Haunted Ashtray Door Fix - DIY w/pics
 

OK - I was bored today and decided to look into this...

Start by popping off the door by sticking a small screwdriver between the door and the side of the compartment and carefully pry it out of the hinge...
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-...86/door1-1.jpg

After removing the door and studying all of the associated parts, it appears that the culprit is the relationship between the door striker and the latch. The latch is not gripping the striker tight enough to hold it in place.

Door and striker assembly...
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-...rstriker-1.jpg

Location of the latch assembly...
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-...triker1a-1.jpg

This is the latch assembly - there is no reason to remove this, I just thought a close-up would give you a better idea of how it works...
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-...latch2a1-1.jpg

The striker on my door had considerable "flash" around the plastic fingers, but even after I removed that it didn't grip tight enough to hold the door in position.

I glued a couple very small pieces of plastic to the striker to build up the points and then filed them down until I got the grip I desired. You can see the built up areas if you look closely at the second picture. The added material is light gray.

I doesn't fit much better, but it does close nice and tight...
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-...286/door-1.jpg

And before the critics start with the "why didn't you just take it to the dealer" - my dealer is about 50 miles away - I had some time to kill today and I like to tinker...

Geo

Good analysis, and congratulations on the fix.

Any tricks needed to get the door spring back in the correct position when reinstalling the door?

Well done. Good pics, good description. Thanks for the post. Plus you have the satisfaction of "I did it myself!"

The door spring goes between the latch assy and the left compartment wall.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-...6/spring-1.jpg
With the spring installed on the door, I started the spring in the little hole between the latch and compartment, then slipped the left side of the door in until it popped into the hinge hole, and then pushed the right side into it's hole. It did take several attempts before I figured out the combo...

Geo

Very good info. :flag:

Good job. :thumbs: Thanks for the detailed explanations.

:cheers:

Excellent analysis, Geo. :cheers:

Since you had the door off & apart let me ask: Do you think taking out some of the tension out of the spring -- via bending it -- accomplish the same end as your build-up of the latch? :bigears

That was my original plan, but once I got it all apart I realized that the spring was not the problem (I even removed it altogether, at one point). But, it all boiled down to the fact that the striker was so sloppy in the latch it just wouldn't hold it. Once I beefed that up, I could put a screen door spring on it!

Thanks for the thought - Geo

Thank you, my friend.
NOW I know why Chevrolet's replacing the entire assembly.
They know what you learned. :thumbs:

:cheers:


-TTT-

Good job. :thumbs:

My hat's off to you!

Who says Vette owners are anal! :cool:

Excellent post! Thanks for taking the time to share.

Good post. Mine has the same issue, and this is what I summized the problem to be when I looked in there (without taking the door off). Since my local service center hasn't gotten back to me in like forever after initially ordering the wrong replacement door, I am about ready to take matters into my own hands & fix this little sucker myself.

Nice job on the DIY. Great write-up and pics. Thanks for sharing.

Paul :cheers:

:thumbs: Great investigation, diagnosis and treatment. Thanks for the DIY info. :cool:

Mine has been fine and not opened once under hard acceleration or bumps... If it does start popping open I know how to fix it thanks to you! Good write up and a clever inexpensive fix..... :D

Great Post & repair, Now I have a roof problem for you to work on since GM cant get it to stay on. :cheers:

Thank you for great information!

You smoke in your vette http://bestsmileys.com/nono/1.gif?

Duct tape!
Just kidding. Thank you for the fix.
ralphj

Dude, lookit that nasty dust build up on your cupholder cover. Don't you ever clean?

http://i6.tinypic.com/24bketg.jpg

ZAINO ZAINO ZAINO

(Seriously, very good write up, this is exactly what we need more of - simple but thorough fixes for common issues. Good on ya! :thumbs:)

Are you a model builder also?

I thought he might be a fellow glue sniffer too when he used the word "flash" in regard to plastic parts.

I know I know - and I haven't even Armoralled my wheel wells in a couple of days. But, the Zaino will come out next week before I leave for Carlisle...

And for those that asked - yes, I am a "glue-sniffer" - have been for close to 50 years - yikes!!!

Thanks all for the feedback - Geo

Great info :thumbs: Thanks for pinpointing the problem and sharing it with all of us using nicely detailed pics. Just this morning I was somewhat annoyed over my self-opening tray...

