Alright, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but I need help either way.

I have a '91 RS Convertible, and I'm having trouble shutting the "trunk". I'm not sure if normal Camaros have this, but mine has a motor on it that activates once the trunk lid locks into the motor. The motor slides this large plate with the lock on it downward, pulling the lid tight to the car. I'm pretty sure every Camaro has this - at least convertibles anyway - but I just wanted to make sure you all understand.

My problem is that this motor isn't activating. The trunk lid locks down properly, but something is either happening with the metal contacs or the motor itself, for the motor is not activatin, and my trunk remains an ugly two inshes above the lights. Because the lid isn't going down all the way, this is also preventing me from openning the tonneu cover, so I can't take my top off.

Any help on this matter would be GREATLY appreciated, and please, if you know anything, don't hesitate to let me know! Thank you!

P.S. A friend told me that it might be a fuse problem, but I'm not sure that's the case. Either way, I don't have a fuse panel cover, so I can't really tell which fuse is which. I can understand what FOG or ACC is, but no idea on DLR, etc. Help here would be awesome, too.

Thank you so much, guys. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that this site came to be.

 

Not all of the convertibles have this system. Most of the regular cars do. There is a hatch fues in the main fuse box, there is also a relay (i forget where), and then the motor itself could be bad.

Do a search on here, not in the vert section, and I'm sure you will come up with some trouble shooting threads.

 

My car has the same issue, though I didn't make the mental connection to the tonnue cover problem.... I've found that once the lid is open, I can press on the switch and get it to retract, then reset. Once this is done the truck lid will try to close properly. I think that the motor is fine, but that the switch is broken.

You can also open the tonnue cover with the cables behind the back seats.

 

Thanks a lot. I'll check fuses first.

I can open the cover witht the emercency cables, yes, but the lid itsef wont open, because it's blocked by the trunk lid.

I'm not sure what you mean, mnorton, by "the switch".

 

Yup, there's a 'connection' between the hatch release button inside the car(which releases the tonneau cover) and the motor for the trunk lid. If the trunk lid motor isn't operating properly, it 'blocks' the function of the button. I learned this within the first week of owning my 'vert.

Ironic that in 20 years I've never had an issue of any kind with my Formula's hatch motor. Yet the first thing I did when I got my 'vert last month of break this! Those little trunk lids really fool you... they don't look nearly as heavy as they are, and they slam quickly and HARD if you let them get away!

But mnorton, if I read your post correctly, you've confirmed that the motor operated when you pushed on the switch. So both are apparently working and not the problems. So I'd guess the problem is that the plastic gearnut/motor housing has broken. If that breaks, it prevents the motor from properly opening and closing, thus disabling the release button inside the car.

Mine checked-out just like yours did. Turned out that my plastic gearnut/motor housing was broken. Contact Lon at TDS(lonsal, moderator on these boards) for his opinion(if he doesn't happen to chime-in here soon). You prolly need his repair kit. I got one, and mine works perfectly again.

2wdr, "The switch" he's talking about is circled in red in the attached pic. That's what the hatch pushes on when it locks into the assembly, and that activates the motor.

Then there's a 'reversing' switch within the assembly that makes an audible 'click' at the top and bottom of the motor's opening and closing and cycles, signifying that the motor has reversed its operation and is ready for the next up or down cycle.

Mine and mnorton's motors worked. But since your motor apparently doesn't operate at all, it sounds more like an electrical issue of some kind, possibly the motor itself. But here again, I'd suggest contacting lonsal for his opinion. Few people know and understand these hatch release motors better than Lon.

 

Thank's LA Fireboy, for your suggestions. I found the switch the day of the problem. Actually, a friend of mine hhad a Z28 a few years ago, and he showed me the switch that you did. However, when I got home and pressed it down, I noticed that it turned the little cargo light on and off, so I that's all it was and my friend didn't know what he was talking about. I found another switch, though, and I'm not sure what it does:

If you are looking down on the motor from the ourside, under the left track of the motor, there is a white push switch (It has a short little button that pushes in). This switch is connected via a small plug to a red wire that runs towards the passenger side of the car. I read about it in my manual, but I forgot what it does, and I'm not sure it's the problem.

I also know it isn't a fuse problem because all the other elements that run on the same fuse are still working, so I do know that somewhere it is an electrical problem, or a problem with the motor.

I did hypothesize that the motor activated that "safety feature" on the switch for the tonneu cover, and that the little button switch explained above - when pressed by an activated, lowered motor - was what deactivated the safety feature.

It appears to me that I am discovering a lot about this problem AS you guys are throwing stuff in here. And after both reading here and messing around with things myself, I bleieve that the problem is actually water damage to the motor. I noticed a cut in the weatherstripping in front of the place that the trunk locks into the body. I washed my Camaro the day before I discovered the problem, so Water from my car's bath could have messed up the motor, or the problem was happening before, and I just hand't noticed it (I hardly open the trunk).

Well, I think I've said enough for now. I'm actually on a laptop in my 3D Modeling and Animation class, and my instructor is becomeing a bit suspicious. Thank you all for any information!


P.S. How exactly should I go about contacting this moderator for information? Thanks!