Help - cannot open bumper!

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Apr 1, 2017
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58
Car
2 x 2004 S211 320 CDI
Hi all. I have not used my car for a few weeks and took it for a drive. I was greeted with a bonnet open warning. I opened the bonnet and checked the plug, cleaned with WD40 and still no luck. I then tried to remove the lock and in doing so I think the cable has dislodged on the side where the sensor is. The little secondary latch does not pop out and the bonnet is stuck fast!. I'm feeling very dumb and unsure how to get the bonnet open. I don't even think the bumper comes off without the bonnet open.

I jacked up the car and removed the front plastic engine cover but there is no access up there to the latch without removing parts. Next step will be to remove wheel liner but if anyone has an idea it would be great. Trying to work in -3 on a gravel driveway is not fun

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The car is an e55 by the way

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Can you have someone hold the lever inside the car while you give the bonnet a tug up? Dunno about this car, but I've had that work on other cars when the latch has got stuck.
 
Thanks the problem is the cable is not operating the passenger side latch anymore so that does no good. The latch needs to be opened from inside the bonnet

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This happened on my C55.

I had to remove the engine under-tray then get a long hook (I found an old earth spike) got it up behind there and managed to get it on the end of the latch and pull it open. The it was a new cable and new bonnet release handle. The plastic ferrules on the cable break. It is a faff to find the catch when looking up from underneath. I used a google photo to get my bearings first then a very bright torch.


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Old wire hangers are good for hooks if it's a method that you need to use
 
Thanks guys.. maybe my car is not high enough but I'm struggling to see anywhere up there. Maybe removal of the wheel arch might help but there will still be a huge headlamp in the way. Did the coat hanger trick work from the outside. With the curve of the bonnet I'm not sure it would

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The original problem, the bonnet open warning, may have been caused by a faulty alarm siren due to the fact the car wasn’t used for a few weeks.

You really need the car up in the air to properly see and access the faulty bonnet latch. Try what is done in the first video below.


Dec

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Use Dec's video's or get a Google image with the bonnet open. This will allow you to orientate where the latch is at and where you need to be looking and hooking.

On the W203, the latches are located further towards the centre than you would assume. From underneath you could just get a tiny glimpse of the latch mechanism. You only need to pull or lift the cable so that it tensions the latch. It needs very little movement on the cable to release it maybe 5mm.

The other tip would be to phone a main dealer and ask them what they do? Beware they may just go down the who cares route and break the grille, or worse. But sometimes they do know the easy route.

The split cable runs across the underside of the slam panel. SO if you can see the underside of the slam panel you may be able to get onto it from there.

Have you tried the two man slam? One inside the car holding the release lever open (do not force it as it will stretch the plastic (how do I know) The other at the front of the bonnet bouncing the front RHS of the bonnet above where the latch is? Be careful not to put two palm sized dents in your bonnet.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I already saw those videos and they gave me hope but my car has WAY more in the way of the latch. The air suspension pump and perhaps a siren are in the way, maybe more above also. I should have mentioned I'm sure the cable has dislodged from the catch as I felt it release when I was inspecting it. I stupidly assumed this was the latch releasing so closed the bonnet.

The car was on a charger for the weeks it was not used. Since I've driven the car once the bonnet alarm did not go off but the other times it does. I might try disconnecting the battery and seeing if it helps but the alarm is just an annoyance rather than the problem

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Regarding the alarm, if a thief were to force the bonnet open, then it is the bonnet open sensors that would trigger the alarm, what I’m getting at is that if the alarm is faulty it could be causing the “bonnet open” warning, after all the bonnet wasn’t open, so what triggered the warning, yes it could be a failing/dislodged sensor switch or it could in some way be a corrupt alarm.


Dec
 

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