I'm new to this site, but I was wondering if anyone could help me with my problem. I have an 89 IROC with the motorized rear hatch. I replaced the motor and found that when I would release the hatch it would let it open but the motor would not rise up. When I would then go to close it the latch wouldnt grab it and I found myself having to pull the whole motor out and reset the assembly to the raised position and then put the fuse back in and the motor would then pull the hatch down. Please help, I dont know much about how the whole setup runs.

 

Some of them have a small round piece that looks like an arm, made of black plastic - it's under spring tension, and it rides and twists when the motor turns, and then falls and twists back upon close - it lets the motor know where it's at (up or down). Maybe it's come undone, or come out of it's track. It's very hard to describe, and I don't have pics.

The rear hatch motor assembly is a very very delicate piece of equipment, and years of folks slamming the trunk closed breaks them, wears them out, etc. It's really amazing that any of them work at all given how poorly they are made. If you get it working again, never let anyone else ever close it for you, always do it yourself, always with the release button (never the key), and never slam it, always treat it as if it was a newborn baby.

 

Just out of interest where abouts is the switch on the dash for the rearhatch?? I just bought a 1988 transam and are slowly repairing a few problems.Have repaired the mechanism and went looking for the remote switch but cant find it?