Bonnet won't open, latch catch nothing

[hwa0725]

#bonnet #stuck

Hi all,

I did some maintenance to my car a few days back which I took the slam panel off. I didnt disconnect the cable connecting to the latch but rather let the stay on the slam panel and hanging on the side (a mistake obviously in the hindside). Now I think that the plastic collar around the end of the wire cable right before the bare metal cable protrudes is sitting outside the clip and my bonnet is not opening.

Does anyone know how to pop it open manually from outside? Will taking off the passenger side wheel, locating that slack cable then pulling it help?

PS: The worst is my car is not starting now and I am not sure why cause I cant pop the bonnet open... It clicks continuously (not rapidly) but the car just won't turn over. Maybe starter motor issue?

Many thanks,

Heng

 

[turkie172]

So do you think you need to pull the plastic outer back along with the inner cable to release. It passes through the bulkhead behind the glove box but I'm not sure if it is held down on the way to the latch. It all comes down to if the inner wire is not secured or the outer you could reach up from the bottom get your hand over the lip and push with your finger the latch is not that stiff on mine anyway.

 

[hwa0725]

So do you think you need to pull the plastic outer back along with the inner cable to release. It passes through the bulkhead behind the glove box but I'm not sure if it is held down on the way to the latch. It all comes down to if the inner wire is not secured or the outer you could reach up from the bottom get your hand over the lip and push with your finger the latch is not that stiff on mine anyway.
View attachment 156961
View attachment 156962

Thanks very much for sending the picture mate, I think the collar at the end of the outer sleeve (circled red in the snip below) came off the clip for my case.
Yes, I think if I can access the cable behind the inside latch near the bottom left side of the passenger seat, I can pull it open. Is this the easiest or do I need to remove loads of trim before I get to the cable? Coming from the underside of the car will be my last resort as I dont think my hand is long enough to reach

 

[turkie172]

Take the undertray off and reach up

 

[hwa0725]

Take the undertray off and reach up

Thanks mate, bonnet popped open now, reached up from the bottom, pulled the cable, job done.

 

[turkie172]

Happy days

 

[hwa0725]

Happy days

No buddy, unfortunately, that was my door to more fking problems. Car wont start and is making rapid clicking noise. Thinking might be the electrical problem as I haven't even turned the key to attempt starting the car. Have to undo the battery cable to stop it from draining all the juice. The battery is only 3 months old... I recorded a short here

 

[turkie172]

Check the battery voltage at the moment, two problems come to mind:
1. The metal heat shield on the starter is touching the always positive terminal on the starter motor solenoid and is shorting out and running down or damaging the battery.
2. The UPC is water damaged which can have random issues like ignition switching and hazard lights flashing etc. If the heat shield is touching the positive terminal on the starter motor a side effect will be a message on the screen saying steering unlocked and the starter will not turn as the 20Amp fuse in the UPC will have blown.

 

[hwa0725]

Check the battery voltage at the moment, two problems come to mind:
1. The metal heat shield on the starter is touching the always positive terminal on the starter motor solenoid and is shorting out and running down or damaging the battery.
2. The UPC is water damaged which can have random issues like ignition switching and hazard lights flashing etc. If the heat shield is touching the positive terminal on the starter motor a side effect will be a message on the screen saying steering unlocked and the starter will not turn as the 20Amp fuse in the UPC will have blown.

Thanks very much for these mate, really boils down loads of possibilities.. Anyway, I think I might have found the issue. A very stupid rookie mistake. I replaced the radiator about 2 weeks ago and did the bleeding but didn't tighten the bleed screw on the flexible hose enough. Now the coolant in the reservoir is close to empty and I can see the flexible hose is just above the starter motor connections.. I hope this is just a blown fuse and didn't kill the starter motor entirely. fml

 

[hwa0725]

By the way, do you need to take the starter motor out to check if there is current going to the motor using a multimeter? Are there any other ways I can do this without going through the hassle of removing the starter motor?

If I have to remove the starter motor, what is the best way you would suggest to do this? Jack up the driver's side, wheel off and get in from there? I can see the heat shield is under the exhaust manifold, not sure if I can get enough space from the top.