Opps., how do I open the bonnet now?

[willg54]

Right...half way through taking the aux rad out with the cross member out the bonnet may have shut.....wasn't me....honest!

The drivers side latch fell into the catch and of course the bonnet release doesnt work.

Anyone know how to open it now? Must be a way of getting to the catch? Grill is still in too.

Cheers

Will

[Christophski]

Yeh. If u can peel the top open slightly u can just reach in and pull the cable above the headlight with pliers or jack it up and reach up from underfur car with ur arm

[martinws]

If you can get under the car you can either release the catch with a screwdriver or as previously said pull the cable with pliers.

[UrS4boy]

Hood (Bonnet) release: how it works and how to fix it

This is mostly for C4 but should be similar on a B3 or B4:
****************
C4 UrS-cars have a hood (bonnet for the Brits)that is held closed by two pins (Item 23 in the diagram below) that go through receiver latchs on the rad support. The hood is opened by pulling on a cable via a lever on the left hand kick panel (Item 22 in the diagram below). Pulling on the cable pushes a lever (Item 26) at the left side latch towards the centre of the car and pulls a lever (Item 27) at the right side latch towards the center of the car. This, in theory, releases both Item 23 pins from their respective latches. The hood pops up and inch or so which pushes the safety release "handle" ("hook" in Kate-speak)(Item 17 through) the grill. To complete the opening process you pull on Item 17 to fully release the latches and raise the hood.




Diagram Courtesy of Huw Powell

Left hand lever and latch (lever needs to go to center of the car)

Photo Courtesy of SuffolkD

Right hand lever and latch (lever needs to go to center of the car)

Photo Coutesty of SuffolkD

For our cars, the problem often is the clips (Items 25 above) that hold the cable to the rad support, break. This allows the sheathed cable too much slack and, as result, there is not enough pull/push to move the Item 26 and 27 levers. You have a problem since, unlike the 5000 (Type 44) where the hood doesn't have the grill part attached and you could access the levers with a coat hanger, with the C4, you need a different attack plan to get the hood open.

The first tricks to try are:

1. Get somebody to hold the hood down while you pull the lever (at Item 22) again, hard.
2. If that doesn't work, then you need to pull the cable itself at Item 22, using pliers. Pull hard on the cable. That often works.
3. If the pliers trick didn't work, you aren't hooped. But it is more work. Start with removing the belly pan.
4. With the belly pan off, and with a flash light to see and a stiff "rod", e.g. pool cue, broom handle, long thin pry bar, find lever 26 and push it to the center of the car. Then find lever 27 and push it towards the center of the car. That should work.

Now that the hood is open, check those Item 25 clips. While you are waiting for new clips to come at the dealer, use hefty nylon zip ties to hold the cable to the rad support. You might also check the slack in the cable, it could be too much. Slack can be adjusted at Item 43.

If you need a new cable (not very common) be aware of the two cable PNs, as shown above.

Hope that helps.

References:

SuffolkD's How to Open the hood (for a 5000) with good photos

Huw Powell's How to replace the cable on a 5000 (very similar to the C4)

[willg54]

thanks for that! I shall try in the morning...if its not raining anyway!

wont make that mistake again!

[Gazjen]

I've never done it

But when I didn't do it all the time I used a hook taped to a long bar, feed through the grill to hook on to the ring on the release and pull

Just another option

[willg54]

got it open!! screw driver through the grill worked a treat! thanks all!!

[urS6Tom]

One more thing to add to this thread. My bonnet was stuck and I had tried pulling hard, getting someone else to hold bonnet down and pliers on the cable.

What worked in the end was pulling the lever slightly to the left of its intended path, past the metal 'stop' which is intended to be as far as it goes. If you get it off line, there's another couple of inches tension available and this was enough to get my bonnet open

[re2500]

Hehe, dont worry you will do it again, its an easy mistake to make!

I remember i was driving to Nurburg in the summer of 2006 and in a fuel station i topped up my oil (my old 10v engine used to use a fair bit) i managed to leave my keys under the bonnet when i shut it. But for some unknown reason, i had locked the car just before??
Using a long thin screwdriver through the grill or above the headlight i eventually twanged the lever for each catch and retrieved my keys.