Have a 1986 Trans Am, I put a new stereo in and now the hatch won't release. Not sure what wire it is. Does anyone know the color of the wire coming from the hatch that plugs into the switch?

 

It sounds like you blew a fuse when you installed the new stereo system in. Check the hatch fuse, which I believe is a separate in-line fuse adjacent to the fuse block....

-Rob
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Just ran a quick search for a pic, as I'm too lazy to go out and grab one on my own LOL. It'll be "near" the fuse box, but not in it. Check to see if it's blown...;

 

Didn't see a fuse there, well there is one but it is fine. Didn't see a blue looking one like in the pic. I do have a blue wire that I think was hooked up before, that is now not hooked up, was looking for the correct color of wire coming from the rear hatch going to the switch, was a pretty big rats nest when I pulled the old one out so there are a few wires there that I have no idea what they are for. I found the orange wire that controls the dome lights and cig lighter, but theres a few other wires that not sure about. Can't find the wiring diagram in my chiltons book that shows the hatch lead.

 

should be a black wire coming from the hatch release solenoid in the back to the front switch if i'm not mistaken.

Give or take 16/18 guage.

 

With a 7mm socket, unbolt the interior paneling, and check the wiring behind the hatch release switch, and trace it back to the fuse block. Assuming everything worked fine before the stereo install, it would have to be either a blown fuse, or a bad ground....

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A blue wire where? By the radio harness? If so, that's just your power antenna wire that came w/the new stereo. If it isn't, try and take a picture of it, or give a better detail of it's location in the stock harness. The blue fuse (15amp) in the pic is just a preference of the owner, as I have a yellow (20amp) fuse in my Formula in that same location....

 

OK, when I installed the stereo, unhooked the mess of wires, a few things happened. The dome lights, cig lighter and rear hatch would not work. I hooked up the orange wire (cig & dome) to the acc in the fuse box, they work now. The hatch still wont, I see one unhooked wire, a black one that comes out by the radio harness, same place as cig lighter, orange wire. I can't open the rear lid as there is no lock and key on the back of it, so checking the color there is not doable right now. There are some blue wires, look like after market that come out by the radio also. There is a bass tube in the "trunk" I don't have htat hooked up, pulled the power wire at the tube long ago. Maybe something is wired into that that affects the release, maybe they wired into it somehow, not sure. But I did hook the black wire to my hot stereo wire to no effect. Not sure where that power lead would or should go, as my stereo is not holding presets. Might be the decks fault as it is a old one from a co worker and he never used the radio, only cd so he doesn't know if it held the them before but said the clock did work. Maybe I have the stereo into the wrong portion of the fuse block. I had a what I guess now was some sort of alarm system block that was inthe fuse block, I unhooked it also, but I don't think that is the cause, but might be I just don't know. By hooking up the orange wire it solved the cig and dome lights, is that wire associated with the rear release? I have the hot wire for the stereo plugged into the ing. spot in the block and the yelllow mem. wire hooked to the harzard fuse.

 

Yes, it sounds as if the previous owner spliced into a few too many wires, and now the existing wires are no longer grounded via the factory locations. You need to pull and toss all of the unassociated wires from the harness, and reroute everything to the previous location(s)....

Not the hatch release solenoid, the hatch "trigger" itself, it sounds like it's not grounded (see pic below). This pic is from a '91 Firebird, but you have a similar area where the hatch trigger is located, correct? Pull it, and inspect the wiring behind the trigger....



How do you have the new stereo hooked up, wire to wire?

 

My hot wire is wired into the ing spot in the fuse block, black is grounded and the yellow wire is hooked into the hazard fuse. I really think it is the deck as my old one held clock and presets.
I checked the switch wiring, all I see are about 4 wires that lead into a hanress, so doesnt tell me a bunch. Must be a ground problem somewhere. Where is the big question.

 

Ok, I have a little more info. Yesterday I found the brown wire, leading out under the stereo by the orange wire, by the radio harness. Well i messed with that wire and forgot to tape it off, well last night a red spark jumped out and I blew the fuse for taillights and ints. and the one that actuates the headlights. Changed that fuse and those are all working. My question is should that black wire be grounded? I mean are all black wires ground and should be grounded? Basic? simple?

 

^ Here is a quick schematic for you to reference.....;

 

Ok that clears it up a bit for the stereo. There is still the hatch issue, there is a brown wire coming up from the shifter console that is not hooked up, it is the one that sparked and blew my inst lights and tail ights and headlight actuator. It is a brown one next to the orange one that also comes out form underthe shifter console. Any ideas what that one is for? When I hooked up the orange wire it made my dome cig work again.

