Technical Bonnet catch but most of all BOOT catch

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Technical Bonnet catch but most of all BOOT catch

TechyWill

Panda 1988 - 1000 CL
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
34
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12
Location
London
Hi

The catches on the bonnet and boot are irritating: the bonnet catch works, but you have to push it to closed with something metal, before you drop the bonnet, or else it won't "catch"... Anyway I can live with that...

What is annoying is the boot. It won't open from the outside. The only way to open is from the inside, using something to poke the catch open so it un-clicks. Then you can lift it. Any solution to this? :idea:
 
On the boot catch, have you tired pressing on just one side of the button? Sounds abit silly but its what you have to do on my CLX, . When I looked at the catch it seemed like it was because there was some movement in the rivets that hold it together.

I also have a similar problem with the bonnet catch on my Sisley, it worked fine then I moved the release cable under the dash and it wouldn't catch without having to do what you do, however now it catches on its own no problem again:confused:
 
Apparently the metal "tongue" from the boot button isn't reaching far enough to trigger the catch to open...

The key works fine on the boot. Although I wouldn't know. The boot has had this prob since I bought the car and it behaves like its always locked. (I think; not sure if the button depression varies or not, but at the end of the day, the boot isn't opening either way.)
 
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y boots done the same thing since I`ve had it, as have a couple of my previous ones.

The one now `clonks` when you press the button, but it doesnt open uless you yank the bottom corner of the bootlid at the same time.

The button sticks in too.

I`ve left it because its unlikely that a thief would work that out! :D
 
You can adjust the plate of the catch where it attaches to the front panel. That may be what's required. Take your boot lock apart and have a look at it. You may just need a new barrel - they are pretty rubbish and have a tendency to not last long.

Think I saw a write up from maybe AlanD about this..maybe worth doing a search.
 
Half the Pandas I've owned have had dodgy bonnet releases, and I've found the cable to be the problem most of the time, it's far too long. It's a system crying out for a redesign, and I may one day modify it to open from a front outside lever.
 
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Half the Pandas I've owned have had dodgy bonnet releases, and I've found the cable to be the problem most of the time, it's far too long. It's a system crying out for a redesign, and I may one day modify it to open from a front outside lever.

One day??...do it today Vern and save us all this hassle....:bang:..:devil:
 
You can adjust the plate of the catch where it attaches to the front panel. That may be what's required. Take your boot lock apart and have a look at it. You may just need a new barrel - they are pretty rubbish and have a tendency to not last long.

Okay what happens is the piece of metal that is attached to the barrel, slips to the right of the bit it's supposed to catch on. Instead of just pushing the catch open, the barrel or the other part is not staying perfectly aligned, so it's not opening. Dunno how I could adjust this seeing as I don't have access to a vice, nor do I have pair of heavyweight pliers.

Just trying to decide what to do next.

EDIT: Yeah I tried pushing the button to one side but it won't work. It needs a new something. (Barrel) Any idea how do I find the part number?

Purple Haze: I tried a search. You're the best person to search for AlanD's write up.
 
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There was a boot lock on ebay recently. It might still be there.

Cheers.

I emailed a guy on ebay and got a quote £19 inc post. Not sure if a new barrel will definitely fix it though. If anyone else has had the same problem would be nice to hear feedback...

EG. Possible there is something in the boot door that isn't holding the barrel correctly, since the barrel itself doesn't look broken in any way..

Thoughts?
 
As I said check if there is any movement in the catch plate, I think it is riveted together, that might be moving when you press the button instead of the catch releasing.

Everything seems to fit perfectly, no movement anywhere.

(When you say catch plate, do you mean the plate attached to the barrel? Have you taken apart a boot lock before? Read my previous post...)
 
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I took one apart a while ago and I can't quite remember what it was like, I will have a look at one of mine at some point, probably not until the weekend now though. By catch plate I mean the plate that holds the actual catch mechanism inside the tailgate.


Update.
Okay... this blooming thing is driving me nuts. I will explain with photos.

How it should be:
P1070358.jpg


What happens when you press the boot button:
P1070361.jpg


Either the spring inside the mechanical part of the catch is too strong, or the lock barrel is not holding still enough (too much play). But there really isn't much play at all. I honestly can't believe the bloody thing isn't working when I look at it.

Anyway, what I've done now is remove the spring in the catch mechanism. This makes the boot unlockable... but at least I can use it.

These 2 photos are clickable if you're interested, just for reference, so you can check your cars design matches mine.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j25/realmach/P1070357.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j25/realmach/P1070353.jpg

Any help would be really appreciated, because I really don't want to spend money on a new part or have to carry yet another key for the boot.
 
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This sounds like the same problem i'm having. It locks and unlocks, but when you push the button in, it gets stuck and the boot doesn't open.

This is the only way I can open it.

IMAG0184.jpg


Making the boot unlockable, isn't really an option.
 
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