viper501

Eureka! I suppose during the time you guys were typing, I was arriving at the same conclusion. I pulled the latch mechanism out and examined it up-close. The tension spring was out of a pocket on the latch and not providing any push when the latch was released. Hence, the hood could be pulled up out of 'battery' but would not pop up on its own. I disassembled the mechanism, lubed it, and re-inserted the spring into the latch. Put it back together and now all is well. Very simple to do. This is how I did it and you may find it useful. Do so at your own risk, yada yada yada. 1st, open the hood and peel back the carpet cover just inside of the latch. Next, using a flat-head screwdriver, remove the four plastic 'screws' holding the trim plate between the bumper and the hood flange. They merely turn 90 degrees (so that they are perpendicular to the car's direction of travel) and pop out. Then remove the trim piece and place to the side. Next, using a ten millimeter socket, remove the two bolts securing the latch to the car. They are located just inside the trunk under the carpet you just peeled back. Once they are removed, the latch is now only held in place by two metal cables and the alarm pin switch wires. Carefully unplug the alarm wires. Push in on a small 'latch' on the lower half of the plug and pull out the lower half. Then carefully rotate the upper half about 45 degrees (it should be fairly easy to move, don't force it) and the plug will pop out of the metal holder. Then use a small screwdriver to gently push a release clip on the plastic mounting point. This will allow the small plastic mount to separate from the wiring plug. Now you need to gently remove the cables from their sockets. Take the tension off of the upper cable and gently pull the cable up out of its socket. Then remove the lower cable in the same way. The only thing holding the latch in the car now is the alarm wiring harness. Push the rubber grommet through the body toward the bumper. You can then pull the wiring through and the entire latch will come out of the car. Be sure to set the stainless steel shroud to the side. It was not attached on my car but may be on yours. Now that you have the latch out of the car, you can see the large diameter steel spring that is wound around the large post to the passenger side of the latch. That is the culprit. The small plastic shroud over it pulled straight out and off of my latch. This is the microswitch that tells the alarm that the trunk is open or closed. Set it to the side. You should now see the latch mechanism and the hole that the spring needs to be in to function properly. I used two screwdrivers to push the other end of the spring (the end on the release / catch mechanism ) over the catch. This allowed me to push the end into the latch more easily. I then popped the spring back over the catch. Now there should be tension on both the latch and the catch. Lubricate with white lithium grease, or some other semi-solid lubricant and work the mechanism to ensure that it is functioning properly. Once you have confirmed proper function, reassemble in reverse order (i.e. put the alarm switch back on - it should snap right back in place ), pop the cable back on, thread the wiring through and secure the grommet in place, place the stainless shroud on, insert the bolts and loosely tighten things. Once the bolts are in, line up the hood and the latch mechanism and tighten down the latch. Replace the plastic bumper/body trim piece but don't insert the 'screws' until you've tested the hood a couple times. Once it is clear that the hood is functioning properly, secure the trim, replace the carpet and smile at a job well done, for free. If I can figure out how to transfer my pictures out of my camera phone I'll add some illustration to this. Hope this helps. I was frustrated as *)*^*( until y'all help me realize what the problem was. Pictures ...