Hi

I’ve got a completely jammed boot-lock on my X300 1996 model.

The mechanical key-lock seems to be stuck. And now electrical lock would not work either. Not from the push-button on the boot-lid nor the button on the panel beside the steering-wheel.

The indication light for open boot lid on the instrumentation panel is lit, and the central locking is not working properly. (E.g. the doors do not lock when I put it in “Drive”, and I can’t lock the car using the key-fob).

After searching the forum for a solution to my problem I found out it is possible to unmount the license plate and open the lid by operating some of the rods inside the booth through the holes for the license plate.

The only rod, (or joint), that I found possible to move was some part of the electrical locking. I could hear the same sound operating the rod/joint as when the electrical locking on the boot lid is operated, but with no result.

I haven’t tried the valet switch in case this makes the situation even worse.

I suspect that it might be the switch indicating if the lid is open or closed that has failed, since the central locking is not working properly.

Is there a way to open the boot lid without using brutal force?

 

Welcome to the forum !!

I hope this post helps

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ot-boot-52539/

 

There is a lot of good advice out there on how to get into the boot, but everything I've seen presumes that the trunk lock/latch mechanism itself is *mechanically* functional. So, yes, try lubricating your truck lock cylinder. If that does not work, try removing the license plate and accessing one of the two rods that run to the trunk latch. You would need to pull the rod toward the right side of the car (passenger side if your car is LHD, driver's side if your car is RHD) to open the trunk.

If that does not work, you may have a broken trunk lock/latch mechanism and this is more problematic. When I bought my '95 XJR, neither the key nor the growler button nor the inside trunk release button would work. Using a sawzall, the previous owner had cut a very large hole in the sheetmetal behind the license plate in order to access the trunk lock/latch. It doesn't get much more brute force than that and the only saving grace is that it cannot be seen when the plate is on. The upside is that it gave me plenty of room to diagnose the problem and what I discovered was that a portion of the metal arm that actually works the trunk "release" had fatigued and broken off, meaning that no amount of fiddling with the key in the trunk or either of the electronic buttons was ever going to have opened the thing, because a critical piece had broken off.

In my car, both the truck lock/latch and the microswitch mounted to it (which is supposed to "tell" the car whether the trunk is already open) were faulty and needed to be replaced. In your case, it certainly sounds like the microswitch is bad, if it is indicating that the trunk is ajar when it is still locked. Hopefully that is all, and the trunk can be opened by manually moving one of the lock rods to the right, as described above. However, if no amount of moving the lock rod can get the trunk to open, your latch mechanism itself may have failed, requiring (unfortunately) a hole to be cut in the boot lid to gain access.

No matter the root cause of your problem, once you get the boot open, make sure to remove the carpet bootlid liner and inspect everything related to the latch mechanism to make sure they're working properly before you close it up again. You can test the electric release mechanism with the boot open by pulling the 2-pin connector from the microswitch on the latch mechanism. This will fool the car into thinking that the boot is closed even when it is not, and allow you to watch the solenoid moving the latch arm while a helper pushes the dash-mounted release button or while you push the growler button.

 

Thank you guys for instant reply and great advice.

Thought I'd let you know it was the microswitch attached to the lock-mechanism indicating whether the boot is open or closed that failed.

Both key-lock and electrical lock is working now so everything is just great!

Thanks!

 

Can someone explain to me why a microswitch failure would result in a total inability to open or close the boot/trunk by any mechanical means?
Seems a bit of drastic a consequence from such a simple electrical item failure.

 

Moderators and Admin,

I think we need a stick on this issue as it comes to light very regularly, just an idea.

 

Short answer: it can't.

There are two independent linkages that can operate the trunk latch: one is connected to the lock cylinder and is purely mechanical, the other is connected to an electrical actuator mounted in the trunk lid.

A bad microswitch can't prevent the trunk from opening by the direct mechanical link between the lock cylinder (where you insert the key in the trunk) and the trunk latch. What it can do is provide a "false signal" that the trunk is already open, which will prevent the dash-mounted trunk-release button and the trunk-mounted growler button from having any effect. Both of those buttons operate the electrical actuator.

My suspicion is that the key began working either because the lock cylinder was lubricated or because repeated attempts to open the trunk with the key finally freed it up. Then, once the trunk was open, the bad microswitch was diagnosed (there would be no way to access the microswitch to test it until after the trunk was opened).

 

I think you're right, I'll add it to the FAQ's, everyone looks there first.

 

where is microswitch locate it?

 

It's mounted to the latch itself, inside the trunk lid. In this photo, it's the black rectangular piece (with the "CHERRY No." and "JAGUAR No." printed on it) mounted at an angle on the right side of the latch. IIRC, my original microswitch was white and the black one pictured was the new, improved design.

 

Glad your sorted...

After my boot issue I always close the boot carefully now, the wife for some reason still slams it :O(

 

Thanks for the pic, how its call right? I try find one, but don't know right name.

 

It's called the "trunk latch microswitch." Current Jaguar part no. LNC6242AC

 

I'm going to put my car in winter storage soon (96 Sovereign). Previously I've had a storage space where it was possible to charge the battery all the time, but this year this isn't possible. So, this time I'm going to have to take the battery out. The boot release button has always been a bit dodgy, but I've always managed to open it with the key.

Question 1:
Can I lock the boot and the doors without the battery.

Question 2:
Is there a real danger that I can't open the boot anymore if I lock it without the battery (if possible)?

Should I play it safe and leave the doors and boot (a bit) open?

 

Searching the forum for a solution I tried all the suggestions I could find. Finally I put a little penetrating oil on my key and tried it again. No result, back to forum. Thought came to me, I'll call it a God thing, "push down on the trunk and turn the key again. It worked, trunk popped open! Easter Sunday 2015 miracle!

 

In this photo ...is it straight forward to remove the metal rods from the blue plastic clips, I will be replacing the lock mechanism in a few days to overcome switch problem I hope. , many thanks

 

I have a problem with trunk lock works fine with key but not inside switch?