Boot has a mind of its own

[kena]

[quote=""marlin758""]

To be continued ............[/quote]

[marlin758]

LOL Patience , patience . The parts are in the post from maplin , should arrive tomorrow morning hopefully

[nujon]

Very interesting thread for a new 06 owner to note - does the handle incorporate a circuit board?

[marlin758]

Yes - nothing too complicated - a 4 way connector which carries the feed to the number plate lights and also to the two microswitches which open the boot - no active components.

The board is approx 8 inches long by approx 3/4 inch at it's widest point .

[nujon]

Thanks marlin758 - so the only degradation mechanisms are switch wear or switch or PCB-track corrosion?

[AW8]

Marlin758,

Dealer tried to bodge mine by spaying silicon grease everywhere. End result was a greasy mess and still not waterproof so I sorted mine as discussed.

I never needed to split mine & assume you are using mastik or superglue to reseal the rubber housing you seperated.

I would consider using clear "solid seting"silicon sealant, (as used by double glazing installers), to deal with areas where water may later want to ingress.

Thanks for sharing info & especially for the maplins part number.

Later on I am sure that info re your method of resealing & idiots guide to using the multi-meter would be appreciated.

Good Luck

[marlin758]

Hi nujon - yes spot on , possibly the 4 pin plug too but it has a rubber gasket round it and projects into the boot lid so should be ok .

Hi AW8 - maybe they changed the part as mine has no rubber , it is a very hard plastic moulding bonded to an alloy plate and a very convoluted shape .

Looking at realoem.com they are different part numbers for facelift and non-facelift models.

I had to cut the back off using a Dremel with cutting discs which took me a good hour as, while cutting, the plastic started to melt , bonded itself to the edge of the disc and then 'grabbed' the plastic in the cut and snapped the disc. I had read somewhere that it was quite easy to cut the back off for access to the board / switches and I kept thinking that someone else's idea of easy was not the same as mine

So it took a while and quite a few discs . Also the moulding is very close to the circuit board in some places and it is very easy to cut the tracks on the board. Easily remedied by soldering a wire link across the cut - I know , I did it . LOL

As for reassembly I intend to chamfer all the cuts , tack the back in place with plastic glue and then fill them all with a black plastic bumper repair kit . This is a black plastic paste and hardener which sets to look exactly the same as the bonding used in the first place .Cost me about £8.00 on ebay , I bought it to repair a crack in the bumper of my son's Peugeot which he promptly sold and yesterday picked up a very nice E39 5 Series 3.0 D Sport in Silver with black leather . Looks like a squashed version of my E53. Nice car though.

I have at the moment removed the suspect switches off the circuit board and taped the unit together and refitted it to the car . Obviously the boot lid won't open from the handle but the car has gone 3 days without the phantom boot opener . So it's looking hopeful.
I think the problem in my case wasn't water ingress but the switches failing.

Then as you say a bead of clear silicone round it to seal it and hopefully a waterproof repair.

[AW8]

Thanks for explantion - all of interest.......... sounds like you've had fun

[pvr]

Very interesting.

I trust you took loads of pictures during all of this

[marlin758]

Success

I replaced the switches and coated the board in silicone grease , glued the back on with epoxy resin, then went over the joins with the bumper repair plastic .

I then ran a bead of clear silicone along the joints between the plastic back and metal frame and also filled in every mook and cranny with silicone . I then filled the groove in the rubber seal for the number plate lights with silicone grease and clipped the lenses back into place.

Replaced the unit on the car and the boot unlocks with a press on either side of the rubber button and not had it randomly unlocking itself up to now.

[marlin758]

Sorry pvr - I haven't taken photos , wish I had now .

When I started my expectation was that I would cut it open , mess it up and throw it in the bin

then buy a new one and and feel that at least I had tried .

I never expected it to be successful or I would have documented it more carefully

[Thurlo]

Big thanks to Marlin... I have just replaced the micro switches using the same parts from Maplins and solder repaired the corrosion on the pcb and now my boot release and number plate lights work just fine.....cost £2.68 compare to £100 for a new one plus painting...

[marlin758]

Hi Thurlo

Glad to be of service 

Mine is still working fine two and a half years on !