Rear Hatch Motor
07-04-2007, 08:03 PM
#16
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This is an easy one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Basically what Alan said
There are two fuese that control the rear hatch release (on my 88 anyway)....the main one that also controls a bunch of other stuff and #26 which is the only 1 amp fuse on the board....this is the "timing" part of the motor release....when this fuse is blown (mine and Randys was) the motor only runs when you hold the relase "up" as soon as you let it down it stops running and does not do a complete cycle...by fixing the fuse one quick up pull will cause it to cycle and release (if everything is aligned correctly..but thats another story(
There are two fuese that control the rear hatch release (on my 88 anyway)....the main one that also controls a bunch of other stuff and #26 which is the only 1 amp fuse on the board....this is the "timing" part of the motor release....when this fuse is blown (mine and Randys was) the motor only runs when you hold the relase "up" as soon as you let it down it stops running and does not do a complete cycle...by fixing the fuse one quick up pull will cause it to cycle and release (if everything is aligned correctly..but thats another story(
07-04-2007, 11:51 PM
#17
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JP raises a good point - there is some adjustability in the motor - loosen its 2 bolts to the central support in the tool tray area - the motor can slide up & down a little. Be careful the motor doesn't strain as it runs - sometimes this causes excessive current. I have not actually found this makes much difference to the degree of movement of the actuator on mine - but it sure can help getting it to run smoothly....
if the plastic bushing in the actuator arm was stretched I can see it might help - might be worth a try anyway...
Alan
if the plastic bushing in the actuator arm was stretched I can see it might help - might be worth a try anyway...
Alan
Last edited by Alan; 07-06-2007 at 09:09 PM.
07-25-2007, 03:42 AM
#18
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I am having a similar problem. Neither the driver or passenger side release will work. None of the three interior lights work. The one thing that does happen is if you switch any of the interior lights on, the door open dinger will fade and so does the clock. The same goes for when you pull the rear hatch release. This in on an 86 S4 with a manual trans. I have been tracing wires and it seems that the grounds under the dash and by the fuse panel are good but I have not removed any door panels or panels in the hatch area. Thanks in advance for any input. Also I haven't been able to test any of the relays but all the fuses in the fuse panel are good.
Jason
Jason
07-25-2007, 08:21 AM
#19
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Sounds like a short or leak in the interior light circuit Jason - note the bit above about the hatch release being connected to the door light switches so it can only operate when stopped and with a door open...
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k
07-25-2007, 11:12 AM
#20
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For the first couple of years, the run-on or parking fuse for the hatch motor was in an in-line holder under the hatch carpet.
Jason, your problem is that you have no ground on the interior light circuit. If the button ground switches on the doors or the hatch don't work, neither the interior lights nor the hatch release will function properly.
Jason, your problem is that you have no ground on the interior light circuit. If the button ground switches on the doors or the hatch don't work, neither the interior lights nor the hatch release will function properly.
07-29-2007, 07:02 PM
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Ok I removed everything in the trunk and there was a connector that was taped over with a wire looped into both plug areas. since touching this the alarm goes off and I cannot start the car. I will try to post a picture of it tomorrow. All of the grounds are secure. I did not see any fuses back there though.
08-10-2007, 07:38 PM
#23
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It is also #26 on an '86.
Jason you need to provide more details. Post those photos you mentioned. Sounds like someone may have been busy at the back of your car...
Test the interior lights - pull one from the roof look at the ends - use a narrow bladed screwdriver pressed into the indent at the ends. This depresses a brasss spring above each indent - lever out partly - then ease diagonally out. Test to see if you have +12v on the red wire?
Test continuity between the brown wire & ground. If you have these you should be able to get the light to come on in at least the non-switched mode.
Debug this first...
The fading out sounds like a grounding issue - but we shall see... I assume the radio/head unit is not original...?
Alan
Jason you need to provide more details. Post those photos you mentioned. Sounds like someone may have been busy at the back of your car...
Test the interior lights - pull one from the roof look at the ends - use a narrow bladed screwdriver pressed into the indent at the ends. This depresses a brasss spring above each indent - lever out partly - then ease diagonally out. Test to see if you have +12v on the red wire?
Test continuity between the brown wire & ground. If you have these you should be able to get the light to come on in at least the non-switched mode.
Debug this first...
The fading out sounds like a grounding issue - but we shall see... I assume the radio/head unit is not original...?