 

Which wires, these? If so, I had the very same issure when I bought my Formula (car in the pic), as someone had an aftermarket stereo system installed, and spliced into everything....

Your going to need to pull the console, drivers seat, as well as the carpeting, as these wires route across toward the drivers side floor paneling....

 

Looks like the same ones. Thye come out more under the cig lighter though. I have an orange one and a brown one, hard to tell if the other wire is brown in your picture. Like I said, hooking the orange one up to power the lighter and dome lights worked again, but not sure what the brown one does.
The diagram for the stereo helps, the orange and yellow wires are crossed, the new "old" stereo I put in had the orange for the ign and the yellow for the continues power (mem, clock).

 

Unless the color code is different in '86, the wires in the picture above are both orange and Black. Your going to need to pull the drivers seat, as these wires come from the side harness that runs parallel with the drivers side door trim, under the seat, up into the console, and toward the radio harness. Please elaborate on your Brown wire though, as there are a couple of Brown wire's underneath the shifter plate. One of them I believe is a ground. Can you provide a picture of the wire for me so I can cross reference it?

 

I can shoot a picture, when I get home, at work now. Maybe it is a ground, and that could be why no hatch release, I will post a picture in a few hours here. Thanks for your help I do appreciate it. I am kinda amazed there is no wiring diagram for the hatch deal in the chiltons book.

 

Her it is, the wires come out with pigtail for the radio, but ont appear ot be isidethe pigtail. Another thing I just noticed, my dome lights don't come on whe nthe door is open unless the key is turned. They should come on when the door opens, correct? And the orange wire you see there seems to be the power for the dome lights and cig lighter.

 

^ That honestly looks like the dimmer wire for the radio (see schematic above), you have two of those brown wires coming out of the radio harness? When I installed my Kenwood stereo, that wire became irrelevant, so I just electrical taped it up. I'll double check though to see if there are any other similar brown wires matching that particular gauge size, but it definitely looks like the dimmer feed. Actually, if those two wires that your referring to in your pic, the brown and orange, if they originally shared the same stock wire connector, as well as loom, then that's your dimmer (brown) and continuous (orange) feed wires....

 

Give me the color coded wires found coming from your stereo, including stereo brand, model number, etc...

 

Blaupunkt RPD440
const.. Y
ant B
Ign R
grnd Blk

Now in my pigtail for the radio harness I have,
y
blk
grey
and what seems to be speaker wires as there 2 wires together, grey/brown/, green/lime
and of course the orange and brown wire that are kinda wrapped around the harness.

 

Thought Iwould throw thisin, hard to make out alot though, could try agin if you think would help.

 

^ This is how they should be matched, just to confirm....;

Stock Harness to Blaupunkt RPD0440

Orange to Yellow
Pink to Blue
Black to Black
Yellow to Red

Tape off the grey and brown wires, they are irrelevant, and have nothing to do with the hatch. The other wires are your speaker wires...

 

do you mean grey to blue? Idon't see a pink wire in the hanress. There is the one grey wire by itself.

 

^ My apologies, I thought you had a power antenna. Tape off the blue wire from the Blaupunkt stereo, as that's the power antenna line, which you don't have a need for. Total wires being taped off, three, which are as follows; (blue from the stereo, brown and grey from the stock radio harness)...

 

ok, ty. Do you know what fuse the hatch runs off? Maybe the dome lights not coming on whithout key being on has something to do with it?

 

^ It's a loose ground terminal, it has to be. The hatch fuse on the Firebird model is in a different location from the Camaro, as the Camaro has the fuse in the fuse panel itself, while the Firebird has it running next to it, seperately (like in the very first pic I posted). If your key worked the trunk release, you would see that the hatch does work, it just doesn't get popped open from the switch. Since the fuse is good (the one you checked back in the beginning), it's got to be a loose ground, and/or connection....

 

^ We need to start using the process of elimination now. The pictures that you posted above, there is a blue wire (back to the left) in the first pic, in which is exposed, and was more than likely placed there by the former owner. We need to see what the former owner connected it to, because for all we know, it's connected to the hatch release, and is simply lying there exposed....

Also, in the very same pic, there is aftermarket wiring in there (with the clear wrap), do you see it, it looks gold and white. That was put there by someone else. Again, you need to carefully see what it's connected to, and pull it out of there...

 

Getting dark here now, will give it a go i nteh morning. I could not find the seperate inline fuse for the hatch, the one you referenced earlier. Looking in and around the fuse block I dont see any inlines around there.......

 

OK, took the molding off around the fuse block, still cant see an inline fuse there, I found this diagram, not sure where all the wires come in at though, will keep looking. Have to think it is in there somewhere, as my dome lights dont come on untill the key is turned on.

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