I just got an 86 Camaro, and the hatch pull down is messed up... You shut the back, and it just slaps down, no click nothing. The release in front by the shifter makes a click sound, but the pulldown is totally messed. I opened it up, and found a tan wire that goes no where, what do I do with that? There is a pic of it below.

Thanks for any help!

 

does it lock down? if so then whats the problem? if its locked down but u hit hte release and it doesnt release, then if the hatch struts are bad it could be causing to much pressure making the hatch lock again

 

I agree with my car after you release it you have to grab it within 10 secs or the lock grabs it.

Im to lazy to replace my struts though.

 

No, it doesnt lock, the whole assembly is stuck in the down position... Heres what it looks like when its shut:

Stupid thing loaded without the pic, lol, next post

 

here it is...

 

GrR sorry , this is a pain in the ***...

 

mine would do that too, well it would lock but not pulldown, id say take it apart and look at it

probably find the prob then:lala:

 

umm, any guides how to do it? My friend says that its 3 10mm bolts to slide it up, and I wanna atliest click it shut, not necessarily pull down... Eventually i want it to

 

Yes. I wrote a tech article on how to repai them. I also sell all the parts you'd need. Don't worry aboug that tan wire. It connects to nothing on your model/yr. You need to check the red with white stripe wire for +12v. For 1986 modell year ONLY the fuse for this is located adjacent to the fuse block. On 1987-91 it is a 15 amp fuse in the #3 position (first row, third colum from the left).

Lon

 

Thanks, but what do you mean adjacent? not on the fuse block?
I heard it uses the same fuse as the dome lights, ect, and the dome works fine...

Does the fuse for the hatch release switch relate to it too? becaue I can hear it click... If I were to just loosten the 3 10mm bolts, and slide it up, would it help much? I atliest want it to lock. Do I just slide it back down when i get it to work...
Thanks

 

the electric release and the actually pull down is seprete systems. I take it that the thing is stuck in the down position, If you look at the part where the hatch side would contact the catch, there is a little switch (stricker switch) play with the switch and see if it goes up or moves at all. I don't know what the tan wire does I can't rember (Look at topdown solutions site, he has a rebuilt one, or parts needed to rebuild them). Use a test light and see if you are getting power back there, if not the fuse (its a inline fuse located near the fuse box but not in it) may be bad. There is a relay back there that can cause it also.

Hey Lon, thanks again for the parts I ordered a few months ago, fixed me right up :-), but I wanted to point out that My 89 Formula the fuse is an inline fuse adjacent to the box, not in the box, and my car is all stock.

 

Figured a pic might help, also there is a reverse switch that is hard to get to without taking it off the car, but its normally the stricker. Mine went bad and kept engaging and killing my battery, took me forever to figure it out.

 

I've been driving around for sometime with out my rear molding in at all... so not even sure if the contacts are hitting anything

I here a bit of a whiring in the back but I think it's just a hole in the muffler...

is there a problem with driving around like that? (I've left it over night etc I drove 300km and back and don't seem to have any issues...

(fixing some of the stuff in the back... )

 

A few minutes ago, I took a socket and loosten 3 bolts, and slid the whole thing up a TINY bit (I marked the origional spot with a marker) and now I can get it to lock shut. The switch next to the shifter even works... But no pull down. I have messed with that striker, and nothing happens. No noises, movement, nothing...

THanks for all your help!

 

I just had my auto closer die this weekend in Texas. I tore it apart and the main gear that the motor drives, to retract and extend the bolt catch, crumbled.

Soooo, I rush to the bone yard in San Antonio and found one in good looking condition. Purchased the whole thing including the bracket for $20. I get it home, tear it apart and the problem with the main gear is that it is plastic and had a concave wear to the tooth pattern and would not extend or retract at all. Just a "whirrring" noise in the back.

I finally ran out of time and had to fly back to San Diego last night and just took the motor out and adjusted the gear with my finger to get it to stay shut with some sort of reliability. Got it parked and tarped for now until I get back to Texas. I will search the bone yards out here for another. Oddly enough, I had an extra in my shed in Yuma, AZ but it burned to the ground the first week of June.

Anyone sell a metal version of the main gear? I could deal with lubing it once in a while.

 

No aftermarket metal gear nut that I'm aware of. It would likely be a $50 item if it were available.

Lon

 

Dang!!

It would be worth it though. I would have to put my Indiglo's on hold for the next month.

 

I just solved my hatch gear problem today.

I was at the bone yard today in San Diego. Looked at some hatch assemblies and dissasembled two of them. Main gears were just as bad as mine. Probably were already shot too.

Then I had an apiffany.

What car uses the same stuff that the Camaros and Firebirds do, with lighter trunklids (13-18lbs) and also a huge availability in the bone yards

Cadillacs. 86-91 to be a little more exact.

I jumped on the first one that I recognized. An 89 Deville. Pulled the closer apart and "bingo", the main gear looked like it was just installed. The lower plastic housing that we all bitch about was pristine too. No cracks. I even ran across something that I hadn't seen before. "Delphi Interiors" had a lower plastic housing that had the electric motor encased in the plastic also. Looked like it would be a stronger and more ridgid structure.

I will go back thursday and grab that too and experiment with it. When I go back to San Antonio and install the main gear.

I grabbed four of the gears just in case. If anyone else's is shot also I can send one or two out.