Manual Boot Release in Car
Discussion
Just starting to think about this in terms of security for Le Mans and other trips this year...
My V8S has a manual boot release, with the (pull) catch sat just behind the drivers seat and the cable going straight through the back of the boot (not routed around) using up some potential space.
Now, my S3 had an electronic release under the steering wheel, so my guess is this mechanism failed to work (or the battery kept going flat) and the emergency entrance was too much of a pain for a previous owner, so they had a manual system installed to assist them.
Thus, to my question; is this quite common? (more out of curiosity), and more importantly can it easily be restored to a secure electrical release, possibly combined with an alarm upgrade and remote release in the future.
My V8S has a manual boot release, with the (pull) catch sat just behind the drivers seat and the cable going straight through the back of the boot (not routed around) using up some potential space.
Now, my S3 had an electronic release under the steering wheel, so my guess is this mechanism failed to work (or the battery kept going flat) and the emergency entrance was too much of a pain for a previous owner, so they had a manual system installed to assist them.
Thus, to my question; is this quite common? (more out of curiosity), and more importantly can it easily be restored to a secure electrical release, possibly combined with an alarm upgrade and remote release in the future.
JonnyGrant said:
Hi tripps ive got the same thing on my s3c, a manual boot release with the (pull) catch sat just behind the drivers seat which must have been fitted when my electronic release went wrong, ive only had my s for 2months so i dont know much about restoring, jonnyg
Ah, so it's not just me at least 
spludge said:
Just took a look at mine. As well as the solenoid theres a cable attached which is hanging loose. Looks like a push bike brake cable, think I may use that to fix up a manual release.
Keep meaning to see if there are any remains of the old electrical system are there, alas earlier I just jumped in it and went out for a blast! 
Its very easy to change to the electric release and gas strut, the gas strut is the one from an old Scimitar see here (http://home.btconnect.com/gwltd/) and the solenoid can still be bought from TVR power. I changed mine on my old S2, pretty easy to do. The gas strut bolts through the wheel arch, I have pics if anyone is interested I could dig them out.
Mike
Mike
V8Smith said:
Its very easy to change to the electric release and gas strut, the gas strut is the one from an old Scimitar see here (http://home.btconnect.com/gwltd/) and the solenoid can still be bought from TVR power. I changed mine on my old S2, pretty easy to do. The gas strut bolts through the wheel arch, I have pics if anyone is interested I could dig them out.
I've got the gas strut in place, but would certainly be interested in some pics of fitting the solenoid. My plan is disable the current pull handle in such a way it still remains for emergencies if possible and switch to using the solenoid for normal use.
I'm gonna pop out after lunch and have a peek under the steering wheel to see what remains under there...
OK now I'm confused...
I looked under the wheel expecting to find either the square boot button I recall from my S3, perhaps a open slot with no switches at all or maybe even nothing. But instead I found two switches...
On the right-hand side a black (and original looking) circular switch with three positions, while on the left a toggle lever switch (which doesn't look original) and has two positions. Didn't play for long, but what I did ascertain is that switching the toggle induces and electrical sparky noise from under the glovebox!
Any ideas what these might be? Not got my manual or bible to hand right now.
But on a positive note my new (old) head unit is all fitted and works a treat, so I now longer have to suffer the un-buffered Blauplunkt monstrosity I got with the car with it's ability to skip after any more vibration that a slight sneeze
Also gives me a home for my Mk1 iPod with dead battery too
I looked under the wheel expecting to find either the square boot button I recall from my S3, perhaps a open slot with no switches at all or maybe even nothing. But instead I found two switches...
On the right-hand side a black (and original looking) circular switch with three positions, while on the left a toggle lever switch (which doesn't look original) and has two positions. Didn't play for long, but what I did ascertain is that switching the toggle induces and electrical sparky noise from under the glovebox!
Any ideas what these might be? Not got my manual or bible to hand right now.
But on a positive note my new (old) head unit is all fitted and works a treat, so I now longer have to suffer the un-buffered Blauplunkt monstrosity I got with the car with it's ability to skip after any more vibration that a slight sneeze
Also gives me a home for my Mk1 iPod with dead battery too
Tripps said:
OK now I'm confused...