Alan
08-12-2007, 11:22 PM
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The radio is not original. There are numerous problems with this car. When all doors are closed and you try to lock it on the passenger side it cycles the lock to lock and then unlocks. When the door is open and you turn the lights to on it has a draw and the chime starts to fade. Also the hatch release doesn't work but I think that will solve itself when the lights work. This all started when the roof light was switched on and I had found out it had broken. and must have grounded out to the roof. I have put a new roof light in but the same problems remain. The picture I have posted is in the trunk. I found this interesting but it was there when the car was purchased and everything worked fine so I think it is irrelevant but who knows. I have also just put in a new battery from Porsche.
Jason
Jason
08-13-2007, 12:52 AM
#25
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JasonBoes,
That looks like the connector for the rear sidemarker light harness. Do your sidemarkers work? Maybe they put that jumper wire in there to defeat the bulb warning, although I'm not sure that would work. Does it? In any case, someone more knowledgeable than I will jump in here...
That looks like the connector for the rear sidemarker light harness. Do your sidemarkers work? Maybe they put that jumper wire in there to defeat the bulb warning, although I'm not sure that would work. Does it? In any case, someone more knowledgeable than I will jump in here...
08-14-2007, 03:04 PM
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I put the radio back in and now the door chime goes off all the time. It is louder when the door is open and fainter if you try to switch the lights on. Lights and hatch release still don't work. I can't tell where this is coming from! It is driving me crazy.
08-14-2007, 08:24 PM
#27
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OK, one last try...
It is probable that you have problems with the power circuit for the interior lamps.
It is also probable that you have problems with the interior light switched ground circuit. This is a brown/white wire that runs to a button ground switch on each door and on the hatch latch receptacle. If that wire is grounded, each interior lamp whose switch is in the AUTO position is enabled. In addition, the alarm system is told that a door or the hatch is open, the door chime is enabled, and the power hatch release (if present) is enabled.
If the brown/white circuit is grounded at any point, all of this will happen all the time.
First thing to check is the harness in the hatch area with the jumper. If one wire in the harness is brown, and one is brown/white, this is the harness for the hatch switch. If the jumper is making good connection, the hatch will be seen as always open. If the jumper is not present, the hatch will never be seen as open.
A common problem is that the red power wire to the interior lamp above the rear view mirror shorts to ground. This can be a "hard" short, which will blow the fuse, or it can be a "partial" short - one which has enough resistance to avoid blowing the fuse, but which will load the circuit enough for weird things to happen. The same thing can happen on the red wire at any lamp position, but the mirror lamp and the hatch lamps are the most common problem areas.
You need to check EVERY interior lamp. Make sure that the red wire has 12 vdc, and make sure that it will fully light a 12 volt test light. Make sure that every brown wire has a very good connection to ground. Make sure that (with the doors and hatch closed) no brown/white wire is connected to ground.
Each lamp has a switch that has three (non-marked) positions - OFF, ON, and AUTO.
With the switch ON, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch hooks the other end to the brown wire. The lamp should illuminate.
With the switch in AUTO, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb. The other end of the bulb is hooked to the brown/white wire. When a door or the hatch is open, the brown/white wire is grounded, and the lamp illuminates. When the doors and hatch are closed, there is no ground on the circuit, and the lamp does not illuminate.
When the switch is in the OFF position, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch disconnects the other end of the bulb from any circuit. With no ground, the bulb does not illuminate.
Until you approach the problem in a methodical manner, and until you understand how the switched ground circuit works, I'm afraid that you have little chance of solving the problem.
My apologies for lecturing, but this has been going on for a long time...
It is probable that you have problems with the power circuit for the interior lamps.
It is also probable that you have problems with the interior light switched ground circuit. This is a brown/white wire that runs to a button ground switch on each door and on the hatch latch receptacle. If that wire is grounded, each interior lamp whose switch is in the AUTO position is enabled. In addition, the alarm system is told that a door or the hatch is open, the door chime is enabled, and the power hatch release (if present) is enabled.
If the brown/white circuit is grounded at any point, all of this will happen all the time.
First thing to check is the harness in the hatch area with the jumper. If one wire in the harness is brown, and one is brown/white, this is the harness for the hatch switch. If the jumper is making good connection, the hatch will be seen as always open. If the jumper is not present, the hatch will never be seen as open.
A common problem is that the red power wire to the interior lamp above the rear view mirror shorts to ground. This can be a "hard" short, which will blow the fuse, or it can be a "partial" short - one which has enough resistance to avoid blowing the fuse, but which will load the circuit enough for weird things to happen. The same thing can happen on the red wire at any lamp position, but the mirror lamp and the hatch lamps are the most common problem areas.
You need to check EVERY interior lamp. Make sure that the red wire has 12 vdc, and make sure that it will fully light a 12 volt test light. Make sure that every brown wire has a very good connection to ground. Make sure that (with the doors and hatch closed) no brown/white wire is connected to ground.
