Help - Urgent Help Needed to Open My Car Bonnet
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48
deleted5788
48 Help - my wife's Peugeot 207 GT wouldn't start on Friday (just made a clicking sound when she turned the ignition)
Green Flag came to her work address Friday PM and jump started it, checked the battery & alternator etc and said it would charge on the 8 mile journey home.
I tried it yesterday and it still wouldn't start and so when I went to jump start it I found the the bonnet release lever in the passenger footwell was loose and I can't open the bonnet.
I can't see the cable behind the lever and it looks like I'll have to pay to have it recovered to a garage on Monday unless I can get it going, as I don't have homestart on my Green Flag policy.
Anyone got any helpful advice please?
Green Flag came to her work address Friday PM and jump started it, checked the battery & alternator etc and said it would charge on the 8 mile journey home.
I tried it yesterday and it still wouldn't start and so when I went to jump start it I found the the bonnet release lever in the passenger footwell was loose and I can't open the bonnet.
I can't see the cable behind the lever and it looks like I'll have to pay to have it recovered to a garage on Monday unless I can get it going, as I don't have homestart on my Green Flag policy.
Anyone got any helpful advice please?
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sorted byI heard a saying that Peugeots spend more time in garages then on the road.
Anyway, he removed the plastic trim along the door sill which curved up towards the lever, this allowed him to undo the lever and remove it. The bonnet cable was still attached to the back of the lever mechanism and he was just able to pull it with pliers. The bonnet popped 1st time.
He wasn't able to repair it, so I'll have to get it back to Peugeot to have it sorted.
Green Flag turned up to my wife on Friday (who was on her own) after a 2 hour wait, despite texting her that attendance would be no later than an hour. They also gave a dodgy excuse when my wife called for an update. Although he got the car going, he failed to diagnose the battery fault and sent her on her way with the assurance that everything was ok.
The RAC bloke turned up to home on a non emergency call within 30 minutes (and he rang on the way), got the bonnet open, sussed out the battery fault and replaced it from stock held in his van. I was very impressed with the service.
I'm sure many people will have good and bad experiences with both Green Flag and RAC, but I know where my money will be going at renewal.
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If you don't know how old a battery is and you start suffering starting up issues, Replace battery.
Pleased you got it sorted, Now sell it and get something that isn't French.
And give it a good yank - they are sometimes slack
not advisable to bump start modern cars
Advisable by who?
Any other viable suggestion as to how the OP is going to get it running and to the garage that won't incur recovery costs?
Car is an 08, bought from Peugeot Dealership 7 months ago. When I picked it up the lever wouldn't work, so they took the car out back - 10 mins later it was sorted.
When my wife got home Friday, I checked under the bonnet ok as I was gonna put the battery on charge overnight.
Weather was so bad Friday, I thought I'd wait to charge the battery until Saturday so closed the bonnet.
Lever didn't work Saturday a.m. just hanging slack, with no resistance at all
Push starting modern cars is not recommended (some car manuals have ths in big letters) because they rely on several parts to start correctly that will not get power they need before the engine starts due to the push start. Jump starting is advised as that way all the car's systems are correctly powered for a normal start and avoids the potential of damage to engine components.
John
Bump start it, take it to the dealer and get them to fix it properly
Was there any reason for the battery to be flat such as headlights being left on or was the engine restarted repeatedly within a short period of time? If not, it sounds like the battery is needing replaced which I've just had to do on my car as the cold seems to have finished it off.
I was going to say check the position the bonnet catch is in as it sounds like it hasn't returned properly when the bonnet was closed but the fact this was a fault on the car before means it's probably not as simple as that - can you see the lever/catch under the bonnet at all?
John
The battery doesn't seem completely flat now as the automatic door mirrors still work when unlocking the car. The Green Flag bloke said the battery was charging ok, but I'm not whether it was flat on Friday when he jump started it. Lights hadn't been left on, as they are automatic.
Wife now thinks it wasn't starting perfectly a couple of times over the past week but never mentioned it to me.
I've tried the pushing up and down on the bonnet technique, but there is zero resistance on the lever in the footwell so no joy.
I cannot even see the bonnet catch, as the bonnet itself sits flush wit the rest of the bodywork as per pic
1. tow the car a distance away from the house and then call greenflag and say it has broken down
2. look around for companies that sell car batteries that would come out to fit it. ask them if they would be able to open the bonnet as it seems stuck. say that you would buy a new battery from them if they can get the bonnet open to install it.
sounds like the car needs a new battery anyway.
Tried that, they said it was fine when they left it, good yank made no difference
Full check at purchase came back clear, no other signs of accident evident. Seems more likely to be a bonnet cable/mechanism problem?
Is that your house in the background.
Looks cool
Doh, Mutleys suggestion might have been better. Get them to come and open it for you.
I feel for you if it is
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very true observation but this also happens in real life.
good diversion. don't want greatest stalking your house. (_;)
Seriously, who wouldn't stalk someone who lived in a house like that.
you sound like that bloke out of the old tv program, through the keyhole, 'and who lives in a house like this?'
i can't see much of the house to be able to distinguish it in the photo so I am surprised you can. it looks like there is a ghost image of a ship's layout in the photo which I am confused about.
House? looks like a mobile home - but theres another thread about them
So it seems even if I got the bonnet open I wouldn't be able to jump start it anyway.
Not sure what the Green Flag bloke did to get it going, wife said he just connected it to a mobile battery starter thing, but if the battery was charged already how would that help?
So it looks like I'll have to pay cost of recovery, repair of starting system and repair of bonnet lever.
Wouldn't trust charge indicator, However perhaps your starter motor or immobiliser may be faulty, French cars = Headache...!!!
Yes that was deliberate.
The massive sperm shaped caravan in the background.
That's the house.I think.
it looks too small. nah, i wouldn't want to stalk someone whose house is unlikely to fit us both in comfortably.
I doubt the device is measuring the battery correctly but it may be possible while the battery is taking a charge, it's simply not producing enough power to start the engine. If that was the case then a jump start would get the engine running and from then on it will mostly be the alternator providing power.
My car's battery has just failed on me, it's been getting tougher to start when cold (taking a bit longer) and then last week would no longer start the engine. When I turned the key in the ignition all the dashboard lights would light up as normal but when I turned to start the engine the starter motor just slowly chugged round, the dashboard lights flickered and various relays clicked away.
Looking around there doesn't seem any easy way to get to the release cable (without removing body work) which is understandable to stop people who shouldn't be opening the bonnet getting access.
John
but this would cause a dent?