I still haven't been able to try anything new, but in order to push the ball socket I had to lift the actuator lever a tiny bit up. I think that's where the problem is. It is supposed to be neutral as you mentioned. The weird thing is that I got the same issue with both Febi and OE.

I don't think that is the problem - all the ones I've replaced have been like that too (I've had to lift release arm a little to attach the ball joint) and they have always worked fine. In fact, better than before, as there is less handle lift required to open the door.

Sounds more like something is stopping the arm lift high enough, not too much... :dunno:

Except the arm is held high enough to interfere with the inside Release. I have a feeling the problem is on the other end of the Bowden cable. Either it's not hooked into the pull correctly or the sleeve is not held correctly.

I think you guys are on the right track. The cable is "preloading" the latch assembly so it is engaged causing all these issues. If with the cable loose the latch assembly works correctly, then assume the cable sleeves, routing is alignment out.

Where the bowden cable clips on the door there are two possible locations. The one closest to the end of the cable is not the right one. If you use that one then you will definitely preload the door release. The bowden cable should be clipped in with the part furthest from the ball joint. I just did my carrier and I had to lift the lever slightly to put the ball joint on. Previous carrier was the same. I had an issue with the ball joint not staying on. It would pop off after about 8 to 10 cycles of the door handle. I put a piece of teflon tape on the knob and that seems to have solved the problem.

Thanks, everyone! I’m enclosing a picture that shows the bowden cable. As you can see it’s a little bit away from the latch assembly lever. Not sure if that’s a problem. The whole thing works until I lock the door with the central locking. At that time neither outside handle nor the inside pull lever can open it. When I disconnect the ball socket the inside pull lever starts working.

E53: Trouble with Front Right Door Carrier
 

That's way too far away. You need to find out why. I suspect it's not fed through the hook on the DHC properly so it's taking up extra length.

The symptoms are consistent with the cable being caught up as shown in the following pics:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...082f3fe4b9.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3b1f0f14d9.jpg

The correct path first pic, possible incorrect path secund pic.

You can remove both actuator and DHC to see how they interact. My new method to get to DHC is through the actuator. It's 5x as easy to remove DHC of actuator is first removed.

There could be some incompatibility with the oe cable and Replacement DHC did you keep the copy cat cable?

Thanks, @andrewwynn. I plan to work on it Sat morning. The bowden cable I am currently using is the same that was on the carrier that broke. The actuator is also OE. I may have to take out the actuator and see if there is something fishy going on.

I will keep you guys posted. It would be good to find a solution. This thread will also help others as I saw some folks having this issue, but I could not find a good, healthy thread of this issue.

is it remotely possible that the replacement is the part for the rear door on the same side?not sure you would have made it this far with the wrong part number but i’d double check just to be certain.

That's a solid guess of a problem. I've read there is a geometry difference that would cause this problem. (it's the problem in reverse: can't pull the handle far enough; too much slack)

Do you have the original broken one to compare? You could have ordered the correct part but sent the wrong part.

Also: if you do have the original part, you can repair it for basically free if it's the usual break (hinge). It will be stronger than new.

And: while you have it out, cut off the "self destruct tab" that causes the break in the first place. See my threads about DHC