treehunter

The freakin hood won't release on the driver's side!!! The lever has half the normal travel, pass. side disengaged but not the driver's. If I yank any harder on the release cable I'll snap mounts or whatever. Any tips guys?

selfproclaimedv8buff

get your hand somewhat inside and pull the wire .. if you can fit your arm.

selfproclaimedv8buff

oh if its the drivers side stuck .. pull to the passenger side. and vica versa ... i know its a given but .. just to be safe. )

graba

Pulling the cable did not release the Driver's side latch on my car as the cable stop slipped out of position so the driver's side latch wasn't part of the cable system. I used a long (maybe 10")screwdriver to push the latch. Look for a metal loop about the size of a quarter - that's the latch mechanism - half between the center of the hood and the drivers side of the hood. I think you need to push the latch toward the center of the car. A bright flashlight or shop light will help you see what's going on. Hope that helps.

boxerfan

I did what 10V.. is suggesting. It can be pretty tough to release. Good luck. Graba sounds like he's BTDT on this too and has some good info.

boxerfan

Just wanted to be sure you saw it...

When an ignition switch is left in the on position wihout the motor running a single ignition point in the distributor may have been active which may have caused the burned out ignition wire. It may have also affected the cap and rotor as well as the ignition coil.

Here's the rub... a relay is activated by a coil too. When coils fail they have many different modes. They can go open. They can short right out. Or they can be intermittent to the point that a fractured turn in the coil may open and close with varying temperature, vibration and so on. A stressed relay may also develop sticky contacts. By this I mean that the relay will activate and then remain in the active position even after the drive current is removed from the coil or vise versa.

I'm afraid that isn't much help for diagnosis, but that may give you a better idea what might have happened. This is why NA vehicles have ACCessory positions and Audi/VW (and others) wire directly to the battery. Do you have access to a spare coil to swap it out? Good luck...

treehunter

Thanks guys,

I'm gonna grab a can of starter fluid, another relay and quick shot or two of Scotch to numb the pain.

boxerfan

I recommend Royal Lochnagar... yummy!

Jon Clay

coat hanger worked for me...loop it into the latch and pull towards the center of the car

treehunter

Well I now have three used coils and all spec out healthy so I'm going to lay that link in the chain to rest and think about what else is causing intermittant spark...

Boxerfan made a lot of sense, in that constant power most likely took out the plug wire so maybe the Hall sender too or what else?

I doubt shooting ether/starter fluid into the intake would help at this stage, of the two times I got it running today one time was with the #1 plug grounded so I could check for spark while cranking, and it did and the car ran fine. Turned it off, then tried again and nuthin no spark. Sure "maybe" I have weak fuel pressure but I doubt it more and more as it'll start when I have spark.

ARGHHH!