Hey guys. So, I just opened my hatch to put a few things in the back of my car and now it wont shut. It clicks down and the motor wont turn on. any suggestions? is there a way i can test this? or does anyone know where to get a new motor? not sure if thats an autozone part?

 

Unfortunately it isn't an aftermarket part-the same thing happened to by car-I replaced the motor-it cost be $300 roughly...it was an A.C. Delco factory part-I'm sure I could've done it cheaper but it was...it broke...fix it now deal

 

not what i wanted to hear... ugh... thanks tho... looks like its time to go to gm

 

When the latch came up it probably didn't flip the reversing switch. You'll have to remove the trim covering the latch assembly and use a small screwdrive to flip the switch up. Here's what the switch looks likeand here's where the switch is located on the hatch assembly. (photos courtesy of www.top-downsolutions.com)

 

Okay, i'll take a look at that, thanks, when the motor went up, it was 'slow' to say the least, i had to help it up with my hand (not forcefully, just helped pull it up a litle) and now it wont go down... ugh

 

Well check the switch first and if it's not that you may need to do a rebuild on the hatch assembly especially if it's moving slow. check out top down solutions for the rebuild kit. http://www.top-downsolutions.com/pro...products_id=86

 

Look at yhe TDS ad on the right side of your screen and check out the parts and the instruction sheet you can download. Parts are a lot cheaper then the previous Post of $300.
Parts that fail:
1) motor
2) plastic gear
3) nylon slides
4) switch which would be the last thing to fail (my opinion).
I replaced the first 3 items and my pull down works just like new. First failure in 20years.

 

It would be $300 if he was buying two of those kits.
The deluxe kit which I posted a link to is $115 and includes Nylon Guides, Gear Nut, New-Style Motor and Reinforced Motor Housing and great instructions. Personally I'd rather buy a well put together kit, do it once and be done with it for another 20yrs. Lon is great to deal with and has excellent communication and customer service.

 

From your description the motor didn't cycle fully up. When each cycle ends you must hear a CLICK. That sound is the reversing switch being tripped to end the cycle. If for some reason the latch portion jambed in its track on either the up or down cycle the motor could stall out. This is bad because the motor will still be powered and can burn up. Hopefully it blew the fuse before this happened. Unplug the red/white stripe wire from the blue wire and see if you have +12v at the blue wire.

The other possibility is that it the striker-sensing switch was pressed which started the down cycle, but the latch hadn't caught the hatch hook. Soon the latch would cycle down to the point that the hatch hook stops pressing the striker-sensing switch at which point the motor stops.

In this case you simply need to re-set the unit which is easy to do. Reach in and press on the striker-sensing switch which is just in front of the latch. It has 3 wires coming out if it (orange, black and white). When you press and hold down the switch the motor should turn on and cycle down until it trips the reversing switch (remember that CLICK you need to hear). Now release the switch and it should power all the way up and CLICK again. It is now re-set.

Lon

 

Awesome! thanks for the help guys! I'll try some of those things out, i really hope its something simple... if it really is busted, its probably getting a slam latch for now and i'll have to replace the motor later...

 

Just out of curosity... is there a way to 'hard wire' the motor just to test it?

 

Yes. But the first thing to test is that you have power to the pull-down unit. Unplug the red/white stripe wire from the blue wire and test the red/white stripe wire for +12v. If it tests good, there are two ways to get power directly to the motor. There are two small holes in the reversing switch where it attaches to the contacts of the motor. You can use wires with a small probe on the end or wires with a nail or brad in the alligator clip ends. Those small holes allow direct access to the contacts that the reversing switch attach to. It may be easier to just remove the reversing switch so these two terminals are exposed. You should follow the instructions in either the Tech article I wrote on repairing these pull-down motors (which is posted on TGO) of download the instructions for the 101170 aftermarket guides from the lower left-hand side my web site under "documentation". It is important that you disassemble and reassemble the pull-down unit correctly. There is a tab on the reversing switch that must fit into a slot on the clear plastic part that the motor sits in (called the motor housing).

Once you have these terminals exposed it is a simple matter to supply power to the motor. Be sure to reverse the polarity to test the motor in both directions. If the motor doesn't run or is noisy I'd replace it. GM discontinued the original style motor which slips into a slot on the motor housing. I sell the new-style motors which are a direct replacement for your motor and motor housing. I also sell good used old-style motors.

Lon

 

Not to Hi-jack but, when I bought my car the PPD never worked. The deck lid latches and it locks, but it doesnt come down at all. I acquired a PPD unit from a 89 Firebird. Later today I will be taking apart the panels in the trunk to check the original unit. Is there anything I should look for?


Thanks!

 

Yes, download the instructions from TDS.

 

Aw man, you wrote what I was going to write.

Lon

 

I did and they were easy to follow and big help.

 

I cant find it... I dont know why.

 

Disregard, I Just replaced my PPD unit. The old one was unplugged, I plugged it in and the motor just kept on running. With the new one, Everything works, installation was straight forward. Now, combined with my new hatch supports when you hit the release the whole hatch pops up. Its so cool!!



One problem though, I cant get the hatch to sit all the way down. I adjusted the PPD unit the lowest I can go and I still have the problem. Any ideas?

 

Where are you looking? The Tech Article is on TGO titled "Instructions for repairing the 1986-87 F-Body Hatch Pull-Down Unit" under the General Repair category.

If you're looking on TDS is is on the lower left side of the main page under the Documentation category. Dowload the instructions for the 101170 Aftermarket Nylon Guides.

Lon

 

What condition are you trying to correct? If it is that the rear hatch lip is sticking out too far, that is a hatch alignment problem. Adjusting at the hinge and/or the actual hatch back metal panel to glass is required. It's been covered many times and has a tech article to correct that condition. If the hatch pull-down isn't fully compressing the hatch seal you can adjust the pull-down assy down by moving the entire frame of the unit down a bit by un-bolting the 3 13mm screws and adjusting it down. I must caution you though against lowering it too much. You only want it to come down enough to compress the hatch seal so it doesn't leak air or water. Also you MUST hear a CLICK at the end of the down or up cycles. If you adjust it too far down the motor will stall out trying to compress the hatch seals and not finish the down cycle (which is that CLICK of the reversing switch that you MUST hear). If it stalls out, the motor is still powered even though it is stalled out and the motor will quickly burn up.

Lon

 

I figured it was on your site, but I was looking for it at the PPD rebuild kit listing. Thanks!


Im trying to correct the problem with the hatch sticking out when it's closed. The pull down unit assy, I put it the lowest I can go. I do hear the clicks when each cycle is finished. I'll have to try to adjust the hinges and see if I can get it to move. Thanks again for all your help!

 

Any loosening of the bolts at the hinges or those holding the rear metal portion of the hatch assy to the glass will allow the gas struts to win their attempt to push the hatch to the rear of the car when the hatch is closed. The pull-down unit is working on an axis 90 degrees to the one you're trying to fix.

Lon

 

I FINALLY got a few hours to work on my car, and PROBLEM FIXED! It was just the reversing switch. The cycle didn't complete itself 100%... Just moved the switches and down it went! I just installed it back on the car and it works great!

 

I just had this problem, and Lon's fix took care of it. The latch hadn't cycled to the up position.

So nice when a fix is this simple.... Thank's Lon !!

 

I'm glad the old post of my reply was able to help you. FYI, to anyone looking to get the instructions to repair the pull-down unit, they are no longer available to download from my web site since the my web site was redone a few years back. They can still be downloaded from the Tech Articles on Thirdgen.org under General Repair category. I still stock all the parts to repair these 86-early 91 pull-down units.

Lon