Can you guys tell me how to check the condition etc of the hatch pull down motor? I pressed the button to open the hatch/trunk yesterday and it made the normal opening sound but didn't 'shoot' the whole way up. It did start moving up (perhaps half an inch) but was still kinda locked in position. So I popped the button again and gave it a helping hand to move up. Now it won't close, that is, when I move the hood down it doesn't then pull it down into the closed position.

Can you give me any ideas on things to check? Could this be an electrical or fuse issue? Is there any way to 'make' it close apart from the electronic pull down mechanism. This is really gonna mess up next week if I can't get it sorted in time for the drag racing meet on Sunday.

What things can I do/check, or am I gonna have to buy a new Hatch Pull-Down Repair Kit from TDS?

Many thanks guys.

 

I can't explain anything technically to you... but mine does this once in a while.

Open up the hatch, and look down at the hatch lock. There is a clip there along with something else... a position toggle or something. You can push it in with your finger - don't worry you won't get hurt. You only have to press in a little and the hatch motor should rise up like it is allowing the hatch to raise. What happens I think is that the hatch motor doesn't know the hatch is up, and so when you close it it doesn't act right. You have to make sure the hatch motor is "ready" to recieve the hatch and pull it down. I hope you can figure it out from my "explanation".

 

On my 88, I hit a hard bump and cracked the case, which caused the pull down unit to fall to the bottommost position when it was opened. It wouldn't raise, so when the hatch was closed, the bar never came in contact with the latch.

I didn't know about TDS at the time so I shot some sheet metal screws through the track and made it fixed so it didn't move anymore.