Trunk release problem.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 385
Likes: 92
From: Bognor Regis UK
Alfa 159
Trunk release problem.
Ok so I used the word trunk in the title...but that's it. Elephants have trunks not cars so will be calling it the boot from now on ...lol!
Anyway...I noticed today that although I can open the boot with the remote it no longer opens with the release catch on the boot lid itself. Whilst this is not a major problem I would like to sort it. I also noticed a light rattle inside the boot lid if a shake it...So my guess is something had broken and the offending item is causing the rattle. Before I take it apart has anyone had the same issue and what can I expect to find when I remove the inner liner?
Anyway...I noticed today that although I can open the boot with the remote it no longer opens with the release catch on the boot lid itself. Whilst this is not a major problem I would like to sort it. I also noticed a light rattle inside the boot lid if a shake it...So my guess is something had broken and the offending item is causing the rattle. Before I take it apart has anyone had the same issue and what can I expect to find when I remove the inner liner?
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 434
Likes: 16
From: Midlands, UK
CLK W209
Is it the registration plate surround that is rattling? (The plastic insert that would be changed if it were to have a square plate.)
When I shut the boot I get a rattle, and that is partly the cause. The major contributor to the problem however, was how the number plate affixed to the bootlid. I went to Merc and bought the ones they sell with their own cars, just a very nice solid plastic holder, requiring no screws. -That removed most of the rattle when I used it. Only cost a few £ too.
When I shut the boot I get a rattle, and that is partly the cause. The major contributor to the problem however, was how the number plate affixed to the bootlid. I went to Merc and bought the ones they sell with their own cars, just a very nice solid plastic holder, requiring no screws. -That removed most of the rattle when I used it. Only cost a few £ too.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 434
Likes: 16
From: Midlands, UK
CLK W209
No idea about the trunk release though. The lever on the CLKs, are electronic switches I believe, and not a direct mechanical link to the latch. Does the lever on the boot move or is it seized?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 385
Likes: 92
From: Bognor Regis UK
Alfa 159
Lever moves fine....must be the contacts in the switch or the wiring. The rattle is a very light sound and you can here it moving about if you slowly open and close the lid. Seems too much of a coincidence that the rattle starts as the catch fails. I'm all good as long as the remote release works.....will be stuffed if that stops working too!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 385
Likes: 92
From: Bognor Regis UK
Alfa 159
Ok. So I took the boot lid liner out and found this. The two (blurred!) wires in the foreground should be in the socket in the background. I guess 14 years of opening and slamming it shut had finally killed them....funny how they both broke at the same time though
. The metal bits on the end of the wire are the ends of the pins snapped clean off are after years of slight flexing I guess. The wires also took quite a sharp route which cant have helped. these wire connect to a micro switch which is pushed when you pull the catch on the lid and thus releases the boot lid.
So I extracted the broken pins from the plug (not that easy as the plug is no more than quarter of an inch in size) that I had in turn extracted from the socket in the first pic and removed the pin remains from the wires. Next I soldered the wires to the pins...again not easy due to their size... which left me with this.
After I took this photo I coated where the wires entre the plug with high modulus black silicone. This is partly because the wires were partially exposed and partly to give it a bit of extra strength to stop it happening again. I also rerouted the wires to take some of the tension of them. All good....I like the simple and free repairs!!
EDIT. The slight rattle I mentioned in the opening post was just a piece of broken trim clip snapped off one of the centre pin expanding retainers that hold the liner in. I had a spare so sorted that too!
. The metal bits on the end of the wire are the ends of the pins snapped clean off are after years of slight flexing I guess. The wires also took quite a sharp route which cant have helped. these wire connect to a micro switch which is pushed when you pull the catch on the lid and thus releases the boot lid.
So I extracted the broken pins from the plug (not that easy as the plug is no more than quarter of an inch in size) that I had in turn extracted from the socket in the first pic and removed the pin remains from the wires. Next I soldered the wires to the pins...again not easy due to their size... which left me with this.
After I took this photo I coated where the wires entre the plug with high modulus black silicone. This is partly because the wires were partially exposed and partly to give it a bit of extra strength to stop it happening again. I also rerouted the wires to take some of the tension of them. All good....I like the simple and free repairs!!
EDIT. The slight rattle I mentioned in the opening post was just a piece of broken trim clip snapped off one of the centre pin expanding retainers that hold the liner in. I had a spare so sorted that too!
Last edited by ALFAitalia; Aug 3, 2016 at 03:49 PM.
