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        General >> Problems >> Bonnet catch again (urgent)  Now Open!!
        
(Message started by: Chieftain on Sep 17^th, 2008, 5:51pm)

Title: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by Chieftain on Sep 17^th, 2008, 5:51pm

A while back I asked for help in releasing the bonnet as the cable had no affect, thanks to all who suggested ways however nothing worked. It is now in a garage and they can not release it either. The question is if the front grill was broken through would it make reaching the release catch easier. I am prepared to sacrifice the grill to save the car.

Or are there any other tricks, would FMD have any beter ideas?

I need to let them know in the morning so help!! :( :(

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by gozz on Sep 17^th, 2008, 7:42pm

Chieftain.
Yes,if you dispense with your grille and look underneath the slam panel,right in the centre is a round hole in the centre of a slightly convex pressing.This hole is exactly below the conical latch fixed to the bonnet.If you put a small 3" screwdriver up the drivers side of the hole,beside the latch you can press the lock plate over quite easily and spring the bonnet.If you are stuck for a grille there are one or two lying about here.
Good luck
GOZZ.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Highlander on Sep 17^th, 2008, 7:49pm

Hi Bob, you cant get a long arm up behind the radiator and grab the cable above the OS headlight??
You should get enough access on any model except the diesel.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Chieftain on Sep 17^th, 2008, 8:39pm

on 09/17/08 at 19:49:48, Highlander wrote:

Hi Bob, you cant get a long arm up behind the radiator and grab the cable above the OS headlight??
You should get enough access on any model except the diesel.

Grabbing the cable does not seem to work for some reason which will only be apparent I suppose when it is open. The cable does not appear to have snapped just not doing the job. I think looking previous reply from Gozz losing the grill will be the cheapest option sadly. :(

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Chieftain on Sep 17^th, 2008, 8:41pm

on 09/17/08 at 19:42:10, gozz wrote:

Gozz thanks for that, I suppose I can just remove enough to get it open so it keeps a bit of style to the front. Do you mean you have a couple spare? if so what sort of price?

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by gozz on Sep 17^th, 2008, 9:22pm

Chieftain.
Not a ruinous amount ! £30 plus carriage eh ?
GOZZ.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Jonnycab on Sep 18^th, 2008, 12:32am

....Or pop down the breakers ;)....I got one for a tenner last year :D

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by peteHull on Sep 18^th, 2008, 6:18am

You could try getting someone to pull the bonnet release lever (assuming it is connected and not broken) whilst applying a gentle downward pressure to the bonnet above where the catch is. I have had the problem in the past and this is how I did it.... ::) Saves the grill..... ;) Hope it's not too late... :-/

Pete

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Chieftain on Sep 18^th, 2008, 7:35am

on 09/18/08 at 06:18:29, peteHull wrote:

Pete tried that one and no luck, not sure what it is as the cable seems to still be attached but I have about 4" of slack hanging in the cab

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by joe-satch on Sep 18^th, 2008, 3:16pm

hi all,had the same problem yesterday on my mk3 granada,i released my bonnet after lifting the front of the car,and lowering the a/c condensor..that exposed a hole in the under part of the slam panel.i was able to use a long rod (after welding 2 pieces together) and flick the catch over and the bonnet popped up...in my case the cable had come out of the bonnet catch lever (thats why theres a few inches of cable hanging out of the lower dash)..i have now fixed mine so that the cable cant pop out again..good luck...regards den. :).

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by gozz on Sep 18^th, 2008, 5:28pm

Chieftain.
I bet you think I'm a right twit ! no doubt your car has aircon,the one I opened didn't,so the condenser wasn't below the hole.I looked on one of my others and saw how close the top of the condenser is.Did you open it ?
GOZZ :-[

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Chieftain on Sep 18^th, 2008, 6:20pm

[quote author=gozz link=board=Problems;num=1221670296;start=0#10 date=09/18/08 at 17:28:27]Chieftain.
I bet you think I'm a right twit ! no doubt your car has aircon,the one I opened didn't,so the condenser wasn't below the hole.I looked on one of my others and saw how close the top of the condenser is.Did you open it ?
GOZZ :-[/quote]

Gozz of course not, I relaised that it must have been a different model after lying underneath and clocking radiator forest.

