Wildebeest wrote:
Hmm.. sounds like something mechanical on the latch + handle switch. I'd probably just go to the junk yard and pull a latch, handle and all the wiring and be done with it. It's pretty simple to remove it all.
That's what I thought too. No go. The new switch and the new latch did the same thing. In fact, the old latch with the new switch, old latch with the old switch, and new latch with the old switch all performed the same. So, scientifically....something else besides the switch and it operating the latch must have been out of whack.
Now, unbeknownst to all of you, I have recently become the owner of aNOTHER 2006 CRD. So my wife and I took a look at the two latches together, and guess what we noticed?
Wait for it......
IT WAS THE POSITION OF WHERE THE LATCH WAS MOUNTED TO THE TAILGATE. I loosened the 13mm bolts, moved the latch towards the rear/spare tire (which in fact moves it upwards), and then it latched.
Remember when I said this in the first post:
Quote:
It almost appears as if the bar on the window is too HIGH for the latch? I can't even force it into the closed position over the bar with a screwdriver for leverage.
I was 100% wrong....the window wasn't high, the latch was too low. And I ran off with all the info on the red herring of the possible latch and wiring - not only with the comments here, but with everything else I could find. It's simple case of assuming that you know what the problem is because of what it usually is, instead of looking closer.
Thanks for all the help guys, sincerely, as it did help me to eventually eliminate things down and find the root cause of the issue. I certainly hope that this helps someone else in the future, and saves them from buying new switches and latches (which were junkyard finds with new hardware, and now I have a spare for each jeep.
)
Thanks again, the forum and members here are awesome.