hatch pull down motor blues

[Justifyedbyfaith]

well when i got the car the motor was in about 15 pieces and the tumbler had been punched out. well my parts car had one in one piece so i pulled the motor and tumbler and with a little body work had it re-installed in my car every thing works fine cept for the pull down function. replaced the relay and jacked around with it till i was ready get out the hammer. so i guess this is where yall step in and give the problem check list. oh by the way the push button works to relece the hatch and from time to time the securety light will come on.(was guessing it was caused by the hatch bouncing around.

[Trash man]

4th gen or 3rd gen? sounds like a 4th gen by the sec. light coming on. make sure the motor functions(hard wire it str8 to a power source) then go from there

[thenuge876]

this isnt a solution really, but mine wasnt functioning and then one day my trunk accidentally got slammed shut and it started working again. Of course this is not a fix but perhaps there is something stuck that needs some coaxing to get moving.

[Justifyedbyfaith]

the car is an 89 firebird so i guess thats a 3rd gen right. and what about hard wiring it in which wire do i hook up. i have enough loose wires in this car that i got to fix so i dont want to cut any more. thanks for the further help.

[Trash man]

id fix ur wiring harness and that may solve ur problem. but did u try researching it on thirdgen.org? there were 2 or 3 different style motors. does the motor run? if so it might be the plastic gear stripped

[bru333]

id fix ur wiring harness and that may solve ur problem. but did u try researching it on thirdgen.org? there were 2 or 3 different style motors. does the motor run? if so it might be the plastic gear stripped

Typical failure points are: fuse blown (the hatch release and the motor are on separate fuses), stripped gear, reversing switch assembly bad

To test the motor it is just a matter of supplying +/- 12v to it. There are two small holes in the reversing switch that allow you to test it with test probes. Alternatively you can remove the reversing switch by removing the Phillips-head screw attaching it to the clear plastic motor-housing. You'll expose the two terminals on the motor that the reversing switch makes contact with.

Here is Lon Solgren's (Top Down Solutions) tech article: http://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/te...chpulldown.pdf

[97LT1Z28]

I had an '87 that the rear-hatch pull-down motor went out. I pulled the motor out, got it into the "pulled down" position, put a sheet metal screw through the shaft and locked it in place. Then I mounted the motor assembly back in. Then it was just like a normal hatchback. Problem solved.

[bru333]

I had an '87 that the rear-hatch pull-down motor went out. I pulled the motor out, got it into the "pulled down" position, put a sheet metal screw through the shaft and locked it in place. Then I mounted the motor assembly back in. Then it was just like a normal hatchback. Problem solved.

I did something similar with my formula when the motor went out on it. Took it apart and cranked it down to where the hatch would stay closed then put it back together. Just have to be careful how hard you close the hatch. The reason they started using the motor was 'cause people were breaking the glass by slamming it too hard.