Topic

A note on the boot lock actuator. If you are using the type where a motor drives a gear train to operate the linear section, try & use the last few millimetres of travel to snatch the lock open. If you rely on the initial movement you could easily over stress the gears causing them to jump. Even though you can get the unit to run on a PP3, that is with no load, the current rises rapidly as soon as you ask it to do some work. I’ll add a picture of my arrangement, I’ve arranged for my unit to operate with the actuator pushing out as opposed to many arrangements pulling in. And don’t be bothered about the other wires, I’m developing a piece of kit for someone & I usually try stuff on my car if applicable.

I like that. Im trying to work out how you attached it to the linkage

As with a number of my jobs this one wasn’t finished off because it worked fine as lashed up. The Mk2, which was mounted in the same way but with improvements in geometry, a more refined fine adjustment rod to the latch. That iteration went when I sold the tf & I’ve been messing with other stuff, I’ll revisit it probably soon as looking at it this afternoon has reenforced its shortcomings.
The actuator obviously mounts to the latch frame, the latch rod is actually a piece of wire with a loop which shares the same hole through which the key mechanism boden cable passes. The brown drop plate is an odd bit of SRBP with a couple of holes drilled at centres equal to the centreline distance on both actuator & latch pull. Finally the screw assembly which serves as adjusters & wire clamp is a repurposed bike mudguard stay screw.
I should have swapped the Mk2 design from the tf but we were old friends & I was sad to see her go, it didn’t occur to me really until today.
I hope this helps sort out any mysteries Mike.

Would i be right in thinking the SRBP drop plate is hard bolted in a fixed position to the end of the actuator ? At first sight I assumed it was allowed to pivot there so was scratching my head

You are correct, these bits are from the first try & I used what was in the bit boxes. It will have been straight at one time but with the clattering about over the years it now appears drunk. I really must do a proper job!

The solenoids pull about 3 amps when energised, a good industrial push button will negate the need for a relay. Just wire it up to the switch.

Sundance

After a couple of mock ups I set the solenoid to pull rather than push. The toughest thing was routing a cable through. I drilled a 12mm hole through the inner skin by the right hand hinge and ran the cable inside a length of tough clear flexible hose, zip tied on the hinge. The wiring ran inside the boot lid skin and exited by the solenoid. I picked up the permanent 12 volts from the boot lamp feed as was suggested and added an in line fuse. A hefty pushbutton in the vertical cubby beneath the T bar completed the mod. Non obvious but easy enough to get to. So much easier than having to use the key each time. I fitted the low coolant alarm at the same time which made both jobs easier than doing them separately

I find it refreshing to note that having tried the actuator in it's push mode you decided to reverse it to pull. Many would have blundered on & failed to achieve satisfactory results; as has been said before there are more than one ways to skin a cat* & my way works in my application & yours for you.
* am I putting myself in danger by using this adage, the animal rights brigade will certainly find it offensive, forgive me it's a figure of speech of the English idiom.

No cats were harmed in the making of these modifications.

I knew a pretty strange bloke who liked to make cat hats outta cat skins, he used to wear a tee shirt with “Neighbours cats make great hats” emblazoned across the front.
Into collecting road kill, taxidermy and bone carving, he lived in what we called his house of horrors.
Amongst the decorative delights was a big jar of kittens, At one stage he managed to some how questionably legally import a quantity of human bones,.
He, even had a horrid old Bedford van, that featured some poor bastard’s leg bone fashioned into a gear leaver.

Over a period of years I tried to help him, teach him skills and get him work. But it would always fall in a heap, he couldn’t play nice with the other children. A pity as he was a great worker but just too disruptive, argumentative and tend to go off on a tangent.
These days I tend to avoid this bloke like the plague, not because of his eccentric macabre hobbies, but because he’s truly a nut job lunatic and a menace to society.
In times past he would’ve been locked up where he could get proper treatment, for his and everyone else’s good. But in this enlightened age he can be a free range menace, never taking his medication.

Holy crap, cobber! I'm not a fan of domestic cats but even so...Potential psychopath right there...

David Aiketgate wrote:

Holy crap, cobber! I'm not a fan of domestic cats but even so...Potential psychopath right there...

He was just odd and harmless when I met him, but got worse as time went on, trouble is he now believes his own bullshit.