Update: I'm a tired frustrated ham fisted idiot. What was happening was I ever so slightly bent the metal when popping the old plastic lid lock out and thus the new one could not fully disengage. Some pliers and cussing and it works.
I am attaching the couple videos that helped me get the thing done in case anyone finds this in the future and is lost and confused as I was at first.
My door lock on my new to machine gave out. Ordered a replacement and installed. Neither the new striker nor the old striker work well with it. It will lock but won't unlock. Is there anything g wrong with putting the striker in the mechanism and leaving the door open?
Maybe it's because I am tired and frustrated but I don't understand what you mean by arm tangler? The wiring harness is all run correctly and hooked into place. It's just not oem and thus the strikers don't seem to fit in the lock well.
If you rig it so the door can stay open through the entire cycle, that spin cycle is going to be super dangerous for anyone that gets their hand too close to the tub while it's going full speed. Hence the term "arm tangler". If you still don't understand, you need to go look up some industrial accident videos especially ones with fast spinny things. The door and lock are safety features you don't want to disable.
I see what you are saying. My plan was to rig it so the door would be unlocked, closed but not latched with the striker not attached to the door. I said open but I really meant unlatched. Tired brain says wrong words. But I figured it out. I was being dumb and getting tired. I really should have waited until I wasnt exhausted from work.
A washing machine doesn't have the torque to seriously injured you. I have been reqatching old Mythbusters episodes and there is one involving a man getting spun while standing in a washing machine. They found that amy substantial weight stops a washing machine from turning and that it is easy to stop with your hand. The motor isn't designed for that.
For what its worth, that paper is referring to injuries to children using a style of machine that hasn't been sold in the US since 1983. But point taken.