Hood cover retaining locks

[jgbff7]

When I stow the hood on my S2 I push the cover down to lock it in the two catches. The driver's side is fine, but the passenger's side one does not stay locked down. It unlocks at the least provocation, such as a bump in the road.

Is there any adjustment in the lock? I moved the hasp on the inside of the cover to lower the hasp a bit, but it did no good. It is as if the ratchet in the lock does not fully engage. Maybe it is worn.

Any ideas please?

On the plus side the car went through the MOT with no advisories last week.

Thanks

John

[Tuga2112]

the only time i have experienced that was when i was realigning my hood and it didnt latch with enough pressure .
has it always been like that in your ownership or is this a new issue that developed recently ?

[Jamie N]

If you remove the part that is screwed to the header beam you can add washers so that it sits a bit lower, this will increase the force needed to latch it shut.

[jgbff7]

Always in my ownership.

I am being dim, but what is the header beam? My issue is not with the hood but with the two catches for holding the cover down when the hood is stowed.

[Jamie N]

Sorry I thought you meant the hood latches . Might be worth removing them both, check if one is more worn than the other, try swapping them over and see if it replicates the issue on the other side,
if the 'hook' part is worn you could make it more hooked again using a round file.

[Tuga2112]

i missundertood you exactly the same way as jamie did.

its possible your wire is under tession and releases always. but usually over time what happens is that pulling on the handle doesnt release it. the metal hoops can be adjusted if you undo them a little with a 10mm socket you can make them sit a little closer or further down

another possible reason for them to not lock is the spring in the mechanism not being strong enough to lock the pins.

since you got stuff that doesnt work. it wont do any harm taking it apart to investigate.

[dapinky]

The good news is that I understood you completely - but was confused by the other answers, so thought I was wrong, so didn't reply

Anyway, here I am now - I think Joao is on the right track with his cable tension thoughts.

For information, I changed my operating system away from a 'pull cable' to an electric release, using a solenoid and cables, but retaining the original latches in their entirety - to do so, I had to uncover and examine the way it all worked, so I could see what I needed to do.... I did it because a solenoid, switch and cable was cheaper than a new pull cable to replace my rusted/sticky one!

Anyway, what I would suggest is to open the cover and prop it up so you can see and access the 2 catches. Push the cable fully home and then you can operate each latch using a screwdriver blade to push the latch round where the 'hoop' on the cover would operate it. The metal bits should freely rotate and lock in the 'closed' position. It should lock so that upwards pressure with the screwdriver blade doesn't allow it to open (as would be the case with a closed cover). If you find that it does open, then the latch isn't fully closed.

If that is the case, then try pushing the cable handle in and see if that allows the latches to close and lock. If so, the issue is with the cable. If you remove the plastic cover on the side of the hood stowage area you can get you hand down to where the cable passes through the 'B' pillar bodywork, where you will find that there is a lock nut on the outer cable - if you undo it a turn, and tighten up the one on the handle side, it will lengthen the actual cable throw. Try the latches again until it gets to a point that they lock, but will still unlock with the cable.

It is one of those things that is far easier to see and do than to try to explain in writing!

With the latches locked (by screwdriver), operating the cable should allow the latches to both open with the cable, and you'll both see and hear them opening.

**** DO NOT TRY IT WITH THE HOOD COVER UNTIL YOU ARE PRETTY SURE IT IS CORRECT AS IT MAY LOCK SHUT WITH NO EASY ACCESS TO ADJUST IT****

If this doesn't sort it out, you can simply remove the plastic covers from the rear of each latch to get to the mechanism - it should look like this:-

hood catches.png

The cable will be attached to the lower pivot, and maybe that needs a bit of a clean/lube - or the actual latch bit at the top - either way, you will be able to see which bits move, and which bits stick with operating the cable - and adjust it all until it works.

Very little movement of the cable will make a big difference to the latch operation, so it shouldn't be hard to find the sweet spot where the latch locks correctly, and the cable releases it correctly.

I'm pretty sure that you can sort it in less time than it took me to write this, and you to read it.

[Tuga2112]

Thanks Dave for the detailed explanation.

this is yet another case where i find it easier to grab the camera and show taking apart the bits to show than it is to explain in writing. maybe i will do that later this week.

[jgbff7]

My grateful thanks, Dave, for two reasons.

First, your excellent explanation, which has helped a lot.

And secondly for saying you understood my original question! I was wondering if I had lost any ability to write with clarity!

John

[jgbff7]

Sorted!

I removed the grey cover to expose the mechanism. I found that the mechanism moved because its two fixing bolts were loose allowing the whole thing to flex a bit.

Thank you all for your help.

John

[Tuga2112]

make sure you have nyloc nuts on there.

if you dont have nyloc nuts, use threadlock to avoid them from coming loose in future.
I swapped my fasteners with 20mm M6 staineless A2 grade bolts and nyloc nuts