Engine Hatch wont open

[mascara]

Hello!

I just bought a 2001 Cobalt 263. Everything has been just fine until yesterday when the switch on the dash to open the engine hatch didnt work. I checked the circuit breakers under the dash and they are all in position. Mechanic told me to try and lift it manually but there is no way! Any ideas here?

[Whippled263]

CONGRATS on the new 263. You will love it. Battery has enough juice right? The hydraulic lifting rams take a lot of power to function. Sounds dumb but your pushing the switch in the right direction correct?

[cmattj]

Well that’s a pain... But it will open manually.

Your gonna need two people to do this Safely.

At the top of the Hydraulic ram there is a fold extension in the event of ram failure.

It’s takes a ton of strength as it possibly is sticking in seperation.
Some even have a fold down rod attached.

Keep us posted as it’s with a under push breaker or the ram itself.

[cjmiller]

check the connections at the back of the switch under the dash, ours had a loose wire and wouldn't lower the engine cover after it just raised

[AsLan7]

check the connections at the back of the switch under the dash, ours had a loose wire and wouldn't lower the engine cover after it just raised

.
Thanks Cjm. She has a concurrent thread running here where I documented this process as well based on a faulty switch.

[boatdoc40]

Two stout men can raise the hatch manually, but not one (unless he's a gorilla). My 292 uses hydraulics, and I'm not sure what your boat uses,, but if you have hydraulic lifts, be sure the fluid chamber is at the mark; they have a way of sneaking down without evidence of fluid in the bilge. I doubt that the electrical system is at fault; there are a bunch of older posts explaining the hydraulic problem. Bennett was very help to me, and I've learned to check the hydraulic fluid at the start of every season