Great post! Thanks for the info and the PICs. Mine just started popping open today and with the help of this thread I was able to fix the problem. I varied slightly on the repair strategy though. Instead of adding plastic to the tip/edge of the striker, I just filed/cut away on the shaft part of the striker on the door, making the distance from the shaft to the edge of the fingers a little more noticeable (originally, not much there for the latch assembly to bite on to). Now, by giving the striker a little more of an edge the fingers on the latch assembly have just a little more to catch on to. For now, this appears to have solved the problem. Hopefully it stays that way. :yesnod:

:iagree: :thumbs: :cheers:

Excellent helpful info!!! Thanks!!!
:thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :D :rofl: :rofl:

Thanks for the info, mine's doing the same thing. To me, this door assembly is fairly cheesy, not at all in line with the quality of the rest of the car.

Replacement ashtray
 

My new 07 that was museum delivered has the ashtray that won't stay closed. As per Gary at the museum, the ashtray needs to be replaced because GM isn't repairing the defective ones. My vette is currently at the dealer to have the ashtray replaced.

Thanks for the info, I'm going to pass this along to my 'Vette tech. We have replaced a few of these only to find that the replacement part is no improvement.

Nice pix . . . .


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8-7/Thanks.jpg

:thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

Have any more spare time to work on the roof problem?

:lolg: :lolg: :lolg:

Temporary Fix
 

While you wait for the dealer repair, or if you do not use the ashtray, just pop out the ashtray and just remove the spring. Pop the ashtray back in. Without the spring pressure, the catch will hold the ashtray closed, without modifying the catch. You can still open the ashtray, just does not pop open, but will go far enough to pull it open. Did the fix in about 30 seconds going down the road. Got pissed hitting a bump and constantly closing the ashtray.

solution
 

if the factory replacement ashtray installed by my dealer doesn't stay shut, i'll try your suggestion.

Oh man...where were you last week? I took my car into the dealer to have some things done and one of them was to fix the ashtray. Of coarse they never fix anything -just replace. So it's on back order. I'm going to try your fix and tell the dealer to keep there defective new ashtray. :thumbs:

BTW, this should be put in the FAQ's

ashtray on back order
 

the latest update is the ashtray unit isn't in stock and is back ordered. i'll try removing the spring until the dealer gets the part in stock.

I just fixed my ash tray door, by adding a little more plastic to the catch. I used plastic welder epoxy, allowed it to cure overnight, then filed it to the correct shape. I discovered that you can wrap waxed dental floss around the long end of the spring to hold it up while you pop in the door. Remove the floss after the door and spring are in place.:thumbs:

Perfect timing for this excellent thread to be revived. :thumbs: I was just about to search for this since my ash tray door is finally getting to the point (after almost 5 years) where it'll pop open on it's own whenever I hit a pretty big bump. Glad it's a quick, easy fix. "JB Weld" (epoxy) should work well in this application, rough up the striker, file some very small grooves in it, maybe even drill a few very tiny angled holes (so the epoxy can really grab), then add the epoxy, let it cure for a day, file down to the desired profile, done. Thanks again! :cheers:

Outstanding !

wow - nice.

Excellent, never know when you might need something like this. Thank's for posting. :thumbs:

Fixed mine the same way as above. A little filing seemed easier then gluing the plastic. This thread was a big help and incentive to get the darn thing fixed. Thanks to all. :thumbs:

I tried filing the the striker first, that helped but didn`t fix the problem completely. I hope that adding plastic will be a better fix. Only time will tell.

C6 Ashtray opening constantly
 

Thanks to everyone on the forum for helping me hopefully get rid of this gremlin that has bothered me for 3 years.

I've been avoiding bringing the car to the dealer for an ashtray that keeps popping open- just got a think they've got bigger problems to deal with and would have a good laugh at my expense...

The door got to the point that you couldn't breath in the car without it popping open so I got on your forum and found out that I'm not the only one that is being bothered by this nuisance. I combined a couple of your solutions and did them all at once figuring if I kept taking the ashtray in and out I was going to create an even bigger problem.

