Is there a 'bonnet open' light on the dash?

[D1andonlyantman]

Hi. I'm trying to figure out if my bonnet switch is faulty. My oil light came on so I filled the oil obviously but the light never went off. I disconnected the battery and now the oil light has gone and not came back on. Someone told me this could be because the bonnet switch doesn't work so the car didn't know it was topped up with oil and that's why it stayed on until I reset it by disconnecting the battery. Could someone open their bonnet and see if there's a light on the dash or anything to tell you because I didn't see anything change on mine.

Thanks

 

[csd_19]

No light on the dash for open bonnet, the ecu takes a signal from the microswitch in the bonnet latch mechanism. They can get covered in crap and stop switching properly, one indication is your indicators don't flash when you lock the car.

if you want to test it, open the bonnet, then lock the car on the remote. The indicators won't flash until you now shut the bonnet.

The light has gone off in your case because you reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Ah someone did say something about the indicators before. Well the lights do flash so that means my switch is ok then? Any other ideas?

 

[brad_barker12]

im not sure but it could depend on how the switch fails maybe?
as in it could fail 2 ways:
1 - the car believes the bonnet is always shut, even if you open the bonnet the car doesn't recognise it being or ever been opened. this could be the reason why your indicators still flash

2- the car believes the bonnet is always open, even if the bonnet is shut the car once again doesn't recognise the fact and the indicators wont flash accordingly due to thinking the bonnet is still open.

to test this theory open the bonnet but make sure all other door and boot are shut. try locking the car, if the indicators still flash then this proves that the bonnet catch microswitch is faulty as the indicators shouldn't flash until all doors and bonnet are closed.

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Good call. I'll give that a go later. Thanks.

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Yep, bonnet release stuck closed

 

[brad_barker12]

Sweet looks like you will be ordering a new bonnet catch then! Least you now know what the problem is

 

[D1andonlyantman]

It was meant to say bonnet switch stuck closed (it was 6 in the morning haha), where abouts would I find it to have a look? Thanks

 

[csd_19]

You could give the mechanism a good spraying of WD40 and attack with an old toothbrush to clean it, then follow up with a good spray of white grease over the mech.

 

[brad_barker12]

The bonnet catch itself isn't broken as he can open and close the bonnet without any issues. it's the micro switch inside the catch that's faulty. I suppose you could try giving the catch a clean but I doubt it will work. I'm not sure where u will find one. Try eBay or seat being the obvious choice

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Are the sensor and catch all in the same place in the middle of the bonnet?

 

[csd_19]

The bonnet catch itself isn't broken as he can open and close the bonnet without any issues. it's the micro switch inside the catch that's faulty. I suppose you could try giving the catch a clean but I doubt it will work. I'm not sure where u will find one. Try eBay or seat being the obvious choice

Oh i know that - I've cleaned my lock up in the past and freed off the switch before

And yes, the switch is part of the lock but it can be removed, you should be able to see the wire going to it

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Awesome, I'll have look at the weekend. Cheers fellas