Hi Guys
Need help!! I think my boot release cable is broken, or detached somehow, somewhere, as i no longer can open my boot using the in glovebox thingo.

How do i go about checking this? Replacing it? or just fixing it?

Cheers,
Bonnie

can you use your key

can you use your key


that would mean turning your car off, getting out and opening it. Annoying if you are just dropping off someone who has something in the boot.


but to be honest, i have no idea

Hey please check: I discovered there's a little safety switch in the locking mechanism of the boot lid that will disengage the cable release so you can only use the key ..... Good luck.

First place to check is directly at the boot latch. If you look under the boot lid, you can actually see the cable that actuates the latch. If it isn't disconnected there, follow the cable to the electric motor that operates it, from memory it's mounted near the aerial, behind the boot carpet in the left (behind the rear 1/4 panel).

if you can still hear the electric solonoid going when you press the button, its the cable, cant see how it could snap, its not pulling much tension, might just be come loose, but if you cant hear it, its an electrical problem, check fuse wiring etc etc, if still cant find the problem, mabey the solonoid has failed. dont know how much they car, but yeah located near the ariel beind the carpet. might even be the switch its self, bypass the switch to see if it still works, or try the remote. use process of elimination

Similar thing happened to me...the cable had snapped from over use :nuts: Anyhow, Mitsu do not sell the cable separately :nuts: You have to buy the actuator and the cable as one piece. hold on to your seat, its over $300. :gtfo: Get a replacement cable from the wrecker anything from $50 to $90 (with the actuator), or try and find a donor cable of similar length from another brand car.

Sorry to resurrect this old thread. I have the same issue of a snapped cable and wanted to know if anyone had found a cheaper alternative to buying the complete actuator with cable. (Apart from using the key) I have been quoted $75 from a wrecker but was hoping to pickup just the cable somehow and save some $$$. Or could the cable be repaired?

From personal experience don't bother buying the cable from mitsu. It is a real pain to get it into the motor without stretching the cable. I initially bought two cables (one was incorrect) and even though one was the correct part it was about 5mm too short. So I went to a wrecker bought the motor and cable for $40. Took me 20 mins to fix. So much easier. So in short it'll be a lot easier and successful just buying the complete package. As said if you still hear the noise its the cable, if you dont its the motor. Check the boot lock too before forking out the $$$$ As for repairing the cable, it'll still have the weakness in the point where it broke. I highly doubt it would be possible. Just hunt around the wreckers for the motor and cable and you'll be fine.

Cable is actually very easy to change if you just get a cable, you only need to undo the little screw in the section the cable feeds into and then you can fit the new cable. You do need to make sure that you take note of how all the bits go back togehter

You can usually find the motors with the cable from self serve wreckers for bugger all

My cable broke, takes 10 mins to fit a new cable and motor. Dont bother going to mitsu as they charge an arm and a leg and only sell the two together. Just check the wreckers if its a snapped cable.

Thanks for the replys. No luck finding a cable by itself so far. The wreckers in Brisbane I have tried have only wanted to sell the actuator and cable together. Anyone know where I can get one?

Maybe try Dave at LancerCity at Caloundra - seen him list stuff on EBay for what seem like decent prices...... just whizz along for a noice drive if he can help you out?

Self-serve wreckers would be the go, just grab the cable yourself....... you'd need 10mm spanner (two bolts), Philips head screwdriver large n small, and maybe some pointy nose pliers. IMO, when paying if they see a small cable it'll cost heaps less than if you take the motor/actuator up to the till with cable attached.

We actually did resurrect one cable, but it had broken only about 20mm from the motor/actuator end - we shortened the outer sheath a corresponding amount, then stuffed-around for ages finding something small enough yet strong to terminate the cable (taking the place of the cast pellet at end of cable that fits into plastic cam of motor/actuator). I think it was something like a brass piece from an electrical fitting where wires are terminated - maybe we poked cable in and filled with solder, but with a heat-sink clamp to prevent outer sheath from heat damage....then we probably had to dremel/file away excess metal to make it fit anyway. If it broke at the latch end it might be bit easier to patch something up - slightly more room to work with.

Got there in the end, made it work - and still working - but a few wks later on a trip to Sydney I got a cable for cheap (maybe $15- tops, it was at a dear self-serve place, cos at that stage I didn't know about the you-beaut and much cheaper nearby self-serve!!) Good bit of bush-engineering we did - but I'm holding my spare cable cos we reckon our jobbie will die one day fer shure.

What did my friendly local dealer suggest -when we had pulled boot trim off, demounted to motor and removed cable from motor. and laid it all out neatly in the boot so even a moron could see it?
Well - over $500- for replacement part fitted. Oh, and $17-odd charge buried in the 60K Service bill to quote that price - WTF??? I have never been near that Service Dept again, and never will. Grudgingly, I occasionally order spares from that business, its my only choice. That episode and the oh-so-reasonable quote was why we stuffed around as much as we did!!

Thanks for detailed reply Phil. Much appreciated. Mine has broken in the same place, but it sounds like a major pain in the *** to do a repair. Will keep lookin I guess for a replacement.

As for the local dealers, I wonder if there are any that don't want to rip everyone off. I have been burn't a few times here as well.

Well I revisited a wrecker today and cant believe my luck. A TH magna arrived today and it had the cable. Removed and reinstalled in mine and all is working great. Thanks again for the assistance.

WIN !!!!! AMC shoots........and SCORES!!

it happen to my TE as well my cable was broken and i had to change the cale which cost me $65 to get the cable ... good luck mate

Picked my cable up for $33 which was a bit more than I was expecting, but hey, its working now. How much was that cable again?????

LOL, mine just snapped as well today, hopefully I'll find a wrecker with one. Sad thing is that this is a TJ replacement boot on a TF Magna that I'd never gotten re-keyed.

Good times, good times.

I keep these in stock and am open tomorrow