Brock Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 Tried to open the bonnet today but not joy. Lever in van worked but the bonnet wouldn't open. Managed to open the bonnet with a net curtain rail. Cable inside the plastic sheaf wasn't moving when pulling on the lever in the cab. Unclipped the cable in the bonnet area, poured WD40 into the cable as much as I could, pulled on the cable to stretch. Reconnected and it worked. Question is whether my cable has had its day and am I going to have problems again and the second question is whether there is an alternative to replacing the cable so it doesn't happen again. Could have been a stretched cable, water or dirt could have got in, or it got tangled up on its long journey from the lever to the locking mechanism. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 Contrary to popular stories Bowden cables do not stretch, they're made of stainless steel (sadly it is often a poor grade so it still rusts). What can happen (and often does) is water and crud get into the cable assembly and cause corrosion. Eventually the inner and outer cables corrode together and you get a bonnet relese that doesn't. You will almost certainly need to replace the cable but the good news is you can probably utilise a bicycle rear brake cable rather than having to go to Fiat or Hymer. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 Thanks, Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Historically, a bowden-cable 'inner' was made of galvanised wire (not stainless steel) which is why it rusted unless periodically lubricated. Producing a new cable should be straightforward provided that the original end-fixings are commonplace (eg. a simple cylindical fixing) that can be obtained easily, or can be DIY-copied, or can be re-used. This company (there are others) specialises in control cables and will produce bespoke ones: http://www.venhill.co.uk/Home The following links may help with DIYing a cable: http://www.venhill.co.uk/Downloads/CableConstruction.pdf http://www.dansmc.com/cables.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob b Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 If the mechanism jams up again before you've replaced the cable, it will help if you get someone to push down on the front of the bonnet as you pull the release lever. The bonnet will normally spring free then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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