So I have a 91 rs with the pull down hatch that hasn't work for three years. Till today I havnt had any problems with it but now water is getting in and making a pool in the (trunk well?) Is there something I can do to the old one to go down fully or would I have to swap it with a normal latch?

 

What exactly is the problem? There are so many things that can go wrong with these setups -- not to say they're no good, just complex. To make matters worse, you have a split year. You could either have 86-91.5 or 91.5-92 hardware.
Probably the best advice I can offer at this point is to send you to www.top-downsolutions.com (someone from there is on this site).

 

On a 92 for a customer I took the back panel off. The pull down was still working at this point. I pushed a plastic lever which made it think the hatch was closed. It pulled all the way down. I just unhooked the wiring after that. The hatch closes very tight but works good. Once and awhile you need to push down the hatch with one hand to relieve some pressure while turning the key to get it to pop.

 

Its not latching because there is no wires running to it. I cant seam to find them. Thank you. Ill give it a try

 

I believe all of these cars (except convertibles) had powered pull-down. My RS has no power options at all, and has this, but not the power release. You should find wiring right behind the large plastic panel which covers the whole mechanism. If not, you're dealing with a previous owner's bright idea...

 

You will likely also find the harness for the switch under the console - just need the switch to make it work.

 

I found the wiring and relay to release the hatch under the center console, and permanently attached the two wires that normally go to the switch (I didn't have one). Then I cut off the constant 12V to the relay and wired it to a keyless entry unit. It works perfectly, the remote opens the hatch, but the handbrake safety is still in place.
Along the way I discovered that pull-down motor is still powered when the release relay is removed. So there are two separate 12V wires powering it. It looks as though the pull-down power wire (at least on my car) travels along the driver's side, behind all of the plastic interior panels along the way.

 

The first thing I'd need to know to help you is which style of pull-down you have. The early 86-91.5 had a large metal frame (where it attaches to the car body). The later 91.5-92 had a smaller tan-colored injection molded plastic frame (where it attaches to the car body). I have the parts to repair both. I have a LOT more experience diagnosing and repairing the earlier style pull-down. There isn't a lot that goes wrong with the later 91.5-92 style other than a broken gear nut or bad reversing switch, but those are common problems to the early style too!

Lon Salgren

 

Hi and thank you. I have the large metal. But the problem is that there are about ten wires coming off the hatch. I took a switch and battery to all the wires but nothing happened. Back to you.

 

The entire wiring for the hatch pull-down unit is part of the striker-sensing switch. If you are concerned that some have been butchered just replace the striker-sensing switch and you are good-to-go.

As for what wires go to what (assuming all are in place and good). The red/white stripe wire from the body wiring along the drivers-side provides +12v constant. It is plugged into the blue wire with a small black connector that matches the connector on that red/white stripe wire.

You indicate that you have no power at that red/white stripe wire. Check the fuse. The fuse that powers it should be the 3rd column from the left, top row.

The ground wire is the back wire with a small serrated ring terminal. It connects to the body ground below the hatch pull-down relay.

The only other wire to connect is a white wire with a small black connector on the end. It connects to a black with orange stripe wire for the 1989-91 pull-down units to provide a switched ground (controlled by the striker-sensing switch) to turn on and off the rear hatch light bulb. Prior to 1989 they used a manual switch to turn on/off that cargo light.

There is a white plug with 4 wires in it. That plug plugs into the reversing switch which is attached to the plastic motor housing with a single phillips head screw.

If you have need of more detailed wiring than this, or to know the wiring schematic for the pull-down unit or the car leading to the pull-down unit I'd recommend getting a 1991 Camaro Service Manual. They are available online at www.helminc.com. I am told that Rockauto has also started selling them. The service manual is roughly 3 inches thick and weights about 4 lbs if I remember correctly.

Someone also has scanned some of the service manuals and makes them available on disc. You can also look at eBay or Thirdgen.org to see if someone is selling it used.

Lon