Electric Boot Release. - How to fit.

OK - Fitting an Electric Boot Release:

Sorry if the pictures are not brilliant, I was using the phone and it kept raining so it misted up now and again.

The parts:
12ft (4m) Coloured electrical cable (I used the same colour as central locking)
12ft (4m) Black electrical cable. (you can get away with about 6 inches)
A solenoid and solenoid bracket (release kit on ebay £15.00)
Two scotchloks (Motor factors 39p)
A few Spade terminals. (Motor factors £1.99 for 10)
SAAB Boot release switch (Ebay £2.50, the ebay release kit comes with a button but it looks very cheap!)
A pair of cutters.
Stanley knife.
Drill.
Insulating Tape.
Cable sleeving. (Breakers yard - Free!)


So I decided I was going to try the boot release on an ignition live for now and maybe change to a permanent live at some point in the future.
Positives: Ignition live means that the boot cannot be released unless you have the keys, so secure.
Negatives: If you have locked your keys in the boot it doesn't help much!.

I also decided to hide the switch in the cubby hole box (yes I know I've told you where it is but you will still need my keys! lol)

I went for the SAAB switch because it is slightly recessed and you have to push firmly to engage, meaning it is less likely to be pushed accidently.

1: Remove the cubby hole box and drill out a hole for the switch. I did this by drilling some 1/8 size holes around a template then cleaning off with a stanley knife.












2: Trial fit the switch or modify until your happy with it.



3: Next you have to feed the wiring from the Cubby hole to the bootlid of the car, this is a pain in the sprocket, so don't expect it to be easy. You will need to remove the T-Bar plastic panel and the parcel shelf carpet. I pushed a draw cable following the existing wiring that leads into the transmission tunnel and attached my new cables to this. I used two wires from the cubby hole, one positive and one negative. You could just use one wire and fix the negative to a suitable point on the bootlid.





4: Thread the wiring through to the parcel shelf and follow the existing loom around to the rear of the shelf. DO NOT go straight across the parcel shelf to save cable because your access panel is there! At the nearside rear you will see the wiring loom disappear through a grommet. About 2 inches further up there is a spare grommet, I removed this put a small cross slit in it and pushed my wiring through into the boot bay.











5: Once inside the boot area I used some plastic sleeving (that I nicked off a Rover 45 in the breakers yard!) to follow the existing loom into the bootlid. You will need to open out the centre of the grommet to allow your cables to go through the same place, then you need to get to the top of the bootlid. I removed the bootlight (careful you may break the plastic clip that holds it in), then I used the draw cable again and threaded it between the grommet holes in the bootlid (see pic) this made it very simple to attach the wires and pull them straight through to the boot light space. You can then thread the wires around to the boot catch area.





6: Next is to drill two holes to attach the solenoid bracket to the bootlid, then attached the solenoid and loosely put it in position.



7: There is a cable(bike brake style cable) attached to the solenoid, I threaded this to the catch and attached it to the same point as the original key cable. I used a flange crimp to attach the cable but the ebay kits come with a fixing (The boot lock attachment is very hard to see and even harder to photograph, hence no pic). Attach the electrical wires to the back of the solenoid then go back into the car and remove the ashtray. In the tunnel you will see two wires that plug into the cigarette lighter socket. Using your scotchlok connector attach your new black wire to the black wire (negative) going to the lighter socket (these wires are very tight, so the scotchlok is a bit fiddly to put on, small hands would help). Attach your live wire from the boot lid to one side of the SAAB switch (the single terminal on the left) using the small speaker terminal type connectors. Then run a short length of cable from the Live wire on the lighter socket to the SAAB switch (Top terminal on the right. There are two terminals together) and use the speaker connector again.



8: You will now need to test whether the solenoid needs moving left or right to release the boot properly. NOTE: There is practically NO tension on the solenoid cable for the release to operate. Firstly shut the bootlid and see if it locks straight away, if it doesn't then the solenoid is too tight and needs moving closer to the lock. Keep adjusting until you are happy that the boot shuts properly and the release button 'pops' the boot when pushed. Also try the key to make sure that is still working properly, it shouldn't have any problem because you haven't disconnected anything. Once satisfied,tighten the solenoid into place and spend another hour putting everything back and your done!!!


Here's a pic of the button fitted into the Cubby Hole.




It's hidden from prying eyes, discreet and looks almost OEM. I will get round to painting the Solenoid and Bracket in BRG when I have time.

Can I just say, as an electrician, that Scothlocks are the work of the devil and are no substitute for proper crimps. They can cause many electrical problems.

CJJ;1646 wrote: Can I just say, as an electrician, that Scothlocks are the work of the devil and are no substitute for proper crimps. They can cause many electrical problems.

Mine is actually wired with soldered connections! (crimps are the work of the devils son!..lol ) The scotchloks were used to make sure it all worked and for the benefit of the thread, then replaced. Unfortunately some people will not be confident with cutting and soldering wiring (especially in a such a tight place) and as the switch is only going to be used now and again, for most people it would be the easiest solution.

The blades in the fasteners actualy cut the strands of the conductor as well as the insulate, thus reducing the current carrying capabilities of the cable. You also find that the join between the blade and the terminal works loose over time, giving intermittent faults, which are a nightmare, especially in alarm circuits.

Crimps are good if done properly and can be better than solder which causes an inflexible joint.

Still, it's all better than twisting the wires together and putting insulating tape over, which I have seen.

CJJ;1675 wrote:
Still, it's all better than twisting the wires together and putting insulating tape over, which I have seen.

So you've seen the Frank's wiring before then? Although it was masking tape not insulating tape. :rolleyes:

Yves Adele Harlow;1877 wrote: So you've seen the Frank's wiring before then? Although it was masking tape not insulating tape. :rolleyes:

:awwyeah:....

I have an idea / question about this. could you improvise this to do the bonnet release I.E remove the lever from the boot and attach the solenoid to the cable instead it would make sense to use it on the bonnet rather than walk to and open the boot to then open the bonnet

you would have to use one hefty solenoid to do the bonnet but if you made a gear system it woud work :broon:

I have already done this! :broon:

It needs 2-3 pushes to fully release the bonnet, but works fine. I removed the lever from the boot, shortened the cable and have an emergency manual release inside the cabin ... somewhere.

do we know if anybody has cut down the length of cable and moved the release to inside the car.. you know like most normal cars haha

see above :broon:

Brilliant how-to. One thing I don’t get- do I attach the bit of cable with the round end to the same place as the existing cable, or do I cut it off, and just attach it to it? My solenoid has a hoop on the end, so I guess I loop it through, and crimp it?

Thanks in advance 😊