Glove Box Question

davery · Post by **davery** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 7:41 pm

I messed with the latch on the glove box and now it will not open. It seems like the latch is locked, even though it is not. Any ideas on how to access the glove box?

vandor · Post by **vandor** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 10:29 pm

Does the knob turn, or not?
Often the dash sags over the glovebox and makes it hard to get the latch to close or open. You may try applying upward pressure on the dash just above the glovebox lock and see if that helps.

davery · Post by **davery** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:22 pm

vandor wrote:Does the knob turn, or not?
Often the dash sags over the glovebox and makes it hard to get the latch to close or open. You may try applying upward pressure on the dash just above the glovebox lock and see if that helps.

The knob rotates about 90 degrees, which I think is about normal. It seems to rotate the same amount whether it is locked or not. I can't remember if that is normal. Could the "tongue" on the inside not be rotating? I took the latch off the glovebox door and maybe I did not put it back together correctly?

vandor · Post by **vandor** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 12:02 am

It should rotate 90 degrees to open, but IIRC it should not rotate when locked.
I think most likely it is not put together correctly and the latch is not rotating. Lifting the dash may free it, I'm not sure, but it's worth a try.

davery · Post by **davery** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 12:20 pm

vandor wrote:It should rotate 90 degrees to open, but IIRC it should not rotate when locked.
I think most likely it is not put together correctly and the latch is not rotating. Lifting the dash may free it, I'm not sure, but it's worth a try.

Tried lifting the dash, no luck. So no other secrets for getting into the glove box, huh?

bradartigue · Post by **bradartigue** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 1:37 pm

The dash is worth more than a glove box latch/lock, so worst case you just drill the bastard out.

On my buddy's 79 this happened and the lock had over-rotated. It took a bit of force on the knob but was able to turn it over and then it engaged. Oddly the same thing happened to his trunk lock.

spider2081 · Post by **spider2081** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 4:35 pm

I have had luck pulling up on the dash while pulling down and back on the glove box door knob. I had the key in the lock so i had more of a grip. Probably just lucky but have forced a couple open this way.

davery · Post by **davery** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 9:59 am

I have worked on it for most of the morning with no luck. So would it be better to drill out the latch or cut the bottom of the glove box and reach up inside to unscrew the latch tongue? Can a new latch be keyed for my old trunk/glovebox key? I looked around the usual websites and Vick has the latch for $92. Ouch! Of course, I really don't care if it can lock or not - so maybe an aftermarket latch would work?

On another note, the whole point of getting the glove box open is that I need to remove the plastic piece around the shifter. To do that I need to remove the radio, to do that I need to remove the upper center console and to do that (I think) I need access to the glove box.

spider2081 · Post by **spider2081** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:04 am

Just noticed your car is an 85. Your dash is pretty unique compared to my 81. I am not sure your latch would work the same as mine. I find it counter intuitive rotating the latch counter clockwise to release for opening the glove box door. I am not sure which way I turn the key to unlock as I never bother to lock mine. I am pretty sure I turn the knob counter clockwise to open.

Does anyone know if the 85 glove box door is the same as say an 81??? There should be lots of used doors kicking around if that is the case. I might consider cutting door over drilling the lock as replacing the lock means a separate key for the glove box from the trunk and doors.

vandor · Post by **vandor** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:19 am

If you don't car if it locks or not then you could get a used one for very little moeny. I think the glovebox door is the same color on the Fiat and Pinin Spider 2000s, someone correct me if I'm wrong. The lock/latch is the same on all Spiders.

76was124 · Post by **76was124** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 6:37 pm

I replied to your other post, with a possible solution to pursue.http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 19&t=32103

Flyingthere · Post by **Flyingthere** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:12 pm

I had this problem as well. Once I got it open I put a light and my phone on video record to see what was going on. It was a saggy dash issue. When I fully turned the knobs the tongue was jamming against the top of the latch. I ended up filing down the tongue and that worked for some time. Now I an thinking about other options like removing the catch and putting a magnet catch in place.
Good luck.

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