Hood Release Won't Release Hood

I am trying to sell an '86 Honda Civic that I have been driving for ten
years. I listed it on Craigs List for 500 bucks and this morning a man came
by to look at it. I described all the problems I had with it stalling etc.
but when I went to pop the hood it would not release. I put vice grips on
the wire and pulled, banged on the hood, tried to lever it with a screw
driver and finally decided there was nothing I could do to get the hood up
short of cutting a hole over the catch. I am fit to be tied!! The guy is
coming back with his mechanically inclined son to look at the car. I think
I will just give it to him for nothing if he'll take it.
Derek in Pompano Beach, Florida

 

you might be able to make a wire hook and go under the front bumper to snag
the hood release latch or it's cable nearer to the latch.

That is one way thieves are breaking into Acura Integras.They open the
hood,cut the alarm wires,then attack a door,so the alarm doesn't sound long
enough for anyone to notice.
They also pull out the plastic wheel well liner and grab the release cable
from there.

 

My son had a good idea: instead of putting the alarm horn under the hood, he
decided to put it under the driver's seat. Not only are the alarm wires
inaccessible outside the passenger compartment, the car is only drivable by
a totally deaf person or one with firing range quality ear protectors
(ordinary earplugs are completely inadequate, believe me!) when the horn is
sounding. Since it is unconventional nobody is likely to be prepared for it
and complications, especially when they think they are home free, are very
hard on thieves' nerves. It doesn't even require a full-blown alarm system,
just a siren (widely available in the $10 range) and hidden switch wired to
ignition power. If you want to protect the interior add a second siren with
outside kill switch wired to the dome light. No false alarms in the middle
of the night.

When he had a Subaru with a carburetor and an electric pump he put a kill
switch on the pump. It worked; when his "friend" tried to pull a prank by
borrowing the keys, moving the car and intending to say it was stolen (some
friend!) it ran about fifteen seconds and died. Rob actually put the switch
in to deal with a potential carjacking. He could hit the switch on the way
out and take off while the car ran off the gas in the float bowl; the bad
guy would only know that it quit and would have to abandon it. Rob could go
back one minute later and drive off.

Mike

 

Yeah,I had rerouted the release cable and fashioned a shield to protect the
hood latch,and had the relay and a magnetic reed switch for the fuel
cutoff,but the thieves got to my Integra before I installed the cutoff.
Gone in 60 seconds,literally.In a gated community,too.I think they had a
car holding open the exit gate so they could drive off and not have to wait
for the gate to open.Otherwise,I would have been able to shoot them.

3 days later,the stripped and torched carcass was found two counties away.

 

If you can pull on the cable and it is clearly still fastened to the
front of the car, then you should be able to pull it to open it. But
to do so, make sure the groove in the cable sheathing fits into the
little holder in the hood release lever assembly.

Before I really understood what was amiss, once I even rigged up the
car's jack to push against the dash etc. to pull on the cable and pop
the hood.

This is a known problem with Civics c. 1990. If you get the hood
popped and you have time, then take off the front driver's side fender
and replace the hood release cable using http://honda.lioness.googlepages.com/hoodreleasecable.
Or tell prospective buyers it is not a difficult fix per this site.