'Charging Lid Spring' Broken... Replacement?

[martinwinlow]

Hi All,

One of our i-miev clone fleet has suffered a broken spring that opens and keeps open the AC charge port open (when unlocked) and I can't find anything on line about it other than...



Without it, f you close the lid properly, it is v difficult to get it open again when unlocked... Anyone got any ideas as to sourcing a replacement?

(Edit: I don't think the pic above actually indicates the correct part. This is a second device which I think is supposed to keep the flap open rather than the spring in question (which mounts just below the one indicted) which pops the flap open when the lever is pulled permitting you to get your finger-tips behind the door to further open it. Otherwise the flap just sits there flush with the wing and short of using a screwdriver or something to prise it open (whilst also pulling the lever - 2 person job unless you prop something under the lever) you can't open the flap.)

 

[kiev]

On kiev there is little plastic finger "springs" on the latch side that bumps the cover plate open when the release handle is pulled.

There is the black metal piece on the hinge side that seems to be more for rattle-prevention of the hinge rather than helping to open the cover, but i could be wrong--but it didn't provide any spring resistance to me when fiddling with it.

Are your plastic fingers intact?

 

[NippyCar]

I had this exact problem. The little spring is used by Mitsubishi on many of their cars for the petrol filler cap.

Search "MR970563 Fuel Gas Lid Door Spring Clip Fit for Mitsubishi Montero Outlander" on EBay. Fitting it is a bit fiddly but by the time you have tried it 3 or 4 times you will get the knack ...

 

[martinwinlow]

I had this exact problem. The little spring is used by Mitsubishi on many of their cars for the petrol filler cap.

Search "MR970563 Fuel Gas Lid Door Spring Clip Fit for Mitsubishi Montero Outlander" on EBay. Fitting it is a bit fiddly but by the time you have tried it 3 or 4 times you will get the knack ...

Wow! I was giving up hope. Just ordered a pair for ~£5 off ebay... the dims shown are not an exact match but we'll see. I'll post a link if they fit.

I was wondering if your lateral thinking might apply to all sorts of parts on these cars. Things like suspension parts (that are likely to wear out in the long term) and which may be impossible to get when looking for an i-MiEV-specific part may be available under a different guise... Anyway, thanks again.

 

[urlgray]

Hi All,

One of our i-miev clone fleet has suffered a broken spring that opens and keeps open the AC charge port open (when unlocked) and I can't find anything on line about it other than...

View attachment 853

Without it, f you close the lid properly, it is v difficult to get it open again when unlocked... Anyone got any ideas as to sourcing a replacement?

I had the same problem. One day I heard it go 'ping' and a broken part landed at my feet. I had no idea what it was until I tried to open the charge port the next day! As a fix (no replacement part yet), I stuck a little stack of adhesive-backed neoprene rubber squares on top of the inner plastic charge port cover. Each piece of rubber is about 1 inch square. The little pile of squares protrudes just enough for springy resistance to allow the door to close firmly with a click and properly pop open when I pull the lever under the dash.

 

[NippyCar]

Wow! I was giving up hope. Just ordered a pair for ~£5 off ebay... the dims shown are not an exact match but we'll see. I'll post a link if they fit.

I was wondering if your lateral thinking might apply to all sorts of parts on these cars. Things like suspension parts (that are likely to wear out in the long term) and which may be impossible to get when looking for an i-MiEV-specific part may be available under a different guise... Anyway, thanks again.

I wish I could claim credit for the idea but it was some forum (probably this one!) that pointed me in the right direction

 

[martinwinlow]

So, the ones I got from eBay (Manufacturer Part Number:MR970563) tho similar are not identical and don't fit very well. However, if you can't find anything better, the ones I bought from eBay can be dismantled and the original metal spring used with the new plastic clip. You have to bend 2 little 'ears' of metal down on the spring - maybe use a pair of needle-nose pliers to close the ears and a second pair of hands to slide off the plastic part. Just cut the old broken plastic bit off the old metal clip with a sharp craft knife or similar. The old metal part (the actual spring) will then fit onto the new plastic clip - the wee ears may need resurrecting to lock the 2 together adequately (see pic - original is on the right - both are missing the plastic clip bit). The original clip is about 18mm long and the wrong one is about 33mm long.

After a bit more research, MB642442 *may* be the correct MPN but lots of sellers quote *both* part numbers. So, it's all a bit of a lottery! I've ordered a couple more with the latter MPN and will report back again in dues course.

 

[martinwinlow]

On kiev there is little plastic finger "springs" on the latch side that bumps the cover plate open when the release handle is pulled.

There is the black metal piece on the hinge side that seems to be more for rattle-prevention of the hinge rather than helping to open the cover, but i could be wrong--but it didn't provide any spring resistance to me when fiddling with it.

Are your plastic fingers intact?

View attachment 854

Actually, I have concluded that these plastic 'fingers' sole purpose is to hold the flap flush with the wing when closed. I think there is also a second 'sort-of' spring on the flap's hinge that is supposed to keep the flap fully open once it has been so by hand. The spring in question's only job is to hold the flap a little bit open when the release lever is pulled so you can get your fingertips behind it to open it. Otherwise it just sits there, under gravity, I guess.

 

[philsuth]

I struggled with this one myself recently - a couple of months back there was a snap when I opened the J1772 hatch and most of a clip fell to the floor, followed by the rest of it. I found a new MB642442 (corrected) clip on eBay which matched the broken bits, but could not work out how it fitted. After way too long spent pondering and googling to no avail I realised that the other spring which wraps around the hinge was offset to the top, and beneath it was a slot. I was able to clip the new spring in there, and that was it!