1986 trans am 5.0 automatic

I have a weird issue with my stock pop trunk button and latch.

i can use the switch twice and ill hear something in the trunk try to work, maybe the relay but after 2 tries nothing at all. like im touching air. then after i wait a minute or so, i can try again and same thing for 2 tries ill hear the electronics attempt to pop the trunk.

also my "E-BRAKE LIGHT" in the dash comes on when i hit the trunk switch.

I have my trunk also wired through my car starter and holding the trunk button on my remote it will work and pop my trunk finally.

However, the switch inside the latch does nothing. the motor will not turn on with the switch pushed with my finger.


i need all sorts of info, like where is the stock relay for the pop trunk solenoid cuz the car starter has its own relay for the trunk i believe and what is that black thing that looks like a relay that seems to be part of the trunk motor wiring.

 

The relay for a power unit should be under the center console pretty close to one of the SRS modules. I'm not following exactly what you're trying to tell me about wired through the starter.
For diagnosing the circuit you can easily test the switch by popping it out and testing for continuity when you press the switch down. It's just a momentary push button type switch. If the switch works check for the ground, I can't recall if it is under the center console or towards the driver's side of the trunk by the lid motor. If this is the automatic car then make sure that the wire that receives the park signal is actually seeing the ground. I know on manual cars the contact gets dirty and can cause intermittent problems.

If when the lid is up and you close it does it go down everytime? If it always works to pull the lid down then the problem should be with the switch side and not a power/ground issue to the motor.

 

the aftermarket car starter/alarm system not the "starter" has its own wiring outside of the stock wiring setup.

i'll have to check the park wiring. it is an automatic.


the pull down motor is currently not working. and the switch inside the car down not pop the solenoid.

 

It's a simple system really. You've got a solenoid mounted to the latch on the pulldown. It grounds through it's mounting bolt and a ground wire to the body. When it sees 12V+ on it's single wire, it pops the latch open. You can test the solenoid with any 12V power source, ground the body, positive to the terminal, it should "pop".

The rest of the system is equally simple. You've got a switch, a relay, and wiring. When you hit the switch, it trips the relay and sends 12V+ to the trunk release. The only catch is that the car has to know that it's not driving down the road. So on auto cars, the ground side of the relay's circuit goes to the park/neutral switch on the shifter, and 5spds it goes to the switch on the E-brake lever. The car needs to be in park, neutral, or the e-brake pulled for the button to do anything.

The relay on Firebirds is taped to the main dash harness on the passenger's side. Remove the cover across the bottom of the passenger's side of the dash, and fish around a bit through the "slot" and you should find it. It'll be about a 1" square relay, black or white plastic usually.

The relay on the trunk pulldown is for the up/down operation and has nothing to do with the release.