My rear hatch opens and closes on it's own, irregardless if the car is running or not and ended up with a dead battery.

What I want to do is disconnect the motor so that I could open and close the hatch manually.

I've removed the back inside panel and located the motor and disconnected it, but I've done this with the rear hatch open.
So I know that I'm heading in the right direction.

When I try to close the hatch so that I could disconnect it from the inside, the hatch does not close tight.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

Mine was doing this too. I had to disconnect my power after getting the hatch in the right position to catch and not slap when I drive. Anyway...mine is because the motor housing (plastic) is cracked and the motor is not properly engaging the vertical drive gear. The motor will just run and run because it never engages the reversing solenoid. Looking to replace the entire assembly in a future project. Good Luck!!

To get the hatch in the correct positiion to close "pretty tight" remove the plastic housing again, you'll need a metal ring or something to put in the latch to simulate the catch on the hatch, (so the motor will engage, otherwise you'll have to hold the little switch at the top of the latch) connect the motor and move the motor housing slightly in and out to make it engage the vertical drive shaft. This will make the shaft go up or down depending on which way it is going at the time. Keep working with it and try to get it in the right position. Remember that the plastic panel will add another 1/8" or so to the total so check the height by closing the hatch with the panel pulled up in place and not laying down. Otherwise it won't latch. Once it is in the correct position disconnect the motor again. Now it will work manually. Patience is the key....took me about an hour, but mine is OK now until I get it replaced.

 

Thanks for the information.

I'll give it a try.

 

Im have the exact opposit problem!

mine wont go up or down, the button releases it but the mechanisn doesn't move.

see thread titled.....electric rear hatch not working

so far ive had no luck in fixing it, does anyone know how much a new or working second hand one is & how much to post it to me.????

cheers

 

seein a lot of these posts lol, email this guy Lon topdownsolutions@yahoo.com He manufactures the rails, gear nut and a reinforced plastic housing for much cheaper than you're gonna find anywhere else, as long as your motor still works he'll have everything you need including instructions and technical support. Good luck

 

Most of the problems described so far in this thread are all due to the hatch pull-down plastic motor housing being broken. The housings break and malfunction due to the hatch being slammed shut (unknowing car wash worker), worn hatch struts (replace them), worn guides (white plastic injection molded pieces, they break into many pieces). Once the motor housing is broken the hatch pull-down won't be in alignment. There are 2 switches, one at the latch which senses the latch hook the other reversses the direction of the motor and is tripped by a tab on the rod that drives the latch mechanism up/down. Correct the housing and guides and the unit will work correctly. Bad alignment will also cause the gear nut (plastic) that is driven by the motor and drives the rod up/down to break its teeth. The symptom of a bad gear nut is the motor will continue to run, yet the unit will not move up/down. I have the 3 items you need in stock. 1) Reinforced Motor Hoousings. I reinforce new GM motor housings with 4 pieces of aluminum and epoxy. These always crack and break where they mount with 3 screws to the frame of the pull-down unit. This is the area I reinforce. 2) Replacement Nylon Guides. I machine new guided from solid nylon. They are a direct drop-in replacement and much stronger than the OEM injection molded disaster. 3) I also stock new Gear Nuts. I also have a few new motors. But the motor rarely fails. E-mail me if you are in need of the parts. I'll send you a Price List and ordering instructions. Lon