How Do I Get Into The Boot Of My Mitsubishi Carisma As The Key Has Stopped Working...it Turns But Nothing Happens

[carismacar]

my parents are being quoted at £300 to fix it which seems extortionate, so I said id try get help off the net for them...

[Buenchico]

Have you tried releasing it with the switch inside the car?
http://www.mitshelp.com/micont-140.html

[carismacar]

its an old car...theres no switch that I can find in the glove box....its key only

[carismacar]

the central locking switch on the driver door is only connected to the doors...the boot is key only...it turns left and right with the key but with no effect

[Buenchico]

The relevant switch should be in the driver's door (not in the glove box), as illustrated here:
http://www.mitshelp.com/images/books/119/1/page.h12.gif
(NB: The images shown are for a left-hand-drive models, so you need to reverse them in your mind. Both electric window and manual window models are shown, so hopefully one will be what you need).

[Buenchico]

Sorry! Crossed posts!

[Khandro]

Does the key look worn ? - you say it's an old car. They are only made of brass. I had one on a Honda that needed replacing due to wear

[alavahalf]

Check the fuse first.
If the key turns left and right only .. that would suggest that it operates the the release switch in either direction.
Can you get access to the wires at the back of the switch.
I would short them out by putting a wire across both contacts.

[bhg481]

Is there any resistance when you turn the key? In other words does it feel normal but just doesn't open the boot or does the key turn freely and doesn't "feel" like anything is happening? I've no knowledge of your car but I'm thinking back to a time when the boot on one of my cars wouldn't open and I found that a piece of string had got caught when I closed the boot. Correction involved getting into the boot via the back seats and getting the string out.