Damn power hatch won't close.
 

This morning I opened my hatch with my key,it opened, but the damn moter started buzzing,and its now stuck in the down position https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/mad.gifI disconnected the plug,and when I plug it back in I can hear and feel the relay click but the locking mechanism does not move.Are there any quick fixes to this,and can I close and lock my hatch manually for the time being,or do I have to get a new moter?Any help would be appreciated.

[This message has been edited by black5.7GTA (edited July 21, 2001).]

there should be a little black switch right beside the latch mechanism. Use a small screwdriver and see if fipping the swtch will cause the pull down to cycle. It's probably stuck in a partially up or down cycle.

Agreed....... before you take your entire system apart (like I did) do the screwdriver thing. I accidently tripped some lever or switch in mine and it started working again and hasn't messed up since.

Seems like sometimes they get caught in a 1/2 cycle.

At the bottom of the track that the mechanism rides up and down on is a black box about the size of a large relay. Theres a switch sticking out of it. On the unit that slides up and down to move the hatch youll see two metal tangs one on top and one on the bottom. This switch should be in the middle of them. The tangs hit the switch. These tangs tell the swith where the hatch is..open or closed. Sometimes it can get dislogged and miss the switch. In my case I pulled the whole switch unit out. Its one philips screw. I drilled out the rivets and cleanes the whole assembly inside with sand paper and contact cleaner and screwed it back together. Its been working fine for 3 years now. Carefull if you open yours theres a spring in there that could take flight.

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1987 T/A GTA 5.7L, Bored .020 and ported for .202 valves, edelbrock headers, flowmaster exhaust, JET STAGE II chip, Comp CAM, Adjustable fuel pressure, Airfoil, K&N filter, B&M stage 2 shift kit, and a home depot ram air(Hey it looks good and it works)

those power hatches, **** everyone hates them and everyone has the same problems with them. Heres what you do,
1.) Take out the power hatch, place it firmly and upright on the cement or pavement.

2.) Using a large hamer or slege hamer smash the power hatch repeadly untill in little pieces.

3.) Spit unto power hatch.

4.) GO to local bone yard and retire an slam latch to replace the power hatch.

After you have followed these steps everything should work fine with your trunk there after.

I kinda like my 86 IROCs power hatch. No problems yet. But I have wondered what to do if it ever does mess up.

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Z's r Best

I like that idea,but unfortuneately I'd like to keep my car original(besides light mods https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/wink.gifand I don't really have the time right now to scour the junk yards.This thing has been driving me nuts all week, https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/mad.gifI tried the screwdriver trick several times with no luck,and I look at it,and can't figure out how it slides up and down,as its stuck in the down position.Its fine when I'm driving,but over the slightest bump the hatch pops up.

Edge,I'll try your suggestion(I think I know what your talking about)Hopefully,I can figure this stupid thing out.



[This message has been edited by black5.7GTA (edited July 27, 2001).]

Mine went out on my first '88 IROC. The plastic gear box housing broke so I disconnected the motor to where the latch assembly would slide freely in the tracks. I crawled in my car with all the plastic stuff removed and as my friend pushed down on the hatch, I latched the hatch and marked how far the latch assembly went down and marked it. We then opened the hatch back up, put on some heavy duty welding gloves and as i held the assembly within the marks while my friend welded it in place. It never gave me any trouble after that. https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/biggrin.gif

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Poor college student(donations welcome ;0) with an all stock 1988 5.7L IROC-Z Hardtop, Auto. trans, white ext. w/gold accents (soon to be silver), black custom cloth interior, 4-wheel discs and G92 pkg. Car is dead stock. Has only standard Z28 power options and all the IROC performance stuff you could get. No pwr. seats, mirrors, or rear defrost.

Best run: 1/4 14.90 @ 92.7 MPH

See My Car here: http://zap.to/chevyguy1969

#3 Gone but shall never be forgotten. Long live the legacy of the man in black. RIP Dale Earnhardt "The Intimidator"

Bring you up to date, mine did it again after I thought I fixed it 3 weeks ago. Man do I just wanna scream. I am going to switch to slam latch, its still stock if its outta another camaro https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/smile.gif hehe

Okay,I tried the screwdriver trick again and stuck it in between that little black box where the plug for the moter goes in and I got it loose https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/smile.gifso now atleast it locks,but now it does not pull it down and its still partially open https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/mad.gifWith the moter plugged in and the hatch shut,I can hear the moter running but it wont pull it down.Any more suggestions?Thanks.

Anymore suggestions?

this whole hatch thing boggles my mide, I think my is broken, My 1987 IROC-Z, I have to slam the hatch to get it to stay closed, now what is this pull down motor I hear about, do you just sort of close the hatch and it pulls it down more? : https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/confused.gif:

I had the same problem earlier in the summer. I just changed the power hatch motor and everything is fine. They are hard to find at the junk yard. I would check ebay or your local parts stripper.

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86 Camaro Black SS Coupe, T Tops, Flowmaster, Custom Paint, Dunlop Road Kings S/R tires, Wheel Country Directional Chrome Wheels,new charcoal & gray interior including seats and door panels, new carpet and headliner, complete front end suspension rebuild, new Valve seals, and more mods to come
http://www.angelfire.com/sports/niterider/86camaro.html
Morgan_Andre@hotmail.com

My hatch motor does not work either. I have pulled it apart and first I changed the brushes. That gave it power and I thought I have fixed the problem. I pressed the little switch and the motor came up but that was it. It will not go down. I pulled it apart again and flicked the switch on the black box (looks like a relay) I connected the power lead and it went down and did not come back up again. It either gets stuck up top or down below. I have no idea what is wrong with the stupid thing but looks like the swictch has had it and does not know when the hatch is closed and to pull down. I just set the hatch motor by turning it manually and knwo I have to give it a slight knock to close it.

Reminds me of a fun time with one of my friends selling me a speaker box for my 'bird. I added in the remote popper when i redid the car, but someone broke into the hatch and ripped out the lock cylinder, so I said 'hell with it' and welded a plate over the hole. Well he insisted it would fit and threw it in there and slammed the hatch. The thing went halfway down and then 'kept trying' to close every 10 seconds or so... I had to remove the glass bolts and manhandle the whole hatch to get it open...

Ruined a perfectly good saturday night as i recall...

Mine died on me today...oh well priced a new one and it was around $380, so I just welded it onto the track and now it works like a slam hatch...better than spending $400 bucks to fix.

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1989 Camaro IROC-Z
TPI ZZ4
Superram intake
Crane AFPR
Hooker Competition Headers
March Power and Amp pulleys
Moser 9" rearend with 3.70 gears and Detroit Locker differential

I've had this problem several times with my car. The first time I took it all apart and still couldn't get it to reverse itself. I almost hate to suggest this because most of you guys will think it's a bad idea, but in the midst of my frustration, I slammed the hatch down kinda hard several times in a row, and the motor actually reversed and came back up. I've heard you can break the slides fairly easy doing this, but mine are still intact. My car has pulled that stunt about 3 or 4 times now, and this has fixed it every time. Use advice at your own risk!

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89RS w/350 TPI; 69RS/SS w/450 HP 350/Muncie 4-Speed "Too weird to live, too rare to die."