There have been several threads concerning the trunk latch mechanism. Mine had always been hard to get latched whether pushing gently or slamming urgently. The lock mechanism finally broke and hadto be replaced along with the latch pin in the door.


Some may say the lock barrel broke by slamming the door but I don't think so, as the latch mechanism and the lock barrel are not connected until the button is pushed. While waiting for parts at the dealer, I took it apart to see if I could figure out how to make it work better. This is what I found:


The latch pin is on the trunk door. When the door is closing, this pin moves the latch up and when inserted far enough, allows the latch to drop into the notch holding the door closed. This is a ‘friction’ connection that wears on the pin and latch. This is also the only adjustment I found in the latch system. The pin protrusion can be lengthened or shortened by turning the pin. If it is in too far it will be hard to close, if out too far it may not seal against water. I have mine adjusted just past the point of seal contact. When I push the button, sometimes I have to hold it in to allow the door to open. I have not found any water leaking into the trunk so I like it there. This pin was replaced when the lock cylinder was replaced.






This is the latch pin socket and push button socket after the push button lock has been removed.





This the broken push button mechanism. It is held in by a clip that is inserted through a groove near the back of it. The broken piece is the back side of that groove. There is a groove on the top and the bottom for the 'c' clip to fit into.




Another look at the push button mechanism.




Here I have pushed the button in against the stop. I allows a view of the rubber o-ring that causes all of the hard latching problems. This o-ring will hold the button in or cause it to be slow in returning to the normal position. While it is held in, the latch bar is held in the unlatched position and will not catch the latch pin. Simple solution to latching problem is to oil the push button and allow the oil to run in to the o-ring. The push button should almost snap back out when released if the o-ring is lubed. I used '3 in 1 oil' from a can nearly 30 years old.







In the next post, I will show the disassembled mechanism from inside the trunk.


=bob=

 

Excellent and thank you My trunk kept popping open when riding even when it was locked. I made a small adjustment and have not had that problem yet but the dealer is aware if it starts again.

 

The trunk latch mechanism is inside the trunk but is easily removed to work on. I found the mechanism to be very simple and loose enough that it would not require frequent lubrication aside from the oil for the o-ring that can be administered from the outside of the trunk.






This what is seen once the cover is removed. Please no comments on Santa's nose in the picture.









The following pictures were taken after the mechanism was removed from the trunk.









The push button will push the bar in the socket as shown above. Here the other end of the bell crank is shown.









Here the clip is removed. This clip would have to be installed after the mechanism is returned to the trunk and the pushbutton inserted from the outside. Yes it would be a son-of-a-gun to get installed. I'm glad the dealer had to do this part.











After seeing how it worked and realizing there is only one adjustment and one place that would require lubrication, I put it all back together. The pushbutton didn't have to be installed because of the broken pieces. I opened the trunk using a screw driver to push the latch bar until the dealer got the parts. This took a couple weeks because the lock has to cut to fit the trike key.


I hope this helps someone having trouble with their lock. When I oil the o-ring, it will generally be working fine after pushing in and out a dozen times and will work great for about 3 months.


=bob=

 

A little dry Teflon took care of the trunk latch for me. Jim

 

Great info, thanks. Now we know what to look at and when to rotate the pin if needed, and feel pretty good about being able to fix it myself if ever needed. Nice work.

 

Thanks for the great explanation and pictures! saving for future needs.

 

Very nice write up with excellent pics ! I had my latch break when I was 800 miles from home. None of the dealers were able to fix because of needed parts to be ordered. I also discovered the open with a screwdriver method. When I return home and took it to my dealer they fixed it in an hour by replacing the plastic sleeve instead of the whole lock , no need to replace whole lock or re key ! Ebert

 

Yeah there is one small roll pin holding the lock in the plastic sleeve. My dealer didn't have one of those so he ordered the whole lock.


=bob=

 

Great write up and pics.

After getting the one of my 2011 replaced, I have used silicone spray about every 10,000 miles and not had any issues on the '11 or the '14.

 

I have a 2012 HD trike that the lock broke. I have warranty service so I took it to a HD dealer and after the new lock arrived, scheduled appt for today. They look the lock and were stumped as how to get the trunk open. They called HD tech and was told only way to get the trunk open was to drill a hole and use saw in the truck lid. Do you know how to get trunk pen when the entire lock is broken?