Before I pulled the door and removed the rods for the lock and outside handle the door latch worked fine. I then installed a door popper solenoid in place of the old solenoid. Tonight I went to reinstall the door and noticed the latch was stuck in the locked position like it was closed on the car. So I manually activated the lever that the solenoid is attached to thinking it would release the catch and allow the latch to move.....no such luck. I have to stick a screwdriver into the latch area to release the catch and move the latch into the open position. I'm thinking it may be the locks are stuck and the latch is stuck in the locked position or it needs to be taken out and cleaned.......any ideas?

 

Disregard.................I removed the latch and it started working normally so I'm gonna let it soak in mineral spirits overnight then reassemble

 

The latch will only open (release) when it pulls away from the door striker (pin in the door jamb).
If the latch is locked, it will stay that way (even if you still had the door handles). There are no springs (in the lock body) to make the latch pop open on its own.

 

Thanks.......I don't know how to describe it without a pic but there's a "catch" or stopper or whatever that releases the latch when you depress the lever thats hooked to the solenoid or use the door handle. It wasn't moving when I used either one so I took it out and for whatever reason it seems to be working now....maybe it the lock was stuck and the whole thing thought it was in the locked position.....IDK.....it's getting a dunk now

 

Ahh. I thought you were talking about the actual latch that grabs the striker and holds the door closed to the body for some reason.