Xsara estate rear hatch locked

Nutcase · Post by **Nutcase** » 05 May 2008, 13:22

Hi,
Got a problem with the rear hatch stuck in the locked position!
I suspect it may be a broken wire in the loom where it enters the door, but unfortunately that is inaccessible with the door closed! (had a similar problem with a wire to the rear wiper some time ago).

Also, you can only remove the interior door panel with the door open as most of the fixings are inaccessible although I have managed to pull enough of it clear that I can reach into the door cavity where the lock motor is. Great I thought, should be able to feel a bit of linkage and pull it to release the lock. However, the device seems to be a sealed unit with no uncovered parts, sitting directly over the lock mechanism (or maybe its a single integrated assembly?)

I can feel the feed cable but can't feel/see what sort of connector it has or how to release it, and not much room to try and break into the cable to try a bypass.

Anyone got any tips on how to try and get the door open without damaging something in the process?

The car is a 2001 (MkII) 2.0HDI

All thoughts welcomed
Cheers, Greg

wheeler · Post by **wheeler** » 05 May 2008, 18:54

Do you mean the tailgate (bootlid) door or one of the rear side doors

Nutcase · Post by **Nutcase** » 06 May 2008, 08:35

Sorry, I meant the tailgate!

As it happens I have managed to sort it

After much groping around trying to disconnect the plug to the lock motor (unsuccessfully!) I tried opening the door with the handle and it worked.

Then removed both the lock and the door handle switch (what a pain) and there was a goodly amount of corrosion in the connectors to both - cleaned these up and everything back to normal. Glad it wasn't a broken wire in the end as that would have been much more of a hassle to repair!

The Haynes bol bore no resemblance to the locking mechanism on my car (which is the MkII) - the latch and central locking motor are an integral unit, and the latch (once it is unlocked with the keyfob) is released electrically by a switch in the door handle - no mechanical linkages at all.

Regards,
Greg

wheeler · Post by **wheeler** » 06 May 2008, 23:01

there is a manual release on the mk2. if you look on the latch on the side facing into the boot there is a small hole you can put a thin blade screwdriver in & trip the lock.

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 06 May 2008, 23:25

I think the electric hatch release on the Xsara II was a poor idea, when it was frosty we could never get ours to open, it clicked as you pressed the button but not a full click just sort of half a click & as there's no key over ride you are stuck!....as soon as the car warmed up a bit it started to work again…this went on every frosty morning

wheeler wrote:there is a manual release on the mk2. if you look on the latch on the side facing into the boot there is a small hole you can put a thin blade screwdriver in & trip the lock.

That’s a handy tip…I’ll have a look for it tomorrow

nick · Post by **nick** » 07 May 2008, 08:15

uncle buck wrote:I think the electric hatch release on the Xsara II was a poor idea

I agree, the first time I saw one of these was on a mklll Mondeo and thought at the time what a pointless complication it was. I had no idea Xsaras used them until I bought one!
I suppose its partly a security feature, unlike a conventional button with a keyhole its not possible to ram a screwdriver in and force the lock to turn.

wheeler · Post by **wheeler** » 07 May 2008, 19:01

wheeler wrote:there is a manual release on the mk2. if you look on the latch on the side facing into the boot there is a small hole you can put a thin blade screwdriver in & trip the lock.

That’s a handy tip…I’ll have a look for it tomorrow

I believe all citroen (cars) since the mk2 Xsara have the same manual release.