Bill Elwell

Went to close the rear hatch and it wouldn't latch. The motor had stopped with the release cable in the release position. Popped the clip that holds the release cable to the motor and I could latch the hatch again (but not open it...). But what stopped the motor? Well, the #1 fuse (25 Amp for sunroof & rear hatch) was blown. Putting a new one simply blew the new fuse right away.

I've spent a fair amount of time pouring over the electrical diagram of that circuit and comparing it to the wiring in the car. I'm probably not saying anything new here but the color codes on the diagram don't match the real wiring all the time. It would appear that there isn't a way to disconnect EVERYTHING from that circuit and one by one connect the stuff back to find the short.

So I've got a few questions:
- Anybody ever have an issue like this before?
- Any suggestions on troubleshooting this?
- How do you get to the connector for the hatch release switch in the driver's footwell?
- There are three relays associated with the sunroof circuit. Two are in the back with the sunroof motor. Where is the third?

Thanks folks,

Bill

TheMAXX

I don’t know if the relay I am referring to here is the same relay that you need information about. In another thread I was asking about the relay. I cut and pasted part of it below I didn’t know if I could link you to a particular message in a thread.

I asked---

The electrical diagram on pelicans site show what I think we are calling the relay and on the diagram it is labeled as CONTROL UNIT – LIFTING ROOF + RADIO. The pin out labeling matches with the Clark’s Main Sunroof Relay Testing diagram pin out. But the question is where is it?


89magic98 responded----

“It is not in the main relay panel. Here's the best way for me to describe to you how you find it.

Sit in the driver's seat. Put your right foot on the accelerator pedal. The relay is under the dashboard, directly above your right shin. You probably have to remove a small cardboard-like cover to see it.”

End quoting

That is exactly where I found it on my car (1984). It is more of an electronic control module in a relay housing. It also controls the radio and I thought something else but I cant remember what. My sunroof opens and closes but the release part of it isn’t working properly. It is not a cheap relay. Not that there is such a thing (cheap/inexpensive) on these cars anyway.

Do you have a VOM (volt ohm meter)? If you can get at the release motor try pulling the connections off of it and measure the resistance on the connectors and on the motor itself see if you have a short at the motor. Then with the motor disconnected and the wires not touching anything, measure at the fuse terminals to see what that looks like. You might want to measure voltage first at all of these spots because some VOMs can’t take 12 volts at 25amps on the resistance scale without blowing up the meter. This is all just basic electronics suggestions I have no particular experience with your specific problem.

badass951

Have you added anything to the car recently? If you installed another component on a parallel circuit then you actually have less resistance, and therefore more current. I would buy a digital multimeter, as they are one of the most useful tools one could ever own. These also can not take 25 amps, but you can measure voltage and resistance to figure out the problem, you do not need to measure amps to determine the problem (just use Ohm's law to figure out amps - Electromotive force/(Intensity * Resistance), where electromotive force = voltage and intensity = amps).