Boot locking solenoid kaput

[ianwayne]

Managed to get the old one off this morning (not easy!). It isn't actually secured to anything, just wrapped in foam and wedged behind a panel that is very fiddly to undo. Anyway, I though anybody else engineer-minded may also be curious as to how it works.



The black shaft that has the cable attached to it is held in a red plastic base that has a small wound spring inside it:



The motor pulls the shaft inward to pull the cable and release the lock. When 12V is then removed, the wound spring pushes the shaft back out to the 'null' position. The sliding black shaft has lugs on either side so it slides up and down a recess. (Too many unintended double entendres here!)

So, when the motor begins to wear, it doesn't have the 'pull' to override the spring tension. This is what has happened to mine.





The terminal lugs pull out and I have the motor in hand. It is a Johnson one but I don't seem to be able to buy it on its own so I've ordered a second hand whole solenoid off fleabay for £25.

It would be nice to be able to put a new motor in if possible. The part no is 20048 3C4862. I suppose almost any 12V motor would do if it fitted. Maplins anybody? Or would that risk a fire if it was not motor car approved.

[Popolou]

Love this st, thanks for sharing. That motor reminds me of the ones Mecanno and Lego used back in their kits from the mid '80's to 90's. In fact all the cheap motorised toys from that decade used the same one! Quite surprised really.

[ianwayne]

Love to get things apart for a cheap fix if I can. I also split apart the purge pump on a 1988 Lotus Excel SE about 20 yrs ago that helped bring fresh air into the carbs so that it would hot start. A new one from Lotus was £180 for a plastic housing with a 12V motor in it.

I cut it open and fitted a £6 12V hobby motor, glued it together. Bob's your uncle!

[Trev450]

ianwayne said:

I also split apart the purge pump on a 1988 Lotus Excel SE about 20 yrs ago that helped bring fresh air into the carbs so that it would hot start. A new one from Lotus was £180 for a plastic housing with a 12V motor in it.

I cut it open and fitted a £6 12V hobby motor, glued it together. Bob's your uncle!

I remember those. The first time I heard it after I'd turned the engine off I was concerned that something had stayed on and thought it would flatten the battery. And having had Lotus cars before, I was justified in my thinking given their reliability record.

[thegoose]

I'm clearly getting old - I remember that sort of motor was used in (and often sourced for projects from) a historic piece of audio equipment you may not have heard of that was known as a "cassette player".

[ianwayne]

Some of us had reel to reel tape recorders. Great big thing, with a microphone plonked in front of the TV / radio! Probably be worth lots now.

[Trev450]

ianwayne said:

Some of us had reel to reel tape recorders. Great big thing, with a microphone plonked in front of the TV / radio! Probably be worth lots now.

I've still got one somewhere. It was the top of the range Akai when I bought it. Cost me about 6 month's salary at the time.

[thegoose]

Not reel to reel but for years I've wanted to get hold of a Philips "ski slope" multi cassette player - saw one in a pub where we had family Sunday lunches and was fascinated. Held about 4 cassettes, deck was horizontal and after playing ejected to the right, which pushed the short stack so that the next one would go over the summit, down the slope and into the deck. If anyone knows of one I'd be very interested.