Hi, i just got my 87 iroc, and i know the hatch release button is between the power window buttons, but how do i get it to pull the hatch down? I think my motor may be broken so im not sure how it works. Thanks

 

I think you may be a little confused. It sounds like you think it will close the hatch for you. All the button on the center console does is pop the hatch. The motor pulls the hatch to a tight close after you LIGHTLY close it by hand. You just lower the hatch all the way down, the motor grabs and pulls it tight.

If you close the hatch, and nothing is happening, then you have a problem. You'll definitley know it's working when it is though.

 

[quote=91zconvt;4541702]I think you may be a little confused. It sounds like you think it will close the hatch for you. All the button on the center console does is pop the hatch. The motor pulls the hatch to a tight close after you LIGHTLY close it by hand. You just lower the hatch all the way down, the motor grabs and pulls it tight.

If you close the hatch, and nothing is happening, then you have a problem. You'll definitley know it's working when it is though.[/quote)

yea the motor must not be working, i have to slam the hatch and it only closes when i mess around with the motor manually beforhand...

 

thanks for clearing that up for me!

 

yea i had the same problems with my 90 rs and my 86 iroc, my rs had a blown fuse due to the switch on the motor being misplaced causing the motor constantly run, then i found the stupid plastic gear inside was also stripped out, and on the iroc i found the plastic body on the motor was broken so the bolts wouldnt hold it to the bracket....oh just a tip if your ever searching pick and pull or the junk yard for the motor and cant find one on any damn f-body, dont get desprate, the caddilacs from the 80s also had them, and can be used on f-bodys except for the latch and switch but everything else is interchangable.

 

I fiddled with one of these last week that was doing the same thing.

If the motor's not running, you probably have a broken gear housing. These break from slamming the rear hatch (they're made of acrylic and get brittle after a while). If you say that you've been slamming the hatch to shut it, I would assume your problem is the gear housing. I got one off of Hawks for about $27.

If your motor is running constantly, like avilla said, you'll have a stripped gear in your housing. They're made of acrylic too. I think Hawks sells those too.

There are a couple of switches that control the motor too. One is in the latch. In the absence of the hatch, it tells the motor to drive the latch up. When you set the hatch down, it tells the motor to pull the latch down. You can check it by poking a screwdriver down there and toggling the switch. If your motor runs, it's not in the electrical wiring. I haven't heard of these going bad, but then again, I've only been doing this for a month.

There is also a switch that mounts on the gear housing. It is in the black box that powers the motor. It basically kills the motor when the hatch is all the way up or all the way down. I've seen replacements on the internet, which would suggest that these are prone to wearing out or breaking. If this switch goes bad, you will most likely strip a gear out and have the motor running constantly. You can test one of these out by first inspecting it to be sure that the switch lever hasn't broken. If it looks OK, assuming that you have a stripped out gear and that your motor is running constantly, you can try pulling the motor or the latch (whichever will move easier) up or down to activate the switch. If your motor stops running, then the switch is good.

A bad motor can be harder to diagnose. You can check the voltages across the wires while toggling the two switches to see if you get any power to the motor. If you don't, you'll have to check the entire wiring system for the pull down motor, including the switches. If you do get voltage and it switches on and off as you toggle the switches, you might have a bad motor. Check for continuity in the motor across the pins (I'm not sure which ones to check) while rotating the motor's shaft. If you find a break in continuity, you may have a bad coil in the motor.