Lower Compartment Door Stuck Shut

[Mactheknife]

My lower compartment storage door is closed and won’t open. The door is to my propane tank and it doesn’t have a key lock. The handle pulls up but it won’t unlatch.
Thanks
Mark

[SeaDog]

Use a strong light to view the the section between the door and door frame and see if the latch is actually moving when you pull on the handle. If its not moving use a thin sharp strong blade to move the latch while holding pressure against the handle to prevent the latch from moving back to the lock position I have done this before with good results. Just one idea let the forum know how you correct the problem.

[Mactheknife]

I finally found the time to try what you recommended to get my latch released.
Unfortunately it didn’t work. The good news is that it did open up with a good tug. Not advisable but I got lucky and nothing broke. The problem is that the release mechanism that pushes the latch up is broken. I know I didn’t do it because the broken piece is not there.
Now I have to look for that small piece and I don’t have a clue what the part is. Its a small cast looking piece that has a small screw hole in it. Now the hard part as I don’t want to replace the whole unit.