The only way I can see to do this is to cut the grill boo hoo and unscrew the 2 retaining bolts that hold the lock to the bonnet as there is no way to get a lump of metal anyway near the hole.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by scorpio_man on Sep 18^th, 2008, 7:04pm

hi there

have you tried pushing down the bonnet as some pulls the handle?

give it some effort, maybe trying to move the bonnet side to side.

hth

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Chieftain on Sep 18^th, 2008, 7:54pm

on 09/18/08 at 19:04:00, scorpio_man wrote:

hi there

have you tried pushing down the bonnet as some pulls the handle?

give it some effort, maybe trying to move the bonnet side to side.

hth

Sadly done all that and more to no avail, I think that it is as Joe said, the cable has come away from the lever, hence the slack in the cab.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by joe-satch on Sep 19^th, 2008, 2:26pm

chieftain,what you said is exactly what im saying..because thats what happened to my mk3... :).regards den.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by Scorpio_Mike on Sep 20^th, 2008, 6:50pm

I have a spare pre-facelift front grille if interested.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by joe-satch on Sep 21^st, 2008, 11:21am

hi to all members,i have just come in from changing the whole bonnet latch unit on my mk3 granada..took all of 5mins..i got this latch unit from a ultima from a scrapyard....nice that fords carried over some of the parts from the mk3 to the ultima....as there were no mk3 granadas in the yard. :)..regards den. :).

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent)
Post by gozz on Sep 21^st, 2008, 2:00pm

Scorpio -Mike.
Just to let you know on behalf of Chieftain,I have packed up a grille for him and posting tomorrow.
GOZZ.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by Chieftain on Sep 22^nd, 2008, 4:53pm

Bonnet now open, it was the cable in the end, the lump that sits inside the catch had become worn smooth and slipped out, so no matter what you did it was not going to open, exactly as Joe Satch had on his Granada. Thanks all, now have a fetching hole in the grill,all the fun of fitting cable, grill and checking it all out.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by joe-satch on Sep 22^nd, 2008, 7:01pm

excellant...glad you sorted it chieftain. :).happy motoring from now on. :).regards den.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by Tim_Lusername on Jul 13^th, 2009, 4:50pm

Hi I've just had my 24v bonnet release cable go. Found out when I was trying to replace a flat battery so I have one very dead car at the mo.

Gozz mentioned this in a previous post
"If you dispense with your grille and look underneath the slam panel,right in the centre is a round hole in the centre of a slightly convex pressing.This hole is exactly below the conical latch fixed to the bonnet.If you put a small 3" screwdriver up the drivers side of the hole,beside the latch you can press the lock plate over quite easily and spring the bonnet."

So a couple of questions, is it possible to wiggle a long thin-ish screwdriver through the grill and reach the hole that Gozz mentions. Assuming it will be 20 mins of hit and hope!

Actually I just re-read the post - I guess I'd need a fairly strong L shaped rod to try and get that idea to work.

If not and I need to make a hole in the grille can someone give me any advice on the right size and location and also some possible tools for the job.

Thanks for any help

Tim

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by Tekno on Jul 15^th, 2009, 3:34am

If you have flexible arm, and possibility get under the car and use the screwdriver from there to fit it in hole and then pop the bonnet up, no need the do hole to grill.
That method works in Granada at least (tough job because of condenser/radiator under bonnet mechanism)

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by Chieftain on Jul 15^th, 2009, 4:36pm

on 07/15/09 at 03:34:29, Tekno wrote:

I think you will be lucky on a 24V also the leverage is dependent on how solid the mechanism is. I tried the garage tried the AA tried and none could do it, even with the car on a hoist, but fingers crossed for him.

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by Tim_Lusername on Jul 15^th, 2009, 5:16pm

Thanks for the ideas.

Chieftain. I had a look at it this morning and with the undertray off I can get my fingers up to the latch area so there is a slim chance that I can get a piece of "something" up there. I'm assuming an inverted J shaped bit of welding rod might be worth a try. Not sure it will be robust enough to take the lateral force needed to spring the catch though. What tool did you use when you went in through the grille?

How difficult was it to get the tool past the latch to get to the sprung catch part (hope that makes sense)

Does anyone have a photo of the catch so I can see which way I have to push it. I'm working blind so it would be nice to know which way to push :-)

A word of advice to everyone - check your bonnet latches! - this one went without any warning and it's looking like a pig of a job - such a lot of hassle for such a simple thing :-(

Title: Re: Bonnet catch again (urgent) Now Open!!
Post by wumpster on Jul 15^th, 2009, 8:11pm

i had this on my mk3 and you can get to the catch with a ling screwe driver and a tourch from underneath the car you can see where the cable goes onto the catch i managed to get mine open ok