had all the symptoms rubber button stopped working then random unlocking. Now saying open when its not but cant open the tailgate to sort it out and can't lock the car or turn of the interior lights. HELP I need to open the tailgate and the rubber buton doesnt work the key fob doesnt work and holding the two lock/unlock buttons doesnt work off to check fue 25 to see if thats blown

so fuse 25 replaced and the boot worked once, not using it anymore Until I have the replacement parts,

I had the symptoms - boot won't unlock, permanently assumed to be open (Basically fuse has gone).

However the fuse blowing was due to a faulty fuel filler lock, (which goes on the same fuse as the boot) which will now be replaced.

After a bit of a downpour a couple of days ago the boot lock has started to play up so after reading up on the forum I have just stripped it down to have a look at the infamous switch and sure enough it is well past its sell by date. When removing the number plate light housing I found that one of the nuts had siezed up on one of the end bolts which caused a bit of an issue but fortunately with the aid of some long nosed pliers with a duster as protection beneath them, I managed to get everything apart without too much damage apart from the retention slot in the housing which a bit of araldite will cure. As the wiring to the micro switch shares the same connector as the number plate lights, am I correct in assuming one will have to cut the existing wires and join to wires on a new switch.

Didn't have to cut any wires when I did mine, it was just a case of unplugging the old and plugging in the new  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

The wiring for the number plate lights and the wiring for the tailgate switch share the same connector so the only way I can see to complete the job is to cut the existing wires and solder to the wires on the new switch when I get one tomorrow. As I cannot close the tailgate, I have also had to remove the lighting fuse to turn off the light in the boot.

I would wait until you have the replacement before any wires are cut, it may become apparent what needs to be done  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

That is exactly what I will be doing. Will collect the part from LR tomorrow morning then we will see. On the current wiring the two yellow wires for the number plate lights have been joined into one and covered with shrink tube before entering the common connector.

What a numpty I am. Went and got a new switch this morning and it all became clear. What I had not appreciated was that the wiring for the number plate lights are incorporated with the switch wiring as as a design function and not separate as I first thought. One further observation is how do you change a light bulb on one of the number plate lights without having to remove the light housing. There is no room available to untwist the bulb holder and I cannot find anything in the owners manual. Looking at the design and configuration of the stiffening ribs of the whole assembly, I am a little bit surprised that the number plate light housings are the same instead of being left and right handed

I thought it would become apparent, to change a number plate lamp you pop the plastic glass cover from the outside with a small bladed screwdriver  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

Everything now back together and working. One thing I did not like was the corrosion between the bolts and nuts that hold the number plate / handle to the tailgate so I have replaced the tee bolts along with new gaskets and instead of using metal nuts I have used shouldered nylon ones instead which will make further removal easier should it be necessary in the future. I am now wondering what next it is going to surprise me with.

ad210358 wrote:

I thought it would become apparent, to change a number plate lamp you pop the plastic glass cover from the outside with a small bladed screwdriver

Glad your sorted, have a search for the Rear pads, Superspark did a pictured illustration on how to do it if your stuck, should be in his gallery  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

Replacing fuse F25 worked for me! Wonder why it blew though...?
Thanks Iar for the advice!

The Fuel Flap is on the same circuit, it has been known for early models to have the Fuel Actuator short, hence blowing the fuse.

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic17008.html?