Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Trunk release

Any ideas why the trunk release won't work using the keyless remote on my '98 Contour SE won't work. This is the laugher...my wife is the primary driver of the car...mother-in-law apparently slammed the trunk shut one day...pretty good slam with the scoop on the back...anyway, the trunk release using the keyless remote has been inoperable ever since. I'm clueless on this one...other than keeping the MIL away from the car....

Re-adjust the latch mechanism. you will probably be able to see the paint scraped where it moved.

I have exactly the same problem with my '97 LX. When I try to open the trunk (noticable at night), I see the light turn on in the car meaning that the signal is getting to the car...but the darn trunk won't open. I would love to re-adjust the latch mechanism...but I'm not quite sure where to find it.

Open the trunk and look up and back at the inside of the lid.

Okay...did that...found the mechanism...it didn't move. What I think happened is that the trunk was slammed so hard that it yanked on the cable that is controlled by the keyless entry mechanism. There are 2 cables, one from the key-lock mechanism and the other to the keyless mechanism. I found the key-lock mechanism easily by following the cable directly to it on the inner right part of the trunk. However, the cable to the keyless entry mechanism runs behind the metal in the trunk up the right side of the car...so I couldn't follow it all the way to the mechanism. Do you know where the mechanism is that controls the keyless entry.
Also, when I push the button for the keyless entry I hear 2 "tick" noises coming from underneath the glove box.

That is the relay kicking, but the solenoid in the release mechanism should kick too, and the cable pulls.

Yeah that's what I figured. But where is that darn release mechanism? I don't know where to look for it...or if I'll be able to fix it once I do find it.

Don't think I've not been trying to do that for 19 years....

Had the same thing happen to mine last year. Though it might have been a defective solenoid, but it turned out to be a busted actuator. Got it replaced under my extended warr.
Not sure how it broke. Just worked one day and not the next.