Shaved doors...

[Rene M]

I would just replace the doors with pull offs and e bay your shaved doors.
Look here for replacement doors.

www.car-part.com
its a parts inventory of every salvage yard in the US and Canada.
I have orderd lots of stuff for my VX from yards all over the US.

[Rene M]

I would install a battery back up for the door/alarm system any way.
Its very simple and cheep to do:
You install a very small 12volt battery " one for emergency lighting because they are all 12 volt and gel cell" then solder a diode between it and the power supply from the truck. the truck can replenish the battery but it will not drain when the batt in the truck goes dead. Ta da problem fixed.
You can always get in your truck even if it does not start.
Most of my expensive cars have these and i installed all of them my self.

Is the issue that the electronic locks aren't engaging, or is the problem that the popper mechanism doesn't have enough power to push the doors open? It's usually the second issue - I'm solving the one on the rear door on my proton by adding a second popper. Some people with shaved doors adde a contact switch on the bottom so they'll have a backup if the remote doesn't work - that's another option.

-- John

[WormGod]

I am surprised that Rickster never had a fail-safe mechanism put in. I have done shaved door handles for customers in the past and every kit always had a manual trigger located under the drievrs side door to open the driver's door, IF the alarm was off/door unlocked. My guess is, he didnt use a kit and probably did some custom setup of his own.

And yes, a door swap is your best bet, even though paint matching is NEVER gonna happen with that custom job. Reworking your existing doors to grind out the plastic and cut out the spotted in sheetmetal is far above and beyond a simple fix.

I would just get a shop that deals in automotive electronics to see if they can find and resolve the existing problem and live with the shaved handles. Its not gonna be an easily reverse engineered solution since you are dealing with that custom paint.

[Petos]

Hey, gang

Thanks again for all the suggestions, extremely useful!

Here is what I have decided:

1. I will replace the existing 2 TV screens located in the airbag section with an original airbag (got one from e-bay for $200), so the battery charge hopefully stops leaking

2. Will check why the left door does not pop (hopefully, will be able to find a shop dealing with these types of issues in Chicago area..)

3. Will install the Back Up Button - thanks Knigh2s! "Two of these can be easily installed in the rear fenderwell on the drivers side" - so I need to order 2 of those?
Also, item description says "Even in the event that your car or truck's battery dies, if you mount the S7 in an elliptical hole you'll be able apply a twelve volt battery directly to the S7's terminals to activate your solenoids", so I guess I dont need to buy the "Autoloc Deluxe Emergancy Release Kit"?

4. Will install a very small 12volt battery (thanks, Rene!).. any suggestions on which one to buy?

5. Buying new doors for $1,000 sounds a bit expensive at the moment.. But I will be happy to swap if anyone is interested (e.g., when we get together in Moab?).. Yes, the cladding is painted, so it will need to be swapped backwards.. I will post pictures in later to see if anyone is interested..

Thanks a lot again, guys!