So, my hatch motor & guide rails crapped out on me last week. Got the Deluxe kit from TDS and installed it and tested out the motor and it worked just fine. Installed it and the motor wouldn't work as my guide rails were way too tight. Messed with the guide rails to get the latch assembly to slide smoothly and the motor still worked. Closed the hatch and it sounds like the motors going to die. Open the hatch to see if its catching on something and the motor stopped traveling up. Waited a few minutes the motor traveled down then up and still sounded bad. It won't go back down but the hatch locks shut finally.

Since the TDS motor is new, could I have burned it out with the guide rails being way too tight, or is it an issue with the relays?

*EDIT*

Went out and gently moved the switch on the reversing switch with a small screwdriver and then pushed the hatch down onto the latch and the motor pulled the hatch down. I opened the hatch and tried it again and nothing happened. Played with the switch again pushed the hatch down and nothing, got inside the car and played with the switch again pushed the button and the motor pulled down all the way then back up. Closed the hatch and the motor pulled it down. The whole time the motor sounded like it was good then would go bad the longer it ran.

The hatch pull down relay and motor were both warm to the touch after the motor ran each time, which to me indicates that there is power flowing through them. I'm starting to think the reversing switch is the problem. Might need a slight adjustment on the pull down rod as well for how far into the gear nut it sets when the hatch is open.

 

did you lube the slides ? there might be too much tention there still. the motor should not be getting hot i don`t think even if you ran it up and down several times
but i am no expert
mike

 

Lubed the slides when I put them in. Didn't have time to sand down the O marked slide rails, seems my car is in need of four I marked slide rails. I put each I rail on the outside left the O rails off till I get them sanded down and it worked like a charm. At least my latch stays put now and I can close the hatch. Now if I could get this electrical issue solved I'll be good to go.

 

From the 101170 guides instructions: "...due to the wide tolerance of the channels you may need to sand or file them some. They must slide easily in the channels without binding."

If the motor is getting hot it means that it is getting power and more importantly it means that the guides are too tight. The guides must slide easily in the channels. Yours are not sliding easily. Don't continue to operate it in this condition until you have the time to properly assemble it, which in your case includes sanding the guides. Alternatively, if you want to return the "O" guides and have me swap them for "I" guides just let me know by phone or e-mail and send yours back to me for the exchange.

Lon Salgren

 

As it sits right now, I only have the I guides installed on the outer rail of each side and nothing on the inner rails. The latch assembly moves very easily with just the I guides in there and the guides have a fair amount of wiggle to them. When I slid the latch mount on it didn't require any effort at all. The motor isn't hot to the touch at all, but I can tell its warm if leave my hand on it while its running.

 

***UPDATE***

I finally had time this morning to look at my motor. I removed the assembly, but my latch rod was all the way down and the reversing switch was stuck in the up position. I reattached the motor to the electricals and it ran just fine several times via me pressing the black switch button on the lock, but the reversing switch each time never got fully engaged. After watching it move several more times, I figured out that the latch rod wasn't screwed into the gear nut enough. I screwed the latch rod in another 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn and reran it. Each time it traveled up or down there was a positive click of the switch. I reassembled the whole assembly and tested it more before bolting it back to the car. When I bolted it back in, I made sure that the whole assembly was slide up as far as possible before I tightened the bolts. It now runs like butter in a hot pan. The hatch has been tested several times and the motor is running like a champ.

 

This was an unesessary step. The 7-1/2 turns of the gear nut that I recommend in the instruction sheet DO NOT set the length of the pull-down assy stroke, that is controlled by the two tabs on the lift rod. The purpose of installing the gear nut with 7-1/2 turns is to position the lift rod at a midway point that will allow you to easily install the reversing switch.

Positioning the entire pull-down unit up a bit further in relation to the body as you did in this step is what fixed your problem.

I'm glad you got it fixed.

Lon