Hi , got the car completely in bits , now 90 percent done . .
I've the later 91 catch pull down mech , and as you can see the top spring is broken . Is this to assist popping the hatch .?
Hatch release button .. connects too solenoid / motor to open catch ..?? I have the version catch in lower image , with the cable key release , so where's the motor/ solenoid to remote open the catch ???
Appreciate ya help

 

oh man, the composite latch! my 91 is an early build so I still have the old steel latch. found a pic on ebay, it looks like part of the trigger switch when you close the hatch broke off. the motor its shown at the bottom of the 2nd pic & the solenoid is stuck to the sheet metal near the latch iirc. might help to share some more pics of your latch it might be easier to help ya out... anyway here's the pic and ebay listing if you just wanna buy one ready to go and swap it out...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/318329005356

 

[img alt="Big thanks , yes the composite one .
I was thinking about welding a bit on end of spring , but that wouldnt last .
What baffles me , as car was in bits , should there be a motor where arrow is , can only find pic of earlier ones with motors ,
How do the compo one electronically release ?.
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Big thanks , yes the composite one . I was thinking about welding a bit on end of spring , but that wouldn't last . What baffles me , as car was in bits , should there be a motor where arrow is , can only find pic of earlier ones with motors , How do the compo one electronically release ?.

 

Nope, the motor is the big silver thing hanging off the side. That black plastic piece next to it, with the single screw, is the electronic connection for it. When you hit the button to pop the trunk, the motor spins the plastic worm gear at the bottom of the shaft, on the big flat metal plate. On that black plastic box, there's a little switch that'll get actuated by a couple of metal tabs on said plate. When the switch flips towards the top position, the motor will shut off. The whole plate assembly is held to the bottom of the composite housing with the 3 big screws; if you take those screws out, the whole assembly can be pulled up free of the motor. The arrow there is just pointing towards the cable release for the key cylinder, though behind that, there SHOULD be a switch, which has that plastic peg you can see in the picture that Kmac sent. When that switch gets pressed down, the motor will then move the assembly back down, and stop when the little switch on the box next to the motor gets pushed into the "down" position.

Your spring does look to be broken off at the end unfortunately, not sure if they sell replacements for that alone.... the motor and electronic side should still work without that spring in place though. Sometimes the connection between the motor and the plastic box can get a little funny, as the contacts for the motor are relatively loose; just metal contacts soldered to the ends of wires coming from the motor brushes. You can take that single screw off of the box and pull it off to get a closer look, might just need to reseat the motor contacts. You can get a new motor from Lon over at Top Down Solutions for about $30 (he sells the plastic worm gears and the plastic sliders for the sides as well), but I'd hold off until you can get the spring situation sorted, assuming it won't latch without the end of the spring.

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure what that spring does. There is a regular latch mechanism, like a door, under it. You might be able to get away without it; keep your rear trim out if you want to test the latch, so you can unbolt the motor in the event that it gets stuck.

One more thing I figured I'd add; the plug from the body harness will go into the side of that black plastic box next to the motor, should be part of the same loom that the rear trunk light is on.

 

Thank you , very appreciated ,
I originally took the compo to bits ,as it wasn't going up and down , it goes up and down but only if I manually flick the switch on the black box , and depress the lever switch just under my broken spring ....
So ...... Thank you for ya patience ,
The button on the dash to open trunk from closed . Button pushed , that will send the the motor up to send trunk up .? But what releases the cable lock ?
Or ... Is it meant to " auto unlock " once trunk up .
The metal ones appear to have a motor to lock/ unlock ..

 

The cable lock just turns a little metal peg, where you had the arrow pointing. It doesn't actuate the motor itself; what's supposed to happen, if you have good struts, is the hatch should pop up on its own when you turn the key. The lever by the latch will trigger the motor to go up since it is no longer being pressed.

The button works similarly; when the motor reaches the top of the travel, the latch should be disengaged, and the hatch should open on it's own. I believe that on the backside of where the key release cable mounts, there is a little lever with a peg. The peg should be rotated by another black plastic part on the inside of the beige motor housing, and will release the latch. If you have worn struts, you'll have to hit the button, jump out of the car, and pull up lightly on the decklid to get the hatch off of the switch. If your hatch doesn't pop up with the struts, the motor will just pull it all back down since the lever will still be pressed. I lived with bad struts for about 7 years, and I was absolutely FLOORED by how much better the whole system works when the hatch can lift itself...

Side note for the button, also: if your car is an auto, you will ONLY be able to use the trunk release button if you are in park or neutral. If your car is a factory manual, you will only be able to pop the hatch if your parking brake is engaged. This is assuming your wiring is still intact of course, but I thought I'd mention it in case you need to troubleshoot the button down the line