyone had any suggestions or notes about fixing this.

 

[2001 Sapphire Blue]

Call Bill Pemberton @Woodhouse...1-800-889-1893.

 

[Ulysses]

Most likely a wire in the door wiring harness.

 

[cruser]

I had the same problem occur a few weeks ago. I went to get out of my car and nothing happened. This happened while I was on a ferry, so I just rode the 20 minute ferry ride and right before we got off I tried again and it worked. Has worked perfectly ever since, but makes me nervous everytime I get out of my car that it wont let me back in.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Wire in door harness... I have one for sale if you need it. I wouldnt bother fixing it, the &^$^* things just keep breaking...

 

[Jay Lopez]

I had that exact problem on the passenger side. I took off the door panel to take a look at the wiring harness, thinking there might be a short. I found that the door handle on the inside (not button on outside of door), has a little white pin that gets pushed when you pull the handle. The white pin was bunched up under a rubber gasket surrounding it. I slightly moved the pin and it popped back into place. Door works fine again.

 

[Big Medicine]

If the button on the exterior trigger is stuck (depends on what "not working" is exactly), you can turn it until it pops back out.

Happened to me last weekend.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Jay, thanks for the info. My button doesn't do anything when pressed. Maybe it's the little white pin?

 

[Jay Lopez]

It's probably the white pin. When it was jammed up, neither the black button on the ouside of door nor the door handle on the inside would work. They are both just switches because the door is not mechanically locked.

 

[Vipermed 97.01]

I would have to agree that it is the harness in the door where it goes through the body of the car.if you make a small incision at that point you will more than likely find your break

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

It's probably the white pin. When it was jammed up, neither the black button on the ouside of door nor the door handle on the inside would work. They are both just switches because the door is not mechanically locked.

That's exactly the way it is acting. I already looked at the harness and couldn't find a short.

 

[DChan415]

I had the same problems with both sides and it was the keyless entry module.

 

[thebigsnake]

The driver's door handle button on my '00 ACR wasn't working when I bought the car. It was very annoying, and this Viper is warranty restricted. I took out the door panel, then I looked at it for a while to learn how Chrysler had wired it. I disconnected the wire from the driver's side micro switch, ran a wire from the inside door handle micro switch to the outside one. Everything works fine now. I bought the sevice manual later, but that was the first problem I tackled.

 

[Bonkers]

On mine the case where the switch physically touched the knob had cracked off. When you pushed the knob the entire switch would just move in with it (as opposed to depressing the spring.) If you're handly with a screwdriver the door panel is really easy to remove.

I work in Wilmington so if I can be of help let me know.

 

[Big Medicine]

Interestingly enough, this happened to me Saturday on my driver side door; thanks to the tips I had read here last week, I was able to fix.

Apparently they have some VERY poor EE folks up in DC. I have noticed this kinked wire crap in several other locations throughout the car.

The the bending radius of the wiring components through the door is way too sharp. I fixed my door PLUS several other impending failures while I was in there.