The most important components and assemblies are hidden under the hood of the car. In this regard, drivers periodically need to open the hood. This could be an oil change, filters, spark plugs, or repair work. But sometimes it happens that after pulling the lever the hood does not open. This is an unpleasant situation, especially if you need to hit the road in a few hours. But there is a way out of the situation. How to open the hood if the cable is broken or the lock is broken? Let's look at it in our article today.
Determining the place
It is very difficult to determine exactly where the cable broke or fell off. Sometimes it can be the castle itself. But we will talk about it at the end of the article. Usually the hood does not open due to a cable that operates a mechanical lock.
The drive breaks off in two places - in the cabin, at the lever, or under the hood. It practically doesn't break off in the middle. Depending on the location of the cliff, there are several ways to get out of the situation. We will talk about them below.
What to do if the hood does not open
In the lives of many car owners, situations occurred when the hood became jammed and opening it was not possible. This happens very often when rust forms on the body or the hood latch gets old. However, the most common cause is a broken cable.
You can solve the problem without contacting service, but this will require the help of a partner. He must pull the lever, which is located in the cabin, and the owner at this time pulls the hood, having pressed on it before. If the attempt is unsuccessful, then the reason for the hood blocking lies elsewhere. However, even in such situations, the problem can be solved.
Opening cable . The cable is an element of the electromagnetic mechanism under the hood. The controller is also located here. The cable runs under the hood and connects to a switch in the cabin.
It can tear or jam for a number of reasons. The most common is normal wear and tear. In this case, access to all mechanisms under the hood will be closed.
How to fix it . The first thing to do is to find the place where the rupture occurred. It is impossible to say the exact location of the cable, as it depends on the car. Therefore, before work, you should read the instructions for the car. The main thing to do is to find the end of the torn cable and pull it. This must be done using pliers, otherwise you may injure your hands.
If all the work was done correctly and you pulled the correct cable, the hood should open without difficulty.
Radiator grille . On some cars, you can remove the radiator grill in just a couple of movements. Through the hole you can gain access to the locking mechanism, this will allow you to open the hood without any problems.
In order to open the mechanism, you need to prepare a screwdriver with a long handle. It needs to be inserted into the radiator grille. In most cases, this does not work the first time. But in subsequent attempts it will be possible to remove the body element.
Protection on the engine crankcase . You can open the way to the shutter mechanism through the bottom of the car. All you need to do is remove the crankcase protection. Before doing this, you need to additionally take a flashlight and a screwdriver.
After the crankcase is removed, you need to try to free the lock from engagement. After successful operation, you need to do the same with the secondary latch. If you apply proper effort, the hood will be open within 10 minutes. After work, you need to screw the crankcase into place.
Bottom line . There are three ways to solve the problem of a blocked hood yourself. But if you doubt your efforts, you can contact service specialists. After all, careless and inept work can lead to more serious consequences.
Method No. 1
How to open the hood if the cable is broken inside? First you need to get to the location of the lever. If it moves freely and effortlessly, and the cable is not secured under it, the second part must be looked for in the tunnel (drive shell). Usually part of it will be peeking out. Using pliers, carefully grasp its edges and pull the element towards you. The larger the contact area, the easier it is to catch on to the cable.
On some foreign cars, a completely removable mechanism is mounted in the place of the lever. How to open the hood in this case? You will have to completely remove this mechanism from the front panel and find the end of the cable in the resulting gap.
Method No. 2
If the element is connected to the lever, but the latter moves freely and without effort, it can be assumed that the drive has broken in the lock area. How to open the hood in this case? To do this you will have to remove the radiator grille. On domestic VAZs it is attached to plastic latches. And there are no problems with its dismantling. On foreign cars the situation is more complicated. In order not to break the grate, you will have to use a different method here. A long flat screwdriver comes to the rescue. Using it, you need to feel for the entrance of the cable and pull it with a tool. You can get to this place through the grate. But if the dimensions of its holes are small, you will have to get there through the bottom, parallel to the cooling radiator.
Hood opening methods
To understand the best way to open the hood if the cable breaks, consider the following methods:
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- a piece of strong wire bent at the end, which must be threaded through the radiator grille. This method is the most painless if the opening mechanism is visible through the grille. Use a flashlight to understand exactly where to press or which part of the lock to pull;
- with removal of the radiator grille. In some cars, the grilles are fastened with latches, which allows them to be quickly removed, thereby freeing access to the lock. Sometimes this part can cost a lot of money. Think carefully about how to open the hood of your car if the cable breaks before breaking the grille. If you bend the trim with metal objects, place a rag in the place where it stops so as not to damage the car’s paintwork;
- in some cars you can access the lock drive from below. We will demonstrate this method using the example of the VAZ 2114, which will be relevant for many of the brothers of this model.
VAZ 2114, 2113, 2112, 2108, 2109, 21099
We will open the hood on a front-wheel drive vehicle from the VAZ family. To gain access to the engine compartment, you need:
- Unscrew the engine protection. For example, the VAZ 2114 still has a boot installed, which also needs to be dismantled. Since you will have to work under the car, take the front mats and place them under the bottom, turning them over;
- Next, you need to lie under the car to stick your hand to the hood mounting point. To open the lock, pull the rod to which the cable is attached.
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VAZ Classic
The lock on VAZ 2101-2107 models is located at the windshield behind the engine shield. Models 2106-2107 are most convenient for opening. A left plastic air intake is installed near the lock. Prying it up with a screwdriver, you will see a torn cable. If the cable breaks at the base, build a hook so that it can be used to pick up the rod. Be sure to press down on the hood in the latch area to make opening easier.
How to open the hood if the lock is broken?
This is the most serious case. If the lock is broken, the first two methods are simply powerless. What to do in such a situation? How to open the hood without damaging the car?
In this case, we will need an inspection hole or overpass. Additionally, you will have to remove the engine crankcase protection. It is attached with bolts (for plastic ones, an 8 wrench is usually suitable). We remove the protection from the grooves and use a flashlight to carefully inspect the engine compartment. We need to find the inside of the hood latch. How to open it? This can be done using a screwdriver. But it is not always possible to reach the edge of the castle. In this case, you need to install an extension on the screwdriver handle. Having reached the desired place, we pull the lock to the side. The hood can be safely opened.
Break under the hood
If the cable breaks under the hood, the procedure will be somewhat more complicated. To do this you will need to remove the radiator grille. In this case, you can quite easily get, for example, an open hood of a VAZ-2109. The radiator grille of old Soviet car models is attached to plastic latches.
By removing the grille, you can get to the engine compartment, albeit a small part of it. Next, refer to the operating instructions. It describes in detail the layout of the hood lock, as well as its drive.
Next you need to use a long screwdriver. With its help, you can try to reach the part of the lock to which the cable is attached. This will open the hood. Then the tongue simply moves back and the hood lifts. In this case, the cable will have to be changed.
How to open the hood if the cable has come loose?
A similar problem often occurs among owners of domestic VAZs (including Lada Samara). How to open the hood if the cable has come loose? You will need two 17mm wrenches. You need to use them to unscrew the bolts from the “crabs”. Next, take the key for 8.
Or we unscrew the small engine protection. A total of five bolts need to be unscrewed. We move one of them to the side. Next, we put our hand between the cooling radiator and the engine. We need to find the lever on the “TV.” We move it to the side, towards the battery. Then you can safely open the hood. If you are going to continue driving, do not forget to reinstall the engine protection. However, to replace the damaged element, you will have to remove it back. Experienced motorists recommend changing the cable on the spot - this will save a lot of time. Below we will tell you how to carry out the procedure yourself.
Emergency service “Door Master” - prompt assistance from professionals in Minsk
How to open the hood if the cable is broken? Contacting the specialists of the Door Master car opening service in Minsk is the most reasonable solution if the hood cable has come off and the driver was unable to fix the problem on his own or was left outside the car without a key. Our specialists go to the repair site immediately after submitting an application and promptly fix the problem without damaging the car or additional costs for its restoration. If necessary, they will supply a new steel hood lock actuator, guaranteeing its impeccable service throughout its entire operational life.
Replacing the cable yourself
If this element is torn, it urgently needs to be replaced with a new one. First you need to remove the old, damaged element. The cable must be pulled out of the special fastening in the spring. To do this you will need pliers or a screwdriver. Then the fastening near the lever is removed. It is very difficult to get to it. For convenience, you can use a mirror. To release the fastenings in the body part, you need to remove the rubber plugs. After this, take the cable out and install a new one.
How is installation done? The new cable must be installed starting from the engine compartment. First, it is secured to a spring. Next, a “rope” is installed in the mount and securely fixed with a rubber plug.
Please note: before running the cable into the cabin, you should put a special plastic cap on it. It will serve as a limiter. We insert the cable through the standard hole. We fix the drive on the lever. Next we need the help of a second person. It will pull back the spring along with the cable. At this moment we tighten the loop on the handle. This way the cable will be stretched better and installed properly. But be careful: an over-tensioned drive can quickly burst.
Helpful advice
In order not to encounter the problem of a flying or burst cable in the future, lubricate it periodically with lithol or a similar product.
And when buying a new one, pay attention to multi-core models. As reviews note, they are much more reliable than standard ones and are very difficult to break. When opening the hood, do not pull the handle sharply. In 80 percent of cases, the cable breaks because of this.
