Hey polo people. Hope you're all awesome. I'm having real issues with my bonnet release cable. I fitted a new one, as far as i can make out, i followed the haynes as close as possible. But i can't get it to work. I'm having to carry a screwdriver to be able to pop the bonnet. I've even tried fitting another catch assembly to see if that helps but it hasn't made a difference.

It's all hooked up as it should be, but the cable just won't pull the hook away from the bonnet striker. It just goes all limp and the outer cable moves in the engine bay. Am i missing something really simple?

Thanks for stopping by and any guidance you can impart.

Is the cable too long? If it is, when you pull it, the cable will remain slack. Undo the retaining screw on the catch and pull the cable until its tight, then slacken a few mm and tighten the screw back up.

That could be it. When i pull it, there's still movement in the cable but none on the catch. Thanks. I'll give that a go today.

The outer cable needs to be fixed at both ends, otherwise it will do the sliding and the inner cable won't move.

Regards

I made sure the cable was secure in the handle inside the cabin, had to push it quite hard but it was definitely not going anywhere once i did that. I adjusted the bonnet latch end quite a few times. I pulled the cable through as far as it would go then slackened the cable off a mm or two at time. Still couldn't get it to work properly. I took it to a garage around the corner from me and they did it in 10 minutes. So it is done now. I think bonnet catches, even if i'd colour matched them, would have looked shit anyway so i'm glad they're sorted.

Thank you for the guidance though. Very much appreciated.