Emergency hood release?

My '96 Max apparently has a disconnected hood release cable - the knob in the passenger compartment moves freely, but the hood doesn't release. I'd drive it in for service, but the battery also went down and I need to open the hoosdto charge it. Any ideas please?

Reply to
Donald M Bailey
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There are charging devices that work by plugging into your cigarette lighter outlet. That'll let you charge the battery without opening the hood, so you can get it to the dealer.

-- Mike

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Reply to
mrogara

Sounds like you don't drive the car much, so I'll assume you can let it sit a while. I'd take the easy way out, and try charging it through the cigarette lighter with one of those little chargers. It's slow, but it will work if you give it some time. (Unless the battery is too shot to take a charge at all.)

If you have a low-amperage charger, you could use a lighter plug adapter and make your own. Be careful that you don't allow more than about 10 amps through the plug, or you'll blow out the fuse on the lighter receptacle. The center terminal is Positive, the edge of the receptacle is Negative.

Otherwise, you'll be taking off the lower shrouds trying to find something in the machinery to prod up near the radiator to make it release. If you do that, be careful around the radiator, the fins are super, super soft and damage very easily.

Good luck,

JM

Reply to
JM

On my Maxima the Cigarette Lighter is non-operative unless the battery is good and the ignition key is turned on to energize the relay that provides it with power. So, if your battery is dead, then so is the cigarette lighter charge method.

The primary proof is my voltmeter and the secondary proof is the goofy guy at Speedy. He plugged a dual 9 VDC battery thingy into the cigarette lighter to preserve the radio station presets when they disconnected the battery to do some MIG welding. Of course I told him that would not work, but he insisted. After I showed him the radio gone to all the same station he just scratched his head and muttered Japanses Cars.

rtt

Reply to
Richard Tomkins

Reply to
Downloader

Since the inside latch moves so freely, it could be the plastic latch under the dash has separated from the cable under the dash somewhere. You could try exploring under the dash until you find the cable end. Then, pull on it with a pair of pliers or vise-grip wrench; that should operate the hood latch up front. Once you get it open, be sure to lube all cables and latches. That is probably why the thing failed in the first place, short of broken plastic on the inside latch. As for recharging, the lighter socket input will work, as long as the key is in the on position. Good luck. Bob

95 SE Auto 89 SE Auto traded

release. I'd

Reply to
BeeP

Thanks for the help. When my frustration level receded I thought of the cigar lighter thing, but had not acted on it yet - doing income taxes (no,they're not late - deadline is 11/15 for the Form 990). I susoect a bad diode caused the battery discharge since the car is driven daily and was working well - battery less than 6 months old (the deep discharge won't help it any!).

Thanks again.

Don

Reply to
Donald M Bailey

Duh, yourself. If there is no voltage from the battery to operate the relay then you are not going to get current to the battery. Or do you not understand how relays work?

Reply to
Steve Manifold

I thought that the ignition switch was a manual operated relay. So when you twist the ignition, it flips over and completes the circuit, unless the relay operates with a capacitor. I work with relays all the time and I know that there are manual operated relays (light switch in the house) and there are electrically operated relays (which operate like a capacitor). I always assumed that there is voltage sitting at one end of the ignition switch and when you flipped it over, it was like flipping on the lights in your house, two pieces of metal touch thus connecting the circuit. From the schematic that I'm looking at, it says that the battery voltage is sitting at one end of the ignition switch. When you throw that switch to the Start position it actuates an Inhibitor relay which looks to me like it is electrically operated. Unfortunately, the schematic doesn't show just a "here's the battery" and "here's where all the trons go". I would think the same though. When you flip the ignition switch to the "On" position, it should charge the battery. If it needs the relay to operate, I would think that the voltage going through the cigarette lighter would operate the relay.

Reply to
Jason Hudson

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