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Bonnet Wont Close


ben goddard
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i opened my bonnet to refill screen wash and now it wont close.

It catches on the safety catch, but not the spring catch.

so far i have tried removing the rubber studs to see if they were causing a problem, nope.

wd40 on the catches, nope.

so it now closes on the safety catch (with the yellow release) but not on the spring one.

as far as i know the cable under the bonnet looks ok (i think), i have included a picture, but i took the picture facing forwards, so its back to front.post-23770-0-33478200-1359975837_thumb.j

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Hi Ben

I don't know if this will help, but I had the same problem with my Galaxy Mk3

Everything seemed to work ok (spring loaded locking mechanism - tested with a screwdriver :mellow:, released ok with the bonnet latch) but the bonnet just couldn't push the first part of the mechanism out of the way to get to the locking mechanism

So, being careful not to trap my fingers I just moved the yellow catch slightly while closing the bonnet and voila, bonnet closed ok

Hope this helps

Ian

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Hi Ben

I don't know if this will help, but I had the same problem with my Galaxy Mk3

Everything seemed to work ok (spring loaded locking mechanism - tested with a screwdriver :mellow:, released ok with the bonnet latch) but the bonnet just couldn't push the first part of the mechanism out of the way to get to the locking mechanism

So, being careful not to trap my fingers I just moved the yellow catch slightly while closing the bonnet and voila, bonnet closed ok

Hope this helps

Ian

thanks for the reply, tried it but no fix. it does go into the yellow catch easily, but not the spring one. it seems as if the spring catch, doesnt move :/
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Could it be that the locking mechanism is in the locked position and just needs releasing with the bonnet latch in the car?

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Could it be that the locking mechanism is in the locked position and just needs releasing with the bonnet latch in the car?

i tried that. nothing happens, but (im no mechanic) that cable for releasing the bonnet, (that silver wire in the pic) seems like it should be attached to something?
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i tried that. nothing happens, but (im no mechanic) that cable for releasing the bonnet, (that silver wire in the pic) seems like it should be attached to something?

From the picture it looks like the cable (wire) has popped off the lever, have a go at re-attaching it/ get someone who can fix it, its probably a good idea to get it sorted because if you run the car with the bonnet not closing right air can get under it at speed and damage the bonnet/ windscreen/ roof

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From the picture it looks like the cable (wire) has popped off the lever, have a go at re-attaching it/ get someone who can fix it, its probably a good idea to get it sorted because if you run the car with the bonnet not closing right air can get under it at speed and damage the bonnet/ windscreen/ roof

yeah i didnt think the cable looks right, its not attached to anything, and i cant see where it attaches, do you know what/where it attaches to?
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  • 4 months later...

Hi, did u manage to figure out what was wrong as im having the same problem!

That wire is not attached to anything but rather is used to pull back the locking mechanism to release the catch. Unfortunately the locking mechanism is not moving forward on its own to engage once it has been released. Not sure if its just a wd40 job although I have sprayed on a little to no avail. Have managed to get the bonnet closed by simply pushing the locking mechanism forward towards the catch before closing the bonnet as normal.

Any help would be much appreciated!

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I had the same problem a while back and tried wd40 but it didn't work. So I got a small wire brush cleaned it all an the got some spray grease. That worked a treat.

Once you've pulled the catch the cable don't do much it goes all slack until you close the bonnet back down.

Hope you get it sorted

Adrian.

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Wasn't this on the Ford free fix list? Mine did the same but during the service they greased it with something yellowish. Never had a problem since. Guess they had problems closing it after they'd finished! haha

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  • 9 months later...

Has anyone come up with a solution to this problem? My 2010 Fiesta has had an intermittent fault since I bought it new. I thought the garage had fixed it but I can't close the bonnet today after topping up with screenwash.

Any ideas?

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I had the same problem, ended up getting the AA out as I didn't fancy driving it home and couldn't lock it! He said it was a faulty bonnet catch but slammed it shut with brute force! I took it in to Ford and they refused to replace it even though the AA mechanic said it needed replacing!(It was under warranty at this point). All Ford did was to grease it up big style! Seems to have done the trick!

My suggestion is to either call your breakdown if you have it or grease the hell out of it!

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  • 1 year later...

Got this problem as well. Very annoying the bonnet catch dosnt seem to spring when fully depressed.

I got a screwdriver on hook for the bonnet and can push the second latch down but the release latch that holds this closed isn't clicking into place. have tried WD40 but think im looking at new bonnet latch any idea how easy to fit?

found one on fordparts for £30.

