Technical 500 c 2016 uk model

[Latchg]

Hi all, my wife’s car has two problems. Fiat 500c 2016..

1) it says the boot is open all the time when it’s is physically closed.. the boot release works where the number plate light is, so believe the wiring loom is ok.. does the lock mechanism have a sensor within it?

2) her telephone connects to the car and she can hear people, but they cannot hear her. It’s not her phone as have tried another one, and I checked the voice commands using the steering wheel button and the car rewinds.. any ideas please?

 

[Thaidai]

1) it says the boot is open all the time when it’s is physically closed.. the boot release works where the number plate light is, so believe the wiring loom is ok.. does the lock mechanism have a sensor within it?

I have a 2019 Abarth 595 with the exact same problem
Car has just been serviced (not dealer) and was told by them that it was the boot lock mechanism and the unit needs replacing
Haven't done that yet as it doesn't bother me too much, also the dash warning light is not an MOT failure, but will have to at some point
Interested to see any other comments though I suspect they are correct!!

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Hi all, my wife’s car has two problems. Fiat 500c 2016..

1) it says the boot is open all the time when it’s is physically closed.. the boot release works where the number plate light is, so believe the wiring loom is ok.. does the lock mechanism have a sensor within it?

The post-2013 cabrio isn't prone to the same failures as the hatch but it could still be a wiring issue. I had a broken wire, though mine is pre-2013 with the shorter cable. Is the boot latching properly? Does the boot light go out when the boot's closed? Can you open the roof fully, i.e. stacked over the boot? If the boot's closed but not latched the roof will not go past the 'spoiler' position.

 

[Latchg]

The post-2013 cabrio isn't prone to the same failures as the hatch but it could still be a wiring issue. I had a broken wire, though mine is pre-2013 with the shorter cable. Is the boot latching properly? Does the boot light go out when the boot's closed? Can you open the roof fully, i.e. stacked over the boot? If the boot's closed but not latched the roof will not go past the 'spoiler' position.

Hi there.

The boot closes properly and the light as best I can see goes off.

The roof does not full open because of the boot open error.

Occasionally I noticed my wife had some boot closure problems , ie bag caught in mechanism, so would try banging the boot lid closed, hitting the already closed latch. If there is a sensor in the locking mechanism then it’s highly probable that it got damaged that way. Does that make sense ?

 

[Latchg]

I have a 2019 Abarth 595 with the exact same problem
Car has just been serviced (not dealer) and was told by them that it was the boot lock mechanism and the unit needs replacing
Haven't done that yet as it doesn't bother me too much, also the dash warning light is not an MOT failure, but will have to at some point
Interested to see any other comments though I suspect they are correct!!

Seems very similar to my wife’s car.. I removed the locking mechanism and have a part number, might just buy one as under £30.

 

[Thaidai]

Tailgate Rear Boot Lock Catch for Fiat 500 Bravo Grande Punto Evo 199 55702917 | eBay

Fiat Punto Evo 199 2008-2012 All Engine Hatchback. Fiat Grande Punto 199 2005-2015 All Engine Hatchback. Fiat Punto 199 2008-2012 All Engine Box. Fiat Punto 199 2008-2012 All Engine Hatchback. Door Lock Actuator.

www.ebay.co.uk

Will probably get this and try fitting it myself
I'm presuming its the same unit for all the Fiat/Abarth 500's although the part numbers vary slightly
Can anyone confirm this???

 

[Latchg]

Tailgate Rear Boot Lock Catch for Fiat 500 Bravo Grande Punto Evo 199 55702917 | eBay

Fiat Punto Evo 199 2008-2012 All Engine Hatchback. Fiat Grande Punto 199 2005-2015 All Engine Hatchback. Fiat Punto 199 2008-2012 All Engine Box. Fiat Punto 199 2008-2012 All Engine Hatchback. Door Lock Actuator.

www.ebay.co.uk

Will probably get this and try fitting it myself

Looks different to the one my wife has on her car, see the attached.

 

[John202020]

Check the wiring first, to the boot lid?

 

[Thaidai]

Check the wiring first, to the boot lid?

Car is only 4 years old with 20k miles, so the tailgate opened infrequently. Surely it wouldn't be the wiring this soon!

 

[Derbyfella]

I’ve got a boot mech on sale on eBay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325868480243
quite happy to sell off there if people actually want it.

 

[jrkitching]

Car is only 4 years old with 20k miles, so the tailgate opened infrequently.

Depends on how those 20k miles were accumulated. If it's been used for a lot of short journeys carrying stuff in the boot, it might have been opened more times than you might think.

And opening it a few times in winter when the temperature is below freezing could result in more damage than opening it many times in summer, when it's warmer and the plastic insulation is more flexible.

Surely it wouldn't be the wiring this soon!

Mine failed at this sort of age.

All this doesn't necessarily mean it is the wiring loom failure fault, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out without inspecting it properly.

It's also possible that the microswitch inside the handle may have become stuck/corroded/gummed up; we've seen a few of these too. One quick cheap thing to try is to spray an electrical contact cleaner into the mechanism. Don't use WD40 for this; whilst it might work initially, it'll leave a sticky residue which will attract new dirt, and the solvent can damage some plastics, including the wiring insulation.

 

[John202020]

It's also possible that the microswitch inside the handle may have become stuck/corroded/gummed up; we've seen a few of these too. One quick cheap thing to try is to spray an electrical contact cleaner into the mechanism.

I found with ours that the switch is fine even at 14 years old, the problem is the steel pin the handle pivots on rusts and its travel gets less and less as the return spring is small eventually it wont move enough or stuck in "open boot position" dismantling the whole handle/silver part and just cleaning worked a treat and the handle moves far more than ever

 

[Latchg]

Check the wiring first, to the boot lid?

Did that and it looked fine.. the boot itself is not open a huge amount of times as it’s small so anything large goes inside the main car cabin

 

[Latchg]

Thanks everyone for the reply, given replacing locking unit is the easiest and relatively low cost. I might just try that first

 

[Thaidai]

Looks different to the one my wife has on her car, see the attached.

I would imagine that that cabriolet and tin top are different units

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

My 500C boot is opened (and shut obviously) at least twice almost every trip and I've had no issues of this sort. Having said that, I've noticed it definitly needs to be slammed a bit harder these days or it doesn't always latch and I get the 'boot open' message (which I usually miss) or I come to open it again only to find it unlatched. It's not obvious as it sits flush with the opening.

 

[John202020]

My 500C boot is opened (and shut obviously) at least twice almost every trip and I've had no issues of this sort. Having said that, I've noticed it definitly needs to be slammed a bit harder these days or it doesn't always latch and I get the 'boot open' message (which I usually miss) or I come to open it again only to find it unlatched. It's not obvious as it sits flush with the opening.

Check the bump stops? Or its possible the latching loop has moved very slightly, just enough to require more of a slam?

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Check the bump stops? Or its possible the latching loop has moved very slightly, just enough to require more of a slam?

Thanks John; I'll fiddle with the stops but I'm reluctant to start messing with the latch adjustment in case I make it worse. I've always tried to shut the boot, and of course the bonnet and doors, with a minimum of force, dropping the boot lid from no more than a quarter open, and until recently that's been enough.

 

[Latchg]

Hi all.. the 500c boot open light problem was in the end the wiring loom, fractured cables where it comes out of the main chassis, known defect.

 

[jrkitching]

Hi all.. the 500c boot open light problem was in the end the wiring loom, fractured cables where it comes out of the main chassis, known defect.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome.