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Why won't my bonnet and boot lid open?

M

Mike.Gamble

New member
A bit of an odd one. I left work this afternoon, opened the boot with the lever on the cill and dumped my work bags in and drove home.

Got home, went to pull the lever to open the boot to get my bags out but the lever won't move, it's almost like it's been locked and the bonnet will not open either.

Have I done something to cause this inadvertently or is there another reason why they would both lock shut?
 
There is a solenoid connected to an arm which locks the levers when the alarm is set. Perhaps it has jammed. I would take the panel off and investigate. On the side of the panel you will see two small rubber bungs. Remove them, which gives access to two allen screws. A 5mm allen key IIRC. Loosen the screws 4-5 turns, and the panel lifts off vertically. It needs a little effort, as there are clips holding it too.

Edit: Diagram added retrospectively to clarify:

B7819C21098842999BDED5ECC4E4DB34.jpg
 
Thanks for that, I'll give it a go in the morning. It's very frustrating, my wallet, phone charger and a whole load of other 'essentials' are sat there, out of reach!
 
Mike, not sure if its the rear boot, if so I had the same problem thanks to my son who put a kit bag in it and then closed the lid with the bag strap partly caught in the catch recess. I had to manually operate the spoiler to gain access to the rear edge of the boot and lift the edge (carefully) using the release mechanism at the same time to get it open. It didnt need much effort by the way as the strap was keeping the boot closed not the catch. Good Luck.
 
I've got the boot to open using the button on the key (I forgotten about it as I never use it) and there was nothing catching or likely to cause any other problems in the boot area.

I then closed the boot lid and tried to open it manually with the lever and its still 'locked' down as is the bonnet.

I'm going to take the cover off tomorrow morning an see if I can see anything obvious. It's frustrating as I want to get into the bonnet to disconnect the power so I can change my steering wheel!
 
Hi Mike,

Isn't there a button on they key to open the front bonnet? My 2002 model 986 S has buttons for both "boots". Internal switches on the sill are electronic though so can't help with the locked down levers.
 
It's not going too well!
I've had to remove the seat to get at the retaining bolts on the lever body only to realise that the plastic cover wont come off as the levers are locked down on the trim!

Both the bonnet release and boot release are locked solid, I've tried it with the boot open, boot closed and having gentle pressure applied to the boot lid and also on the bonnet with no joy.

I was wondering, is there anything else on the car that would cause the car to 'lock' these levers as a safety measure, etc?
 
I think I'm correct in aying that the panel will come off with the levers locked. It is fairly well fixed by the plastic clips at front and rear, and takes some bravery to prise the panel up at each end.

The other thing you can try is to get a small screwdriver in the gap between the levers, and try to release them manually. This photo might help to see what you are aiming for: (LHD car shown).

89ED413338774E93BF0B999B18C791AD.jpg
 
Thanks for the pictures!

I thought the levers were fixed to the body as opposed the the trim itself, hence my reluctance to pull the trim up.
However, all sorted now, it appears the solenoid was in the locked mode and pushing it back has sorted everything out.

We will see!
 

ORIGINAL: Mike.Gamble

A bit of an odd one. I left work this afternoon, opened the boot with the lever on the cill and dumped my work bags in and drove home.

Got home, went to pull the lever to open the boot to get my bags out but the lever won't move, it's almost like it's been locked and the bonnet will not open either.

Have I done something to cause this inadvertently or is there another reason why they would both lock shut?
Click to expand...


try turning the car around ..... (sorry running for cover) [;)]
 

ORIGINAL: Mike.Gamble

Thanks for the pictures!

I thought the levers were fixed to the body as opposed the the trim itself, hence my reluctance to pull the trim up.
However, all sorted now, it appears the solenoid was in the locked mode and pushing it back has sorted everything out.

We will see!
Click to expand...

Well it failed again this morning. I removed everything again and sat in the car with the trim exposed and locked and unlocked the car. The solenoid functions correctly when locking the car but does not release when opening the car.

I've removed the locking connecting arm from the solenoid to the locking cam as a temporary fix and will have to get a new solenoid.
 
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