deviousrich
Established Member
for those who have been following Charging port cover not closing this is my writeup on how i fixed mine
first of all the backstory...
charge flap locks/springs seem to fail about the 3.5 year point, bloody annoying when you can get the charge door to open when you need to charge. dealers want to replace the whole door mechanism but having looked at photos online at scrap dealer parts it seemed fairly obvious that the lock/spring was a separate part to the door (even if MG wouldn't sell it), so i went on the hunt... using the part numbers i found in the scrap dealers photos lead me no where so then i started looking for the Chinese variant parts (Roewe EI5) and i found a part on aliexpress that looked right but had a different part number, time to take the gamble (and wait three weeks for the part to arrive)!
ok, story over.
Actual how to:
total time for a DIY: 1-1.5 hours depending how much help you get from the children
difficulty - simple enough, one pair of hard to reach screws and a bit of scrabbling around under the car, (id guess a mechanic could do this in 30 mins with the right tools on a ramp!)
parts: (this is the bit your all reading this for)
one EI5 charge port lock (make sure you select the EI5 variant) 1 Stück für roewe rx8 ei5 Ladeans chluss elektrisches elektro mechanisches Türschloss Schloss mg mg6 Öltank deckel motor - AliExpress 34 i think it was about £14 with postage etc added on.
tools required:
phillips screwdriver (magnetic) atleast 20cm
torx screwdriver
(easier if you have a range of length screwdrivers (or bits and a ratchet))
process:
take off bumper - this post did a great writeup ??How to fit Fog Lights and NOW WIRED UP !!! ?? (i didnt bother removing the charge port door as the OP did in that thread)
the hidden ones under the bonnet were a pain to get out, but the long handled magnetic screwdriver got there in the end
the only thing i could add to their post, once i had removed all the screws the bumper was still attached to the car, there are tabs that run under the lights as you can see in this picture below, to release simply pull the bumper away from the car, it just took me a minute to find the right place to pull.
tip....you can just about see my egg box in the picture, thats what i use to put screws in so i know which screws go back in where
at this point id suggest find a willing volunteer to hold the bonnet whilst you undo the two cables that go to parts on the bumper, one to the lock and one to the temperature sensor. they are both clip fittings so a bit fiddley
p.s ignore the cameras on the cover in the above picture, i did have my children filming for a "how to" but they quickly got bored
once the bumper is off we can access the actual lock actuator
the lock is held on with two small torx screws (sorry i didnt check the size) and to replace is a simple case of unscrew one, screw the new one in its place.
thats the hard part done, now its just a case of putting it all back together again (which is the reverse of taking it apart).
all went back together very easily and i have to say it was very easy to work on.
it might look drastic taking the whole bumper off but id consider myself a competent DIY skill and this was fine
the two parts are shown below - the one at the top is the "old" / original one and the bottom one with a different part number is the new one.
my charge door now springs to live as if it was brand new and locks perfectly.
more than happy to answer any questions you have and can add any more details for anyone who wants them
first of all the backstory...
charge flap locks/springs seem to fail about the 3.5 year point, bloody annoying when you can get the charge door to open when you need to charge. dealers want to replace the whole door mechanism but having looked at photos online at scrap dealer parts it seemed fairly obvious that the lock/spring was a separate part to the door (even if MG wouldn't sell it), so i went on the hunt... using the part numbers i found in the scrap dealers photos lead me no where so then i started looking for the Chinese variant parts (Roewe EI5) and i found a part on aliexpress that looked right but had a different part number, time to take the gamble (and wait three weeks for the part to arrive)!
ok, story over.
Actual how to:
total time for a DIY: 1-1.5 hours depending how much help you get from the children
difficulty - simple enough, one pair of hard to reach screws and a bit of scrabbling around under the car, (id guess a mechanic could do this in 30 mins with the right tools on a ramp!)
parts: (this is the bit your all reading this for)
one EI5 charge port lock (make sure you select the EI5 variant) 1 Stück für roewe rx8 ei5 Ladeans chluss elektrisches elektro mechanisches Türschloss Schloss mg mg6 Öltank deckel motor - AliExpress 34 i think it was about £14 with postage etc added on.
tools required:
phillips screwdriver (magnetic) atleast 20cm
torx screwdriver
(easier if you have a range of length screwdrivers (or bits and a ratchet))
process:
take off bumper - this post did a great writeup ??How to fit Fog Lights and NOW WIRED UP !!! ?? (i didnt bother removing the charge port door as the OP did in that thread)
the hidden ones under the bonnet were a pain to get out, but the long handled magnetic screwdriver got there in the end
the only thing i could add to their post, once i had removed all the screws the bumper was still attached to the car, there are tabs that run under the lights as you can see in this picture below, to release simply pull the bumper away from the car, it just took me a minute to find the right place to pull.
tip....you can just about see my egg box in the picture, thats what i use to put screws in so i know which screws go back in where
at this point id suggest find a willing volunteer to hold the bonnet whilst you undo the two cables that go to parts on the bumper, one to the lock and one to the temperature sensor. they are both clip fittings so a bit fiddley
p.s ignore the cameras on the cover in the above picture, i did have my children filming for a "how to" but they quickly got bored
once the bumper is off we can access the actual lock actuator
the lock is held on with two small torx screws (sorry i didnt check the size) and to replace is a simple case of unscrew one, screw the new one in its place.
thats the hard part done, now its just a case of putting it all back together again (which is the reverse of taking it apart).
all went back together very easily and i have to say it was very easy to work on.
it might look drastic taking the whole bumper off but id consider myself a competent DIY skill and this was fine
the two parts are shown below - the one at the top is the "old" / original one and the bottom one with a different part number is the new one.
my charge door now springs to live as if it was brand new and locks perfectly.
more than happy to answer any questions you have and can add any more details for anyone who wants them
