Technical 500c boot not opening (2012 1.2 Pop)

[Derbyfella]

Wife has just told me that her boot isn't opening. Doesn't work on key fob or the handle/button although handle does move....apparently its been slightly slow to open on occasion over the past couple of weeks.
So is this likely to be gunk in the handle and switch mechanism or a slightly different occurrence of the hatch wiring issue....please?

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

If it's been playing up for a bit it's likely the microswitch is gummed up or else has failed. Mine did early on and FIAT's fix was to replace the whole handle! It's easy to remove from the boot lid though and dismantle. In that case however the boot should still open with the fob button.

The boot wiring is fairly easy to check on the 500C too. There's no rubber gaitor over it and I noticed the vinyl sleeving had split long before a wire failed.

The very first thing I would do though is run the roof initialization procedure. If the roof controller has lost it's 'memory' and doesn't know where the roof is it won't allow you to open the boot at all.

 

[Derbyfella]

Worked perfectly thanks piccolo. No idea why it’s done that….as the battery hasn’t been disconnected. But hey ho… means I don’t quite have to spend 50quid on the hatch fix kit just yet.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Cheers. Might be worth getting your battery checked if it's an older one. Also can happen if the roof jams momentarily so you could try treating the sliding parts with a dry lubricant.

I don't think there's a kit for the boot wiring on the 500C, it's a lot simpler than the hatch - I got mine seen to by an auto electrician quite inexpensively.

 

[Derbyfella]

NEW FOR FIAT 500c 09-20 REPAIR SET CABLE WIRING HARNESS TAILGATE LOOM REAR DOOR | eBay

FITS FOR ABARTH 500C / 595C / 695C ,FIAT 500C (312) 2009.09-. NOTE:ONLY FITS FOR ABARTH 500C / 595C / 695C ,FIAT 500C CONVERTIBLE MODEL. Harness wire for boot lid (450mm, number of pins: 7, with cover) ABARTH 500C / 595C / 695C; FIAT 500 C 0.9-1.4 09.09-.

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7 wires for the c. The issue for me was getting them through the grommits. So mine is repaired but looks crap…even though it’s out of sight mostly.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Well, there'ya go - I've never seen that. I'd be a little concerned that the section between the grommets is similar to the original, which was too short. On the 2013 500C FIAT fitted a cable fully twice as long and clipped it to the boot hinge arm.

 

[Derbyfella]

Well, there'ya go - I've never seen that. I'd be a little concerned that the section between the grommets is similar to the original, which was too short. On the 2013 500C FIAT fitted a cable fully twice as long and clipped it to the boot hinge arm.

that’s exactly what I’ve done with the wires currently
to be fair if the wires are more flexible (silicone)and there is some give in the tube and gromits, then th e fix is something I’ll do later.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Actually the cost of that part, plus postage to AU, would be more than the cost of the mobile autosparks I used to fix my boot cabling and, given that it took seven years to reach that point and my much-reduced mileage these latter days, I won't be worrying about it again anytime soon.

 

[John202020]

Solder a new silicone section on to the old wire, use the old part to pull through the new bit once through make good both splices?

 

[Derbyfella]

Solder a new silicone section on to the old wire, use the old part to pull through the new bit once through make good both splices?

the new bit you are in effect just soldering in a piece (7 pieces of wire).
thats basically what i did, but gave up with the tube because one of the gromits was so ridiculously tight i couldnt get 7 tiny wires through