PSA: Cable Tie Your Bonnet Release Cable Junction Box

[IWMTom]

FYI : 2016 EURO golf 7 GTI. Don't really see a way to put cable ties on this, because its very close to the chassis.

You can get them through by prying it out a little bit.

It's held to the chassis with two push pins (you can see the little bumps on the left hand side). They're about 1cm into the metal bracket, so you can easily pry it out by a couple millimetres to get a cable tie through.

 

[golfdave]

Mine was really tight as per the photo above. I just used a cable tie at each end where there is a space.

Mind you the main thing to do is lubricate the lock mech/striker catch...when that starts to seize it puts more strain on the cable mech....which causes the plastic junction box to explode IMHO...

 

[IWMTom]

Mine was really tight as per the photo above. I just used a cable tie at each end where there is a space.

Mind you the main thing to do is lubricate the lock mech/striker catch...when that starts to seize it puts more strain on the cable mech....which causes the plastic junction box to explode IMHO...

That's part of the problem I had - I actually found that the steel cable wasn't sat in its channel correctly which was causing extra strain - see this photo with the channel just to the right of the cable:

 

[Evil Minion]

^ this might as well be a picture of bigfoot, it's so blurry lol.

But seriously, this is one of the more informative threads I have seen in a while, with the actual diagram and pic of the simple fix. Definitely going to have to do this preventively tonight, just in case.

 

[IWMTom]

^ this might as well be a picture of bigfoot, it's so blurry lol.

But seriously, this is one of the more informative threads I have seen in a while, with the actual diagram and pic of the simple fix. Definitely going to have to do this preventively tonight, just in case.

That's Imgur's compression for you! If you open the image in a new tab and zoom out a bit it's a bit better to see.

This one might be a bit clearer - just to the right of the steel cable there's a little channel:

And here's how it should be:

I believe this may have been related to what Golfdave mentioned regarding lubricating the cable.

 

[KyACRASH]

I used tape on mine, but a zip tie is a great idea. Good post

 

[golfdave]

Now I have to remove my grille & double check than my cable is in place....oh god more work!!...

 

[Genegenie]

Very, very good tips there . A faulty bonnet release is no joke, was once working on a car - the actual bonnet relase - and absent mindedly closed the bonnet . Heck of a job re-opening it with much disassembly to finish what I started....

 

[avenali312]

05/2015 build date and no indication of ever having any sort of zip tie... I'll be doing this over the weekend for sure. Thanks for the PSA.

 

[Mk7Will]

They do not come with zip ties, the fail mostly because of how they are taken apart and the tabs end up becoming bent or distorted which allow the cable to pull out

 

[Jens0n]

Thanks for sharing, two min job sorted whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.
J.

 

[VL3X]

Good to know! I'm going to ziptie mine later today. Thanks!

 

[Sandman GTI]

Over time, wire ties being plastic, also fail.
Might need to update.

 

[akimmel]

Just did mine, I only put one zip tie on the end that actually swings open cause I didn't feel like wrecking the push pins that go into the brace. It does seem like weird/ crappy design that the only thing keeping it all working is those tiny little end slivers and the ball has zero purchase on the socket when the box is open. Thanks for the heads up, I had heard about these breaking but didn't realize it could happen on its own.

 

[IWMTom]

I also recommend checking the underside of the locking mechanism to make sure the cable hasn't unseated from its channel - might have prevented me having to buy a new grill if I'd known to check as preventative maintenance.

Doesn't take long - half an hour tops.

Glad this thread has helped some people