I recently went through a battery replacement and had to deal with not being able open my trunk due to a backup camera being in place of the lock. I had previously come up with some ideas of how to get into the trunk if necessary, but the methods ranged from difficult at best to damaging at worst - last resort kind of stuff.
An easily accessible pull cord to manually open the trunk in case of solenoid/battery failure is the way to go, but I didn't want to drill or have an unsecured method of opening the trunk.
Today I came up with a simple yet effective solution to all these issues.
I used a plastic-coated wire with a loop in one end - longer than the one in the pictures below but otherwise the same. The loop is secured by a crimped-on metal piece, but I wrapped it in electrical tape to prevent the metal from causing any scratches to the trunk paint.
I took the looped end and placed it around a lever in the latch mechanism - its the one that the metal rod (with electrical tape on the end) in the middle of the picture below is attached to. If you're standing behind the car facing forward, the lever needs to be pulled *left* in order to open the trunk. It's located essentially in the center of the trunk, which makes sense since that's where the latch is located
I know it's hard to see in this picture, but the lever is easy to find with your hand once you get the lock removed.
I ran that wire up towards a channel in the metal that runs at the top of the trunk rim, and passed the wire around the upper rim of the trunk, using somewhat loose zip-ties attached to the welded in metal loops already located in the trunk wall.
I initially just used the metal loops, but I found that the zip ties offered less friction/binding when trying to pull the cord.
Finally I passed the cord through the hole in the firewall, already partially used by the amp/carpc power cables. With the carpet back in place, you can't see any hint of the pull cord, and after use there's no distortion of the carpet, since the zip-ties protect the carpet from being yanked by the pull-cord. After use you may have to release some slack on the line to enable the trunk to latch again - a minor problem I can live with, and it's likely solved by using a sleeved pull-cable.
I then secured the end of the cord in the engine bay so as not to stick out and be noticeable or get in the way of anything. Now with a firm tug the trunk pops open like a charm! A sleeved pull cord would work a little better, with less risk of binding, but this works well enough for me and utilized an item I had at hand.
Since the end of the pull cord is secured in the engine bay, there's less risk of someone with inside knowledge being able to pop your trunk at will. You're still suseptible to the ol' smash and grab, but in that case the thief might as well go in the cabin window and use the trunk popper.
-Josh
An easily accessible pull cord to manually open the trunk in case of solenoid/battery failure is the way to go, but I didn't want to drill or have an unsecured method of opening the trunk.
Today I came up with a simple yet effective solution to all these issues.
I used a plastic-coated wire with a loop in one end - longer than the one in the pictures below but otherwise the same. The loop is secured by a crimped-on metal piece, but I wrapped it in electrical tape to prevent the metal from causing any scratches to the trunk paint.
I took the looped end and placed it around a lever in the latch mechanism - its the one that the metal rod (with electrical tape on the end) in the middle of the picture below is attached to. If you're standing behind the car facing forward, the lever needs to be pulled *left* in order to open the trunk. It's located essentially in the center of the trunk, which makes sense since that's where the latch is located
I know it's hard to see in this picture, but the lever is easy to find with your hand once you get the lock removed.
I ran that wire up towards a channel in the metal that runs at the top of the trunk rim, and passed the wire around the upper rim of the trunk, using somewhat loose zip-ties attached to the welded in metal loops already located in the trunk wall.
I initially just used the metal loops, but I found that the zip ties offered less friction/binding when trying to pull the cord.
Finally I passed the cord through the hole in the firewall, already partially used by the amp/carpc power cables. With the carpet back in place, you can't see any hint of the pull cord, and after use there's no distortion of the carpet, since the zip-ties protect the carpet from being yanked by the pull-cord. After use you may have to release some slack on the line to enable the trunk to latch again - a minor problem I can live with, and it's likely solved by using a sleeved pull-cable.
I then secured the end of the cord in the engine bay so as not to stick out and be noticeable or get in the way of anything. Now with a firm tug the trunk pops open like a charm! A sleeved pull cord would work a little better, with less risk of binding, but this works well enough for me and utilized an item I had at hand.
Since the end of the pull cord is secured in the engine bay, there's less risk of someone with inside knowledge being able to pop your trunk at will. You're still suseptible to the ol' smash and grab, but in that case the thief might as well go in the cabin window and use the trunk popper.
-Josh
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