****FIXED***

Fixed this with lots of wd40 and 30minutes working the lock backwards and forwards releasing catch and closing again seems to of worked.

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  • 10 months later...

My bonnet would only catch on the safety latch.After several hours cleaning and oiling still couldn't get the bonnet to close . Then a helpful neighbour shone a torch and looked at the closure action. He noticed that the hasp fitting was closing on the very edge . Using mole grips he managed to twist the metal hasp back toward its original position. The bonnet then closed like a dream. Previous slamming had distorted the hasp.

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  • 2 months later...

Hi all, I have today fixed the exact same issue with my bonnet catch on my 09 fiesta. I am a very novice DIY mechanic but always try to fix problems if I can. 

Hopefully I can help someone out by explaining what I did to fix it:

There are 3 screws holding a plate over the top. Remove these and put them somewhere safe. Mine has some wires connected to the top so I pushed it back and used a tool to weigh it down. 

The main bonnet catch mechanism is now visible and is held in place with 2 bolts facing the front on the car. Remove these with a socket set (can be a bit fiddly because some plastic body work was in the way, but a bit of careful downward force moves it out of the way). Once the bolts are out the mechanism comes out easily. The release cable will be attached to the side so disconnect and the mechanism is free so be covered in WD40 and scrubbed with a wire brush. I also popped it into a sandwich bag with a load of WD40 to soak for 10mins. Scrub it some more, make sure all the moving parts are nice and lubed - the part causing me the problem was the right hand part of the main catch, it's attached to the spring and SHOULD be pulled into place when the bonnet in down. It only moves a tiny amount but if not freely moving it won't do its job. Once you are happy it is sufficiently free-moving then reassemble by reversing the above actions and add a load more WD40 and try closing the bonnet. 

Total time spent = about 30 mins. Get the radio on and a cup of tea and it'll be a doddle!

It worked for me, hope it works for others. 

KernowMatt

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I had this problem on my last fiesta -- I'd suggest an alternative to wd40. It temporarily sorted it on mine, but then would come back after a week or two.  Proper grease should do better I think. 

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1 hour ago, jbell said:

I had this problem on my last fiesta -- I'd suggest an alternative to wd40. It temporarily sorted it on mine, but then would come back after a week or two.  Proper grease should do better I think. 

Is there a brand of grease you can recommend? Cheers. 

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1 hour ago, kernowmatt said:

Is there a brand of grease you can recommend? Cheers. 

Any should do really, main reason I'd advised against wd40 is it isn't really a grease

https://lifehacker.com/5891936/when-should-i-not-use-wd-40

In my case when the wd40 dried up, the problem would come back 

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  • 3 weeks later...

hi there ,i had same problem .

i just soaked it with wd40 and with a screwdriver kept on moving the mechanism to and fro .

took a while but eventualy it started working again

 

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wd40 is good at getting things moving again that are stuck but as said above, it is not a long term solution. It is not a grease, it evaporates and only leaves a very small greasy residue.

After you get things loosened off and moving you need to oil or grease them to stop the problem returning. It might not return quickly, it might take many months but if you do the job properly the problem should not return for years. Only using wd40 is a bit of a temporary bodge in my view.

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  • 3 years later...

Hi guys my 2006 1.4 has had this problem sporadically. Just solved the problem. The mechamism has been cleaned and works fine it`s just the very fine tolerances change as the car gets older. Quick fix. Forget the mechanism itself. Just unbolt the 4 bolts on the bonnet itself holding the "catcher" or hook. and slide a thin washer behind the plate onto the screw end of the bolt. Re tighten and bingo! 

Problem is the hook does not travel far enough down to quite catch the mechanism. Try it..  

 

Edited by sage
don`t worry re opening. I`ve opened and shut it loads of times since.
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  • 1 month later...

The solution to my issue was that the latch used to unlock the bonnet (the one under the steering wheel) wasn’t fully back, so I pushed it into the lock position then closed the bonnet and it was as able to close 

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I had a similar problem on a different car some years ago.   It proved to be the cable rusting.   I removed the cable and managed to get some oil into it and it cured the problem.

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Wd40 (or PlusGas if it is really rusted,) is fine to get it all moving again. Once you are back in, unbolt the lock, give it a good clean with white spirit to get the congealed grease and grit off and stuff it full of any available general purpose grease. (Wheel bearing grease is cheap and does a good job.)  Work grease into the cable by operating the release thirty or so times.  You won't have to do it again.

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I had the same issue, WD40 it and work the latch with a screwdriver, I know it sounds too simple but I was out there for and hour, decided to wd40 it and it work straight away.

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