Hi, I've been troubleshooting my 88 IROC pull down motor problem for the past week and thanks to all the great information on this site I've been able to really narrow down the problem.

Right now I get a steady 12v from the reversing switch when it is set to bring the unit up. However, when I set the reversing switch to bring the unit down and hold down the striker sensing switch, the power is iffy. It varies between 2v and 6v. At one point it rose to 12v and maintained, so I hooked the reversing switch to the motor and it successfully lowered the unit, but only a couple times before the power dropped to about 4v again.

From the harness that plugs into the reversing switch the power is consistent. And I think the striker sensing switch is ok, as fiddling with it didn't seem to affect the volts.

Is this a sign that my reversing switch is bad, or maybe the relay? And what type of resistance should I be looking for in the various relay wires? Prior to testing I already opened the relay and cleaned the contacts, but didn't probe any of the wires yet.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

I fixed it. The reversing switch was bad.

So FYI to anyone having problems getting power to the motor like I was: even if the reversing switch clicks and reverses the direction, it can still be the root of the problem. And it can affect how much power gets to the motor.

Apparently it doesn't take much to not work. Inside it wasn't corroted. But the grease looked a little off color and black in some spots. So I replaced the grease, roughed the sled's contacts for good measure, put it back together and it worked.