I bent the spring just like the picture shows to get some of the tension out so it wouldn't be trying to pull the door open. I'm not the type to be gluing on little pieces to the striker plate head piece & filing it down (especially considering the small size and my poor eyesight) so I shaved down the shaft a bit on each side with a razor knife. As indicated, this actually made the top have more of a hook on each side which the latch could now grab onto.

I put the ashtray back in and so far it hasn't opened. You can now actually hear the latch click when it grabs the top of the striker plate. If you want to open it, it doesn't spring open like it used to but who cares- who smokes in a Corvette anyway?

Now that's it's closed, I'm never going to open or touch it again- I'll clean around it from now on.

Thanks for all the help!

I can't believe you guys waste this much time on a cheesy part that doesn't even belong in the car. The pic show exactly where the deficiency is.

I'm glad some else took the time to take pics of the cheap charlie part in question.

Get rid of the door, put a polished plate in place of the door, put some DEVCON 5 switches on the plate and you're good to go.

Heck, don't even hook the switches up, it's better than an ashtray in a Corvette. If you smoke while you drive a Corvette, than you are probably not driving the Corvette the way it was intended anyway.

I just removed teh spring and reinstalled. Was very annoying, now stays closed at all times.

Just take the spring out, its a very easy fix.

Since the original photos of this thread posted by nhisfan are no longer up, I have taken the liberty to repost two of them that I had saved to my computer (below).

Thanks again nhisfan for the DIY ashtray door fix report. :thumbs:

photos by nhisfan:
http://www.davemiranda.com/images/ashtray_door_C6.jpg


I had made a post to this thread back in 8/2010, had been ready to fix my own ashtray door at that time but never did. It hadn't been popping open very often so I forgot about it. But now, over a year later, it's to the point where it's popping open enough to actually be annoying, so I'll be doing this fix relatively soon.

Wow - talk about a 'blast from the past'...
I posted this DIY almost 5 years ago!

I have refreshed the settings on the pictures so hopefully they will be available again for anyone that needs them...

geo

No the pictures still have not come through or are not able to be viewed!

If possible can you try to repost the pics? I am trying to repair a friends and they would be very helpful!

Thanks,Matt

Very good post. I was trying to find the pics. I am tearing mine down this weekend to put in a rear view camera and tie it into the factory nav system and was going to fix that also while i am in there.

Nevermind, i got them.Didn't see all 3 pages

New to the board here guys.

Add me to the list of thanks for posting these pic's and instructions. I bought a 900 mile 2006 Z06 this summer and have been suffering with this ashtray issue ever since....

Winter project.

Had this issue crop up this past Summer after a car show. Finally got around to fixing it this past week. Learned a couple of things.

IMO the problem is not with the striker that is attached to the door itself. I actually removed the latch/ catch that the striker enters and locks into and discovered the problem to be there. If you see how the striker inserts itself into the latch you will realize that unless the nubs are completely gone on both sides there is no way for the striker to extricate itself from the latch. The latch itself is a simple piece of engineering with a spring, and a lever attached to a piston. The latch functions when the latch is depressed by the striker trapping it and in term moving a lever to a slot that then traps the latch from rising and releasing the striker/ door. In order for this lever to work there needs to be enough tension in the spring in the latch assembly. Without enough tension the lever will not swing and slot itself into the new position stopping the piston and in turn the latch to rise. I know I should have taken pictures.

Bottom line the fix is easier than described here to date. All you have to do is remove the door. Remove the latch the striker depresses. Pull the latch apart. Remove the spring. Stretch it out about 1/4 to half an inch. Rebuild the latch the opposite way it was taken apart with the stretched spring and test. It should latch and hold every time and will likely never wear out again.

Hope this helps someone. :thumbs:

Thanks so much!

I have probably had a dozen people contact me about the pictures in this post...

Unfortunately, I had a hard drive crash a little over a year ago and these pictures are no longer available...

I guess I'd be a good candidate for one of those "Carbonite" commercials...

geo

I'm glad I found this post! I just purchased a 2009 that 'had' an ashtray that would't stay closed!

I took my car into the dealer just to have it looked over and get the oil changed. They quoted $475 to replace the ashtray unit!

I popped off the ashtray door to find that the catch had a crushed/broken grabber arm. There was no way for it to hold the striker.

I removed the spring and used a dermal to buzz off the striker arm.

Door opens and closes beautifully now. :-)