Each lamp has a switch that has three (non-marked) positions - OFF, ON, and AUTO.
With the switch ON, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch hooks the other end to the brown wire. The lamp should illuminate.
With the switch in AUTO, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb. The other end of the bulb is hooked to the brown/white wire. When a door or the hatch is open, the brown/white wire is grounded, and the lamp illuminates. When the doors and hatch are closed, there is no ground on the circuit, and the lamp does not illuminate.
When the switch is in the OFF position, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch disconnects the other end of the bulb from any circuit. With no ground, the bulb does not illuminate.
Until you approach the problem in a methodical manner, and until you understand how the switched ground circuit works, I'm afraid that you have little chance of solving the problem.
My apologies for lecturing, but this has been going on for a long time...
08-14-2007, 08:56 PM
#28
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Originally Posted by JasonBoes
Ok I removed everything in the trunk and there was a connector that was taped over with a wire looped into both plug areas. since touching this the alarm goes off and I cannot start the car. I will try to post a picture of it tomorrow. All of the grounds are secure. I did not see any fuses back there though.
You need to start fixing the things you know are broken...
Alan
08-14-2007, 09:04 PM
#29
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The radio is not original. There are numerous problems with this car. When all doors are closed and you try to lock it on the passenger side it cycles the lock to lock and then unlocks... Also the hatch release doesn't work but I think that will solve itself when the lights work. This all started when the roof light was switched on and I had found out it had broken. and must have grounded out to the roof. I have put a new roof light in but the same problems remain.
Ignore the lock problems they are almost certainly a seperate issue. You are right the hatch won't work till you get the interior light working...
So the interior light worked before you replaced one that broke?? That sounds like something got messed up then??
You talk about 3 interior lights not working - what about the door end lights and the door switched lights... please be clear what the exact symptoms are - for us to help you need to be as complete as possible.
If the door end lights go on/off with the door pin switches & delay thats significant...
You absolutely need a multimeter to fix your car - if you don't have one you can get a basic one for ~$20 at radio shack - it will be adequate to start with.
Alan
08-14-2007, 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by WallyP
OK, one last try...
A common problem is that the red power wire to the interior lamp above the rear view mirror shorts to ground. This can be a "hard" short, which will blow the fuse, or it can be a "partial" short - one which has enough resistance to avoid blowing the fuse, but which will load the circuit enough for weird things to happen. The same thing can happen on the red wire at any lamp position, but the mirror lamp and the hatch lamps are the most common problem areas.
You need to check EVERY interior lamp. Make sure that the red wire has 12 vdc, and make sure that it will fully light a 12 volt test light. Make sure that every brown wire has a very good connection to ground. Make sure that (with the doors and hatch closed) no brown/white wire is connected to ground.
Each lamp has a switch that has three (non-marked) positions - OFF, ON, and AUTO.
With the switch ON, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch hooks the other end to the brown wire. The lamp should illuminate.
With the switch in AUTO, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb. The other end of the bulb is hooked to the brown/white wire. When a door or the hatch is open, the brown/white wire is grounded, and the lamp illuminates. When the doors and hatch are closed, there is no ground on the circuit, and the lamp does not illuminate.
When the switch is in the OFF position, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch disconnects the other end of the bulb from any circuit. With no ground, the bulb does not illuminate.
long time...
A common problem is that the red power wire to the interior lamp above the rear view mirror shorts to ground. This can be a "hard" short, which will blow the fuse, or it can be a "partial" short - one which has enough resistance to avoid blowing the fuse, but which will load the circuit enough for weird things to happen. The same thing can happen on the red wire at any lamp position, but the mirror lamp and the hatch lamps are the most common problem areas.
You need to check EVERY interior lamp. Make sure that the red wire has 12 vdc, and make sure that it will fully light a 12 volt test light. Make sure that every brown wire has a very good connection to ground. Make sure that (with the doors and hatch closed) no brown/white wire is connected to ground.
Each lamp has a switch that has three (non-marked) positions - OFF, ON, and AUTO.
With the switch ON, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch hooks the other end to the brown wire. The lamp should illuminate.
With the switch in AUTO, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb. The other end of the bulb is hooked to the brown/white wire. When a door or the hatch is open, the brown/white wire is grounded, and the lamp illuminates. When the doors and hatch are closed, there is no ground on the circuit, and the lamp does not illuminate.
When the switch is in the OFF position, the red wire puts power on one end of the bulb, and the switch disconnects the other end of the bulb from any circuit. With no ground, the bulb does not illuminate.
long time...
not with the "door open" position then what is the fix for this.
All the other interior lights where working correctly.
Sam