I looked under the wheel expecting to find either the square boot button I recall from my S3, perhaps a open slot with no switches at all or maybe even nothing. But instead I found two switches...
On the right-hand side a black (and original looking) circular switch with three positions, while on the left a toggle lever switch (which doesn't look original) and has two positions. Didn't play for long, but what I did ascertain is that switching the toggle induces and electrical sparky noise from under the glovebox!
Any ideas what these might be? Not got my manual or bible to hand right now.
But on a positive note my new (old) head unit is all fitted and works a treat, so I now longer have to suffer the un-buffered Blauplunkt monstrosity I got with the car with it's ability to skip after any more vibration that a slight sneeze
Also gives me a home for my Mk1 iPod with dead battery too
I looked under the wheel expecting to find either the square boot button I recall from my S3, perhaps a open slot with no switches at all or maybe even nothing. But instead I found two switches...
On the right-hand side a black (and original looking) circular switch with three positions, while on the left a toggle lever switch (which doesn't look original) and has two positions. Didn't play for long, but what I did ascertain is that switching the toggle induces and electrical sparky noise from under the glovebox!
Any ideas what these might be? Not got my manual or bible to hand right now.
But on a positive note my new (old) head unit is all fitted and works a treat, so I now longer have to suffer the un-buffered Blauplunkt monstrosity I got with the car with it's ability to skip after any more vibration that a slight sneeze
Also gives me a home for my Mk1 iPod with dead battery too
The toggle is probably the manual fan switch, but the circular knob is your switch for turning on and off the interior dial lights?! Why on earth would you want to switch them off...
TVR dont you just love em 
Mike
V8Smith said:
but the circular knob is your switch for turning on and off the interior dial lights?! Why on earth would you want to switch them off... TVR dont you just love em
Ah, most strange, the way it had three position (forward, left and right) made me think of the switches for electric mirrors, was too busy to check the dash lights as they hardly show anyway! TVR dont you just love em Can't recall anything similar on my S3, mind you that was a few years back now...
V8Smith said:
but the circular knob is your switch for turning on and off the interior dial lights?! Why on earth would you want to switch them off...
A long time ago I used to drive a Saab - they used to prattle on about their aerospace heritage claiming that it was better to be given information on a need-to-know basis at night, rather than being dazzled by the glare from all the instruments. There was a button marked 'Night Panel' that turned off all the instruments and guages apart from the speedo! The others intruments/lights would only come on if required e.g. fuel, screenwash, frost etc.
I've noticed on my S2 that due to the curvature of the dash, I can get some pretty bad reflections on the windscreen at night from the oil, temperature, battery and fuel guages. Probably less of an issue on S3 and V8S with their flatter dashboards. So maybe it's not a complete waste of space...
But the real question is... why does the switch have three positions??
Well impatience and curiosity got to me, since it's dry I've just been for a peek...
The toggle didn't do anything but buzz, but I guess that might only work with engine on if it's a fan override, didn't want to wake the kids up though...
The three-way is indeed TVR's interpretation of an on/off switch for the dashboard lights, with the right-hand setting being off. So, depending upon how it's wired I could always utilise the left-hand setting for something else.
Will check the toggle another time, perhaps that was a failed attempt to get the boot release working in the past before than manual override.
The toggle didn't do anything but buzz, but I guess that might only work with engine on if it's a fan override, didn't want to wake the kids up though...
The three-way is indeed TVR's interpretation of an on/off switch for the dashboard lights, with the right-hand setting being off. So, depending upon how it's wired I could always utilise the left-hand setting for something else.
Will check the toggle another time, perhaps that was a failed attempt to get the boot release working in the past before than manual override.
gentleman geoff said:
I've noticed on my S2 that due to the curvature of the dash, I can get some pretty bad reflections on the windscreen at night
That'll be the famous heads-up display.
I put thin strips of dark plastic over the top of these gauges (shoved in the gap between the gauge and the padding of the dashboard) and this was very effective at stopping the dials from reflecting on the screen, and completely unobtrusive.
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