305IrocZ28

I took the little plastic thing off the back of my trunk the other day only to find the little motorized mechanism that is supposed to sorta latch the hatch up a lot further then automatically pull it down...I checked all the wires, and they appear to be connected, yet the damn thing never works nor is there a switch for it. Anyone else know about this?

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305IrocZ28- Al
1990 Iroc-z 305 TPI auto, Flowmaster exhaust, 2 Rockford 10'' Punch woofers w/ 160a2 amp, 2.73 rear (1650 rpms @ 60mph)

mat89RS

That's probably because the plastic gear inside that latch pull down motor assembly is all grinded because someone forced it. there's no switch, it was optional. you can always try to run a wire from your battery to the trunk.

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LT1 POWERED
HEADMANS HEADERS
300 HP backed with a limited slip, 2.73.
Top speed reached: 150 mph

EATS MUSTANGS FOR BREAKFAST

mat89RS

That's probably because the plastic gear inside that latch pull down motor assembly is all grinded because someone forced it. there's no switch, it was optional. you can always try to run a wire from your battery to the trunk.

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LT1 POWERED
HEADMANS HEADERS
300 HP backed with a limited slip, 2.73.
Top speed reached: 150 mph

EATS MUSTANGS FOR BREAKFAST

305IrocZ28

No, what im saying is that the damn thing doesnt do ANYTHING. It doesnt even make noises like it is trying to go, and all the wires appear to be hooked up. If it was an option and there was no switch, how was it operated in the first place? Was it something that was supposed to work in tandem with the electronic release on the center console?

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305IrocZ28- Al
1990 Iroc-z 305 TPI auto, Flowmaster exhaust, 2 Rockford 10'' Punch woofers w/ 160a2 amp, 2.73 rear (1650 rpms @ 60mph)

redbird_400

Yeah, I was haveing some problems with mine too. The plastic is broken on mine, but what I would do if I were you is just try to hook some power right into the little SOB and see if the motor moves at all.

PS. not too much you dont want to fry it....

Hack at it.


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89 Formula Firebird
Red with T-tops
5.0 305 FI
Soon to be a 400sb.

i8urrice

what might be broken on yours....and i could be wrong...right where the locking clamp is, right in front...towards you if you're standing at the back of the car is a little striker which is pushed by the hatch and activates the motor.....assuming your motor's not burned out....push that down and see if it does anything....if not, i'd sugguest a junkyard, that's what i did, picked up the entire assembly for 20 bucks....never had a problem again!

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88 Trans Am, 5.0L TPI, flowmaster cat back, high flow cat, WS-6 performance suspension, black w/ t-tops, automatic transmission....soon to be armed w/ a 5.7 TPI

mtccl

Previous posts are on track. Clean the striker plate with fine sandpaper. The contacts tend to corrode. Expose the hatch motor and run a hot wire to see if the motor is shot. Tan/white wire or yellow is hot wire. If the motor pulls and the striker doesn't move then the plastic pull down is broken.

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

Sorry guys. Wrong answer. The electric contact pad has absolutely nothing to do with the hatch pull-down assy. It is the power source for the HMSL (high mount stop light, AKA third brake light). Do this test to prove it (assuming of course you have replaced the bulbs in the HMSL when they burned out). Press on the brake with a broom lodged against the seat, of have a friend press it. If the HMSL works it will light up. Now open the hatch and watch the light turn off. Now back to why the hatch pull-down doesn't work. Verify that the fuse is good and that you have power to the relay (just below the pull-down assy). Also make sure the ground wire is connected to the body. If all that checks out good. There is a small switch at the side of the unit closest to you. Pressing this will power the unit down. If you get power to the unit, but it, but it won't power it down, it can be a blown motor. If you get the motor working, but still not moving the pull-down, then the gear nut is likely bad. The gear nut is GM p/n 20160587. The motor housing is a common failure, breaking at the screw boss mount location. New ones available from GM. They should still be reinforced (I used thin aluminum sheet mat'l and epoxy). New plastic guides are available from my company "Top-Down Solutions". I hope this helps, Lon.

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90 RS Convertible
Owner: Top-Down Solutions
(626)369-0040

http://www.sc3gfb.org/members/lonsal.html
http://www.taskerinc.com/gs3/profiles/Lon_profile.htm

Mangus

I just went through hell with my hatch pull down. I broke it loading a heavy object into my car. I pulled it completely apart (completely) and found that its worth it just to go to a junk yard (in my case, there happens to be a yard that specializes in vettes and f-bodies) due to the plastic track inserts being in terrible condition as well as GM's clever but unnecessary use of micro-switches and such to control positional control (via the relay).

So I replaced it and all was well. Until the new one stopped working altogether. A little creative diagnosis and I found that the relay was bad. Its quite cheap to replace. In your case, if it NEVER worked, make sure the ground wire(s) are connected to the chassis and make sure no wires or frayed or broken. Also make sure (like the previous poster stated) that the accessory fuse is good (under your dash).

Good luck!

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'89 TA - 5.7 TPI (L05, was originally a 305TPI), T5-WC, 3.08 Posi (Drum)

FiReBReTHa

do i kno, nething bout them... lol, they suck.....


lol. stil havent gotten mine really fixed, will once stereo is arriving....

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91 FireBird 305 V-8
Edelbrock Catback, Custom Alarm. Fourth Gen Console. i have six cupholders. all for starbucks!
Go|)Created The Earth, And Then Turned Up The Bass.
Here's My Audio Install!

"Honda's FOR ME TO POOP ON!" -Triumph...