First off: my car's an '88 SC with no power options (originally). I've noticed how the third-gens I've seen all have a hatch light. And tonight, I was putting stuff in the hatch and realized that my car doesn't have a hatch light. The original hatch trim panel was gone from the car when I bought the car, but the replacement panel I've bought definitely has a cutout of some type near the hatch motor cover.

Anyway, I think I remember an unused wiring harness that was near the hatch pull-down motor wiring...could this be the interior hatch light wiring?

 

That would be where the light goes. There is a small metal bezel and the plastic lens goes over that. If you check a junkyard you can probably find the parts for cheap, real cheap.

 

Come to think of it, mine doesn't have it either. I've got power windows and a power hatch, but nothing else is power. I won't be using the hatch for much anyways, other than to store my t-tops

 

My 88 Iroc didn't have it. It seems that you only got it with the trunk storage cover, but I could be wrong.

 

No hatch light in my car either. The only thing power in my car is the hatch release.

 

I didn't have one in my 85 Iroc either but I added one when I added a trunk pop. There is a template behind the plastic panel which makes cutting the light in easy.

 

Iron Duke, how did you add the trunk pop? My car originally was a stripper model, but I've since added all the power options. I snagged a console out of a power window car, so I have the switch for the hatch pop, but no wiring to hook it up. Was it easy to do?

 

My 88 SC has one.It also has the hard hatch locking cover

 

Right. I think it came bundled with the storage cover.

 

My 88 Firebird Formula has a hatch light. No hatch cover.

Lon

PS: MY 88 IROC also has a hatch light. No hatch cover.

 

Wait.......the hard latch locking cover was an option too? I have that also. Can one of you Camaro guys with the hatch locking cover take a picture of the trim piece that covers your hatch motor? I've been trying to find a good used piece (that piece was gone off my car when I bought it), but the two that I've tried so far don't fit....seems like my car has these extra brackets to support that locking hatch cover.

 

This might seem like an odd question, but all the wiring around my hatch pull-down motor has been massacred, does the hatch light turn on when you open the hatch? or do you need to flick that little switch?

 

Yes for 1990-92. There is no manual switch, the light is turned on by the striker-sensing switch of the pull-down motor.

No, manual switch only for 1986-89. It is easy to convert it to have the pull-down unit turn it on and off though. Just disconnect the ground wire from the manual hatch switch, connect the end that went to ground to the white wire with the small black plug on the end. The striker sensing switch supplies ground to the light through that white wire.

Lon

 

mine never had it. i didn't even know there was one.

 

The rear cover panel will be specific for a hard hatch locking cover.It has a lip that runs across the entire panel so the hard cover will rest on that when closed.You would need to find the panel from an 86-92 car that came with a pulldown motor setup and hard hatch cover

 

My 88 Iroc has every option you can get for that year. It does have the hatchlight.