To save me reading the entire thread again could you clarify something? If you put the boot lid down does it feel like its hitting something solid and will not close any further? Or it goes into the slot but it does not catch and just opens again?

 

Well it wasn't working perfectly before, i remember i had to close the boot twice the day i bought it (but thought it was me not slamming hard enough) and randomly after that. The week-end before what we would now call "the incident" my wife slammed it 4 times before it closed. but again she was laughing and claiming that she has to get used to my new car, so again it didn't really ring a bell. So before it was closing with difficulty but it was closing at some point so the problem isn't strictly related to the boot light diagnosis and the part you gently sent me, it just put some light on it even though it was already there.

I tried the "get in the boot" method and for the first time and with a lot of patience i could finally close it (my wife was slamming / pushing on the boot) but to do so, i had to leverage the latch with a screwdriver in the highst possible position, but i could'nt get it to stay there because as i said earlier, the threads of the bolts are worn... and i think it's putting way too much stress on the bolts anyway, it's not a natural position.

Someone asked about if the car has been in an accident before, no it didn't : shapes are perfectly normal no dent or weird stuff, but someone had definitely a previous battle with this latch because theres scratches all around it. Next steps are trying to buy new slightly bigger bolts and take it to a garage who has maybe better ideas than i did (with your help, thanks again everyone)

 

Yup thanks, that's what i did, i even posted a video

 

Well, the hook goes into the slot but the plastic piece inside the latch isn't pushed far enough to make a full turn and lock it in place. I removed the aluminium / plastic 4cm part on the right hand of the hook on the boot lid guessing that it would prevent it from locking but it didn't change anything.

It's like the boot lid isn"t going down enough (can i change that ?) or the latch isn't high enough when properly bolted.

 

 

I did, i even completely unscrewed it !

 

If its in this thread I can't see it - might be handy so people can see what is going on.

 

Here it is : https://photos.app.goo.gl/CpKqSM55YrNwMCpi7

You're right, i'll update the first post i'm aware that some don't want to read all this thread.
EDIT : Well, i can't, the edit button is hidden after a while i guess, i can see it on recent posts but not on the older ones !

 

 

I think I may know what this is. First off when all the other doors are closed I would bet you DONT get the boot open light come on the dash?

Sounds to me like a problem I had with the door. Hang on brb. Going to try and find a link for you.

This is what happened to me https://www.jaguarforum.com/showthre...=1#post1077277 but I did not put up the solution.

Bear with me. I will try to be as clear as possible, without sounding condescending.

Basically you pull down the boot lid. The 'D' on the lid drops into a slot in the bodywork below. It hits the bottom of a U shaped catch? Hitting the bottom it forces the U shaped catch in the bottom to turn and go over the D from the lid and hold it in place.

What I think has happened to yours is that the latch in the body work has already 'turned' to grasp the D from the lid. So there is nothing for it to go into as its already closed. All you will hit the top of the holding hook and it will go no further. Hence why I asked if your warning light was off. If it is the system already thinks the boot is closed.

Hope this makes sense.

 

Thanks - I missed it the first time.

I was thinking more of angling the camera so you can see exactly what is (not) going on in the latch.

 

What you mean is i am trying to close it with the latch in the closed position but i'm not, the "D" hits the "U" and make it turn, but not enough, as if it was too low.

I've taken some pictures of the boot / bodywork : i don't see any bend or damage except from some scratched paint.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kSjFuJMJjCyq2qaQ8

 

 

Nope, the car has been deeply cleaned after purchase and the rubber seal around the opening is just like it should... I told you it's a complete mystery

 

 

Ryan,

From your pictures, this has been an issue with your car for a while now even with the previous owner. I did notice you have alot of wear on the hook coming down.

There's a post here way back on #5 about the hook being the problem, not the latch. Put a ruler on the surrounding top metal body next to hook to check for any deformation from repeated slamming of the boot.

I had a similar problem with my driver's door. I noticed the door frame's receiving striker was badly worn so the latch in the swinging door wasn't catching it easily. To test my theory, I wrapped the striker to make it bigger, to see if the door would catch better. It did so I just needed a new striker.

 

There's a time limit on post edits.
I've added the link to your first post.

 

TIME FOR THE EPILOGUE:

How?
I took it to the mechanic this morning. First time in 15 years of owning cars !
What my mechanic did is... drill 2 holes in the new bought latch so he could fit it higher than the default position (in the same body holes which were worn, he rethreaded them)

I had the right diagnosis (latch too low, the hook couldn't get far enough into the latch slot) but i kept on telling myself that i was doing something wrong because it is supposed to work like this.

As an explanation we think that my boot might not be original, though definetly an mk1 one, maybe it's from an xk8 and they're slightly higher, i don't know.

Thanks to everyone who helped, looked into this and maybe shared my headache, the important now is that it is working fine, the boot lights too (thanks david) so i'm gonna tackle another "problem" now : changing the gearbox oil (722.6 mercedes) and fitting a bluetooth module for my music.

Cheers everyone!