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General Replacement boot handle needed for MOT!

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General Replacement boot handle needed for MOT!

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Jonsel

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My 500C failed it’s MOT today because water had got into number plate housing causing bulb to fail. The garage tells me the corrosion is so bad that I will have to replace whole boot handle. List price is a steep £128 but there are some available on eBay for less. Please can anyone tell me whether 500C handle is same as on hatch and whether all pre-facelift cars have same handle.

The boot release had recently stopped working on both the handle and key fob and there is no sound from the switch. I imagine the corrosion in handle may be a contributory factor but have seen elsewhere in the forum that this may also be caused by wiring problems or the need to reset the roof. I had recently had to disconnect the battery so hoping it’s the latter rather than the dreaded wiring problem.
 
Jonsel said:
My 500C failed it’s MOT today because water had got into number plate housing causing bulb to fail. The garage tells me the corrosion is so bad that I will have to replace whole boot handle. List price is a steep £128 but there are some available on eBay for less. Please can anyone tell me whether 500C handle is same as on hatch and whether all pre-facelift cars have same handle.

The boot release had recently stopped working on both the handle and key fob and there is no sound from the switch. I imagine the corrosion in handle may be a contributory factor but have seen elsewhere in the forum that this may also be caused by wiring problems or the need to reset the roof. I had recently had to disconnect the battery so hoping it’s the latter rather than the dreaded wiring problem.
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Sounds nuts,,,, but, there's nothing to stop you from taking a piece of wire from the rear light cluster and connecting it to the number plate light(feed), just taped to the boot lid, as long as it works it will pass, will even pass if you simply feed the bulb from the lighter socket all the time(always on) until you can fix it?

Check the roof re the handle/locking, cycle it through open close, or something like that?
 
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It certainly seems nuts that one of two number plate lights doesn’t work so would cost nearly £200 to rectify (if using official parts) for MOT. At the same time front discs have been advisories for 3 years but still don’t need replacing!

Thanks for advice, will have to investigate state of wiring although a bit nervous what I’ll find.
 
Jonsel said:
It certainly seems nuts that one of two number plate lights doesn’t work so would cost nearly £200 to rectify (if using official parts) for MOT. At the same time front discs have been advisories for 3 years but still don’t need replacing!

Thanks for advice, will have to investigate state of wiring although a bit nervous what I’ll find.
Click to expand...

If one of the two still work(a much easier fix), and you can DIY, then its quite simple to repair the unit with some wire and a soldering iron.

Remove the whole handle unit and fully disassemble then just run new wires across to the other holder, they won't want to fix it this way as it would likely take some time(hours@ £? an hour) quick fix just replace at huge cost?

Most 500 handles fail for the boot switch, I suspect through lack of use, lazy people using the remote, touch wood our 59 plate one still works.
 
John202020 said:
Most 500 handles fail for the boot switch, I suspect through lack of use, lazy people using the remote, touch wood our 59 plate one still works.
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I suspect cheap components, salty winter roads, water, time and corrosion.

Unless you're doing at least some of the work yourself, running any car of any marque can get expensive once it's passed the 8-10yr point. For those with the right skills and tools, stuff that would cost hundreds at a franchised dealership can be fixed in an hour or two using nothing more than a few bits out of the 'useful stuff cupboard'.

A DIY pad & disc change on a 500 costs about the same as a tank of petrol; I've seen bills from franchised dealers of more than £300 for the same job :eek:.
 
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My 500c boot stopped opening via the handle and fob, I took it through the roof cycle and then It works again. It’s just a precaution that it doesn’t know if the roof is open or not so won’t release the boot.

Espically if you have disconnected the battery it will deffo not know what stage the roof is at.

I’ll add the photo that I found on the forum for the roof cycle.
 
Worth printing out and keeping it handy in the car.
 

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Just a quick update. I managed to find a new boot handle for 'only' £70 on ebay. This was fitted, MOT was passed but the boot still did not open on handle or fob. I did the roof reset and hey presto it then worked fine.

Unfortunately, I have something that is draining my battery every few days that the garage couldn't identify so for the time being I have to disconnect the battery if I am leaving the car for a couple of days. As a result I have to reset the roof every time I reconnect the battery. The joys of running a Fiat!

Anyway thanks for all your invaluable advice.
 
John202020 said:
Boot light? its not hard to find the drain, just hook up a meter and pull/replace fuses until the load drops, then at least you know which circuit its on?
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Agreed. Thought garage would find it as I haven’t got time at the moment but will have to do it myself at the weekend.
 
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