Rear Hatch Release.... - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

F.L.A.G · 10-17-2007, 02:34 AM

Ok guys I got the entire interior of the car gutted out. (1982 trans Am) No seats plastic panels or carpet, everythign is out. Long story short the previous owner did a serious hack job on all my wiring so im trying to work backwords and put everything back to normal. (it was a Knight Rider conversion)

I found the "black" signal wire that is connected to the rear hatch release mechanism. I don't intend to put the switch back in the stock position but rather in the centre consel next to the power mirror and power window switchs. The quesiton here is does this wire (which I assume is the signal wire) have to run through a Solonoid of some sort? there is no power to the relese mechanism.

This is all new to me so any advice would be helpful.

Best
FLAG.

lonsal · 10-21-2007, 02:38 AM

That black wire provides +12v to the solenoid from the switch through a relay.

Lon

F.L.A.G · 11-07-2009, 10:43 PM

Ok guys, I manged to get the wires all hooked up. When I flick the switch I hear the Solenoid from the back make a clicking sound but the trunk lid still doesn't release. Can the solenoid be sized or something?

Thanks..

lonsal · 11-08-2009, 12:30 AM

If you're hearing a clicking sound the hatch solenoid is firing. The latch could just be getting hung up on the hatch hook. Grab hold of the hatch at the lip and shake it. I bet it releases. Lube the latch and replace the hatch hook if it is badly grooved. Also check that the hatch is aligned correctly. It is common for the hatch to get pushed to the rear of the car due to the pressure of the pneumatic hatch struts. As I recall there is a tech article on this web site that covers how to re-align the hatch to correct for this condition.

Lon

F.L.A.G · 11-08-2009, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonsal

If you're hearing a clicking sound the hatch solenoid is firing. The latch could just be getting hung up on the hatch hook. Grab hold of the hatch at the lip and shake it. I bet it releases. Lube the latch and replace the hatch hook if it is badly grooved. Also check that the hatch is aligned correctly. It is common for the hatch to get pushed to the rear of the car due to the pressure of the pneumatic hatch struts. As I recall there is a tech article on this web site that covers how to re-align the hatch to correct for this condition.

Lon

Thanks for the replay lon. One more thing I forgot to mention. I pushed the hatch release button a few times in a row, the clicking got more and more faint with every push until the clicking sound just stopped. I then crawled through the car to the back and felt the solenoid It was really hot and still didn't release. Dont know if that alters your suggestion? Ill try the alignment corrections anyway see if it helps, thanks again.