Locked rear boot

[eyeosteverino]

I got my 75 X1-9 back on the road after paint, carb mod, roll bars. To top off a long day, I let the rear boot lid drop-clunk. Although the release cable always worked before, now it doesn't, and the emergency cable broke. What a revoltin' development that was. Has anyone solved this puzzle, or do I have to cut a hole in the lid to reach the latch?

[So Cal Mark]

if the safety cable won't release it either, remove the license plate and drill a 1/8th hole then use a thin screwdriver to release the latch

[divace73]

It almost seems typical that a Fiat emergency cable breaks....My emergency hand brake hardly functions at all.........I have an emergency cable for my bonnet (hood), have never tested it as it may be labeled somewhere 'in case of emergency, you only get 1 use'.....

[kmead]

Before drilling have a second person pull the release by the door and try lifting the lid and if that doesn't work, push down on the lid and then have them pull and hold the handle while you lift up. Sometimes the release can be under such tension it won't release.

The drilling does work. I had to do that years ago on my 1980 X which worked fine. Go to XWeb for more details.
http://www.xwebforums.org/
http://www.network54.com/Forum/12159/me ... 20+seconds

his procedure is not for the faint of heart, the proud of bodywork, or the concours champ.


Well I had to get the rear trunk of my exxy open and none of the tricks worked. There was no emergency cable, and the break wasn't acceable from the side air vent.

1) Remove the rear liscense plate.
2) With a magic marker, mark a 1/8" spot exactly between the liscense plate bolts and 72 mm down from the lip of the body panel, under the lip of the trunk. [ Don't worry about the mark. It will come right off. ]
3) Grab your favorite drill with a 5/16" drill bit. Drill through the spot. [See that, the mark is gone ! ]
4) Take a 1/4" rod or dowel, and insert it in the hole at an angle. Angle it such that it goes in towards the right.
5) With your hands on the end of the dowel that is outside the trunk, push it to the right. This will release the trunk. It may not "pop" the trunk, but you can pull up on it while moving the rod.
6) Put some waxoil, LPS#3, anything in the hole to protect the metal, and top it off with a plastic plug from your local hardware store.

[maytag]

I had to do the drill trick as well. It works, and is hidden neatly behing the license plate.

And then I installed a door-lock solenoid, with a hidden button in the cab in an easily accessible location. No more cable to break.
Yes, I may end-up with a ded battery one day and need to get in through my drilled-hole... BUT: it seems to be more reliable than the cable actuator or key cylinder that everyone has had trouble with!

[eyeosteverino]

Thanks for the hole trick. I tried it first on my parts car, and it worked. Now I'm smiling as I head to the real problem. I drill the hole, I insert the screw driver, I push the trip lever to the left, I push harder to the left, the latch won't trip. Smile gone, scratchin head and mutterin bad words. Then, I try to push the lever to the right...click, the boot opens. No wonder that the cable pulling on the latch didn't work. I had reinstalled the latch backwards. Lesson learned, your never too old to do something stupid. Thanks again for the help, and see you at FFO.