I need to change my alternator, but my hood wont open. I thought the cable may be broke, but its not. I tried taking the fender off, but I can't, because I have to open the hood for that. I can get it up far enough, to stick my fingers in there and move the latch that %26quot;should%26quot; open the hood. It does nothing though. So its caught on something and I dont know what. It feels like its caught on the latch though. So, now I can't open my hood because I can't get my fender off and I can't get my fender off because I can't open my hood and I can't change my alternator, because I can't do either of the other two things.
Any help, other then completely tearing off my fender or take it to a mechanic that will over-charge me and probably not know what they are doing anyway?How to open a hood on Honda Civic that wont open?
if you are talking about the lever you pull up on under the hood to pop it... that is a secondary latch that just keeps the hood down in case the primary fails, the cable is attached to the primary. You will need to get to the latch assembly not the lever under the hood. I have never dealt with this on a honda (yet) but it happened on my truck and I had to drop the bumper to make room so I could get leverage, my guess is you will have to do the same, the hood does not need to be open to remove the bumper. Once you drop the bumper you can lay down or kneel and reach up with some channel locks or something and pull on the cable AT the latching mechanism. Your bumper should only take about 30 minutes to drop, I dont know the year of your civic but on mine (88-91) all you would have to do is pull the front bumper blinkers and that would reveal the bolts that mount the bumper support on, before you loosen those be sure to remove the screws holding the plastic under fender guards on.
This is my best idea, perhaps you dont need to drop the bumper as long as you can get your arm up there with a tool and can get enough strength to break it loose. Good Luck!!How to open a hood on Honda Civic that wont open?
Try lubricating the latch with a spray lubricant, if you can get your finger in there, then you can get the little straw that attaches to the can in there too. If you're REALLY lucky then it's just stuck due to grit and lack of lubrication. More likely you'll be forced to take it to the mechanic.How to open a hood on Honda Civic that wont open?
Try removing the grille from your car. That will allow access to your hood latch. From there you might be able to pop the latch manually, or remove the latch assembly from the radiator support to allow the hood to open. Good Luck and Merry Christmas!How to open a hood on Honda Civic that wont open?
Your cable may be stretched, and the pull-handle won't go far enough anymore. Grab the cable with a needlenose or something and pull.
