May be coincidental, but had the battery disconnected on my 2004 XJ8 and tried to open the hood; pulled the release latch and the hood did not release. Reconnected the battery and now the hood release cable seems 'frozen'.

I have seen that there are some electrical wires connected to the hood release mechanism, so wondering if something needs reset; or if it really is coincidence that the cable has seized up and I just didn't realize it until I disconnected the battery and then tried to open the hood.

 

I do not think the battery has to be connected to release the hood.

There is wiring and a sensor that will alert you when the hood is open.

 

The bonnet (hood) release is independent of electrical power.

There are a couple of wires to one of the latches which has a switch

that signals when the hood is open.

If you have the standard "cheese cutter" grill, the centre part can be removed

to give some access to the latches.

 

The release mechanism is mechanical with 'bowden' cable connecting the Latches (item 3) to the Release Handle (item 6):


(click on the image to enlarge it)

The battery needs to be connected for the 'open' warning to function.

Graham

 

The cables are notorious for rusting-up and gradually the force needed is too great and something gives way. I had this problem on my previous X350 and replaced the cable. However, I first made sure the mechanic ran oil all the way down the cable before replacing it. I had no more trouble. Other thing is that the routing of the cables on early cars is not good. My mechanic re-routed it and again no trouble. My current X358 (a Sovereign), has a different cable routing.