Omega Help Area > Omega General Help

Bonnet auxiliary/emergency release mod?

(1/6) > >>

rds:
Has anyone managed to work out how to fit a permanent emergency bonnet release activated from outside the car, eg dangling pull chord etc for the facelift model. I do not mean the tool described in the FAQ/Maintenance guide but as something to prevent the need for that by planning ahead and fitting permanently.

I managed to open my bonnet finally and do not want to go through that worry again (yes, I appreciate that fitting  a replacement cable will stave off the reoccurrence at least for a while, but that isn't the point here) and thought that an auxiliary pull might be a good idea (low-life excepted). I have already pulled back the outer cable and there must be a limit to that trick....

Looking at the bonnet release, it seems sandwiched between two sheets of the slam panel and I could see no easy way; however brighter sparks than me might have already done it, so please share!

Cheers

RDS

Doctor Gollum:
You could try servicing it and adjusting it correctly...

rds:
Thanks chum; that was done per the maintenance guide, but I am after a different approach as requested!

Doctor Gollum:
The cable is only one part of the mechanism and without hacking into the upper cross member, (which is structural), you are unlikely to apply any meaningful force to the release mechanism... The other parts being the retaining spring and the latching pin (and spring).

If the bonnet is bent or out of position, even a smidgen, then the latch will bind. The bonnet has four sequential crease points on each side, including right at the top of the grill.

The upper cross member is designed to push back with the bonnet as well, and thanks to being relatively low even a minor tap being reversed into in a car park could tweak the latch position by as much as 5 mm without being immediately obvious.

If your cable is at the limit of adjustment and you still struggle to open the bonnet, then either the cable has stretched or the latch position is off. Or both.

And I speak as the only person here, that I am aware of, who has actually replaced the upper cross member. assembly. And that car still had the original cable at 270k. The only times the bonnet was a struggle to open was following an impact... 1x deer, 1x reversed into by an SUV, 1x giving a Honda Civic a love tap when they decided to stand on the brakes in lane 2 of the M27, and 1x going under the back of an 18t lorry on the M6. All required a new bonnet, and the M6 one being the one that required the upper cross member.


The point being that the cable isn't the only point of adjustment.  ;)

TheBoy:
Pains me to agree with DG ;D, but I do.

Adjust it right (that includes the bonnet, as well as the cable), and its trouble free with basic annual checks and maintenance.  It the bolt securing the cable no longer secures firmly in the slam panel, then fix that,

If you want to be prepared against cable failure, have a spare grill on standby in case to have to smash in to release the latch.


Any DIY emergency release is going to suffer the same as the standard cable.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page