As a locksmith I have dealt with this problem on more than one occasion.

On a hood latch several things can bugger up the works.

First and most common is the hood latch is out of alignment and this
prevents the hood from popping up when the release is pulled.

To address this type of failure, have one person pull and hold the release,
while the other pulls up on the hood, If the hood opens, you can then
adjust the latch so the hood will pop up when the release is actuated.

Sometimes the internal cable will break. This can be a bear depending on
how cramped the engine compartment is. Here the idea is to come up from
underneath and release the latching mechanism. Sometimes you can get to the
outer cable cut it and grasp the inside cable with a pair of vise grips
(assuming the break is between the release and the point you can access.

Sometimes you need to study a similar car and formulate your method of
attack. You may be able to slip a thin tool up and in to actuate the latch
mechanism.

Sometimes the bolts holding the latch or strike can be accessed from
underneath or through the grill allowing you to get the hood open, or open
enough to release it.

Hopefully you have situation #1 as that is the easiest and the most common.

Good luck, and be sure to report back on what the problem was and how you
solved it.


--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.




"William Wixon" wrote in message
...
there have been a couple auto related (repair) posts recently, thought i'd
try mine.
a friend is telling me the handle inside her vehicle that actuates the
(engine compartment) hood-latch-release dangles free and doesn't pop the
hood. i'm thinking i'd like to try to help her. any tips/tricks on how
to
open a hood who's latch is broken? i'm hoping there's some kind of trick
besides "a large pry bar" or "plasma cutter", etc.
i haven't looked at it in person yet, thought i'd ask here first so maybe
with your advice i can look like i know what i'm doing when she brings it
over. (i've been courting her for the past 9 months, help!)

b.w.