After I was finished fixing my tailights, I shut my hatch and the motor pulled it down (it doesn't work half the time). When I unlock the hatch, the motor doesn't go up, but the hatch is released, so I pull it up. Now my motor assembly is in the "down" position and my hatch will not lock (the latch will not catch because the assembly is too far down). Is there an activation switch or something? What makes it work sometimes and not at other times? I would like to remove it and put in a "regular" latch system, but I need to get the motor to bring the assembly back up. I can't even keep my hatch locked right now.

Thanks.

 

i would think just press the button down then relese it. that would be like when your opening the hatch and the motor should come up. and the reason why it's not working half the time is probably a short or a loose wire.

 

If you could get in touch with Duffster, he has some expert experience with hatch motors and controls. He may be a little "indisposed" right about now, however. Perhaps you could perform an archive search of his postings on the topic.

 

Down inside a little, there is a lever if you push it down, it should raise the hatch up. Has happened to me numerous times.

 

Here is a Tech article I wrote that will help you diagnose & repair the 1986-91 hatch pull-down units. BTW, I manufacture after-market replacement nylon guides and stock all the parts needed to repair these units.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

http://www.fl-thirdgen.org/hatch%20pull-down.pdf

 

I e-mailed him, but it was returned to me with an error. What do you mean he's "indisposed"? Is he in jail or something

 

Just a FYI, if you do a search on either "hatch motor" or "hatch pull down" you'll find the answers you need.

Lon

 

Thanks Lon. How much is your kit? My hatch shuts all the way down, but will not latch because the assembly has slid down too far or something. The motor will not turn on. I did a search already-still not exactly sure what happened. I noticed also that there was a small square piece that goes under the latch system that came off-it was above it on the "guide". The assembly also feels "loose" and I don't remember it feeling loose before, though not sure. I'll try to do another search-just don't have a lot of time-I'm a college student and have much work. Thanks again.

 

Removing the rear hatch surround cover you will have access to the hatch pull-down unit. From your description the plastic motor housing has broken (the loose feeling you describe). This happens for a few reasons. First off is it plastic. It is really a weak link in the unit. They often break where the 3 screws mount it to the frame. If you have weak or worse yet marginal hatch struts you are looking to damage the motor housing. All it takes is a nice gust of wind or an attendant at the Car Wash slamming the hatch to destroy the motor housing. Once it is damaged the gear nut is next on the list to sustain damage. The motor housing (along with the plastic guides) are responsible for maintaining the proper alignment of the unit. If the unit binds as it raises or lowers the motor will continue to run, with the worm drive of the motor trying to turn the gear nut. But with the latch portion binding the gear nut will stop. This will cause the worm drive of the motor to flat spot the gear nut (also plastic). OK so we have three things that commonly fail (motor housing, guides and gear nut). Less frequent items to fail are the striker sensing switch (that small switch by the latch that everyone keeps telling you to fiddle with) and the reversing switch (tripped by a tab on the up/down rod) which reverses the direction of the motor.

The good news is I stock all these parts. I manufacture new guides from solid nylon. They are much stronger than the second design used from 1988-91. I've been supplying guides to over 100 customers to date with zero failures. I am so confident in the design and construction that they have a 5-year replacement warranty.

I also reinforce the plastic motor housing with 4 pieces of aluminum and special plastic epoxy. This makes it much stronger than the OEM units. But it is still important to replace worn hatch struts. I recommend getting new struts that have a lifetime warranty from an auto parts chain. The GM ones fail much too quickly, are more expensive and have no warranty. The gear nuts I supply are nea GM units. They can't be reinforced. But if you have good alignment of the unit (motor housing & guides) and properly lubricated, the gear nut will last for years.

I've started offering rebuilt and re-manufactured hatch pull-down units earlier this year. I mention this only to let you know that I've rebuilt several of these units. In 34 units I disassembled I only had ONE hatch pull-down motor that failed when I tested it. It failed not because it didn't work, but because the contacts where the reversing switch mounts became bent. I have had to repair a few striker sensing switches, mostly because they had broken or cut wires. I stock new switches so replacing these if they are missing or damaged isn't a problem. I haven't found a unit with a bad relay or bad reversing switch yet. But again both these are available new from me.

It's difficult to diagnose everyones hatch pull-down unit sight unseen from a description of symptoms. I hope between this and the tech article I referenced earlier, you will have an idea what to look for when repairing your unit. E-mail me at: topdownsolutions@yahoo.com for a current Price List.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

 

By "indesposed", he means I'm out of town. . .
Been out to sea for 6+ months and just happened to check the internet today for first time in. . . .hell, about 2 years for here!
Hopefully, someone elses answers have helped you! Sounds like Lonsel is all over it for ya! BTW, I've tried contacting the Thirdgen webmasters to request an e-mail change on my articles. . .no luck yet. (Duffster_camaro@hotmail.com)

Ward

 

d00d take the whole assebly off and put it on like this. found the pic on another post with very little info.


then sell the motorized one to someone who wants to fix it. I still have to sell mine. Anyone wants it, its only $20 for the broken assembly. You pay for shipping also, wont be much its realy small. I keep the switch and that stuff.

 

While you are at it, don't forget to cut the mount for the slam-style latch from another car while you are at the pick-a-part yard so you can weld it into your car. For you'll notice on closer observation that the mounting for a 1982-85 slam-style latch is completly different than a 1986-91 hatch pull-down unit mounts. The 1991-1/2 to 92 is also different. If all that hacking and welding sounds easier than repairing your existing pull-down unit, I guess we have a different opinion of the task.

Lon