Rear hatch release (no power)
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Rear hatch release (no power)
My car is a shell at this point, body and tires. I am trying to do some interior work and my hatch won't release. I took out the battery to hook it up to a trickle charger, without reinstalling it I tried to jump it to the cable yesterday hoping to power the hatch release button, it didn't work.
Is there a way to release manually? I was hoping there was some cable like you see in the trunks of cars. Help please!!
TIA
Is there a way to release manually? I was hoping there was some cable like you see in the trunks of cars. Help please!!
TIA
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vette196 (06-24-2019)
#5
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Mar 2003
Location: Indianapolis IN
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Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Unmodified
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Nope. The cable comes out of the RH side of the solenoid. You will have to reach your fingers up by the solenoid and feel around for it. Most likely there will be no end on the cable...and it will be short. You will have just enough slack to see it below the rear shade, and will probably need some needle nose pliers to grab it and give it a pull.
I made and put and extension on mine at the same time I made and installed my emergency hood release lanyard cables...for exactly this reason.
Hope these pics help guide you in the right direction.
BTW: That solenoid is 100% repairable. The ground in the solenoid goes bad and CAN be repaired instead of wasting money on an overpriced used unit that will most likely fail in the future.
I made and put and extension on mine at the same time I made and installed my emergency hood release lanyard cables...for exactly this reason.
Hope these pics help guide you in the right direction.
BTW: That solenoid is 100% repairable. The ground in the solenoid goes bad and CAN be repaired instead of wasting money on an overpriced used unit that will most likely fail in the future.
The following users liked this post:
vette196 (06-24-2019)
#6
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Nope. The cable comes out of the RH side of the solenoid. You will have to reach your fingers up by the solenoid and feel around for it. Most likely there will be no end on the cable...and it will be short. You will have just enough slack to see it below the rear shade, and will probably need some needle nose pliers to grab it and give it a pull.
I made and put and extension on mine at the same time I made and installed my emergency hood release lanyard cables...for exactly this reason.
Hope these pics help guide you in the right direction.
BTW: That solenoid is 100% repairable. The ground in the solenoid goes bad and CAN be repaired instead of wasting money on an overpriced used unit that will most likely fail in the future.
I made and put and extension on mine at the same time I made and installed my emergency hood release lanyard cables...for exactly this reason.
Hope these pics help guide you in the right direction.
BTW: That solenoid is 100% repairable. The ground in the solenoid goes bad and CAN be repaired instead of wasting money on an overpriced used unit that will most likely fail in the future.
Thank you! I don't think there is problem with the solenoid. The car is basically a body with front and rear suspension at this point and it worked before it went down
#7
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Mar 2003
Location: Indianapolis IN
Posts: 3,472
Received 444 Likes
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Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Unmodified
C4 of Year Finalist (stock) 2019
You're welcome.
You know, that's the funny thing about these solenoid failures. You never know when they're going to happen, and just before they occur everything worked great. Usually they fail when you have a load in the back you MUST get out right away...so you're lucky your problem happened when it did.
When these solenoids fail, it is not the solenoid itself, but the return path to ground through the solenoid. The winding is return path is grounded to the outer case, and that contact point is prone to failure through vibration, ie; the act of closing the hatch that one last time.
It can only be one of 2 things, power or ground. When you get the hatch open you can test for power at the solenoid, and if you get 12V there you know where to go next.
All the best on your project moving forward!
You know, that's the funny thing about these solenoid failures. You never know when they're going to happen, and just before they occur everything worked great. Usually they fail when you have a load in the back you MUST get out right away...so you're lucky your problem happened when it did.
When these solenoids fail, it is not the solenoid itself, but the return path to ground through the solenoid. The winding is return path is grounded to the outer case, and that contact point is prone to failure through vibration, ie; the act of closing the hatch that one last time.
It can only be one of 2 things, power or ground. When you get the hatch open you can test for power at the solenoid, and if you get 12V there you know where to go next.
All the best on your project moving forward!
#8
Burning Brakes
My car is a shell at this point, body and tires. I am trying to do some interior work and my hatch won't release. I took out the battery to hook it up to a trickle charger, without reinstalling it I tried to jump it to the cable yesterday hoping to power the hatch release button, it didn't work.
Is there a way to release manually? I was hoping there was some cable like you see in the trunks of cars. Help please!!
TIA
Is there a way to release manually? I was hoping there was some cable like you see in the trunks of cars. Help please!!
TIA
Also Hatch Solenoid Repair
-Wes
Last edited by LWesthaver; 11-13-2022 at 01:54 PM.
The following users liked this post:
vette196 (06-28-2019)