Hello All,
After many attempts to unlatch the top compartment cover, I was successful. When I finally got it open I discovered that the spring "C" clip that tensions the nut on the end of the handle shaft had completely fallen out.
Chain of failure: the retaining nut loosens up, the C clip drops out, then the lever arm backs off of the flats on the shaft.
I modified a sprinkler valve shut-off tool by adding a hook to it. It worked well on the drivers side, but on the other side I had to hook and jerk the push-pull cable instead of tripping the actual latch (no access).
The page:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=5681.msg35096#msg35096 was helpful but not definitive. I would like to add my graphic to this old post but do not know how to do that. - - Peter - - HELP!
Larry in CA