Fabia MK1 Boot wont open - have searched

[TMB]

No probs

[Breezy_Pete]

It can also be the wires between the microswitch and the little circuit board inside the lock; or the solder joints where these wires attach to the board.

I replaced the microswitch on my Polo (same set-up) this summer, and it didn't fix the problem. This was annoying because I'd gone the extra mile and disassembled the lock enough to actually inspect the solder joints as there are threads on the web that suggested these are often a problem (or the ones of the connector more specifically, I think). Didn't spot any problems, but the new switch grafted onto the old wires didn't fix it.

 

I had to take it all apart again and soldered the new microswitch wires directly onto the pins of the connector, that fixed it. I guess one of the solder joints must have been bad even though they looked OK, or one of the wires was busted inside the insulation. 

[TMB]

1 minute ago, Wino said:

It can also be the wires between the microswitch and the little circuit board inside the lock; or the solder joints where these wires attach to the board.

I replaced the microswitch on my Polo (same set-up) this summer, and it didn't fix the problem. This was annoying because I'd gone the extra mile and disassembled the lock enough to actually inspect the solder joints as there are threads on the web that suggested these are often a problem (or the ones of the connector more specifically, I think). Didn't spot any problems, but the new switch grafted onto the old wires didn't fix it.

 

I had to take it all apart again and soldered the new microswitch wires directly onto the pins of the connector, that fixed it. I guess one of the solder joints must have been bad even though they looked OK, or one of the wires was busted inside the insulation. 

 

Good point. I guess it's down to the constant movement of opening/closing the door causing fatigue of the solder joints.

[Breezy_Pete]

Or the wires themselves.  I have a feeling I remember some strain relieving of the wires on their way into/out of the PCB housing, so that ought to prevent direct 'pulls' on the solder joints, but the wires may flap about and fatigue at the point the strain relief feature ends, on the way to the microswitch.  Unfortunately I was more focussed on fixing it at the time rather than digging down to the failure mechanism.

[TMB]

15 minutes ago, Wino said:

Or the wires themselves.  I have a feeling I remember some strain relieving of the wires on their way into/out of the PCB housing, so that ought to prevent direct 'pulls' on the solder joints, but the wires may flap about and fatigue at the point the strain relief feature ends, on the way to the microswitch.  Unfortunately I was more focussed on fixing it at the time rather than digging down to the failure mechanism.

 

Indeed

[paaf]

Thanks to all here. I replace the fuse for the interior light etc and the boot opened immediately. The strange thing is the interior light has not been working for months and the boot decided not to open last week. All fixed though, so thank you!