The plot so far - I first tried removing the number plate lenses and just drying it out over a radiator but without success.
My next thought was to buy a second hand one but was a bit dubious because they may already be suffering water ingress, but it didn't matter because I couldn't find one anywhere in the country.
I priced a new one at my local dealer - approx £110 unpainted and £170 painted.
So I decided to cut it open with the option to buy a new one if I messed it up !
Once open ( not the easiest job ) I could see a small amount of water damage but it was only slight bubbling of the protective varnish on the circuit board in one spot and I can't see that causing the problem .
However one of the switches wasn't functioning at all and the other was very intermittent in operation. Whilst testing I think that whilst moving the board about one of the switches went momentarily short circuit so I asume that it has collapsed inside . This wasn't easy to reproduce using a digital meter .
I have ordered 2 new switches from Maplin - Part number KR89W tactile switch 105A looks the nearest if anyone else fancies a go .
I have also ordered silicone grease to coat everything before I reassemble the unit and have a bumper repair kit which is a 2 part plastic paste , used it recently to repair a split in the bumper on my son's car and it looks like the stuff that was used to glue the thing together in the first place . So hopefully I will end up with a serviceable , waterproof boot handle at a cost of £5-6.
To be continued ............
55 3.0 D Sport - Silver - Black leather - Carbon fibre badges - Rear view camera - Webasto remote control modification, HID Headlamps and all the rest are LED's.