whats involved in this? and are these cables available? The cable I am referring to comes out under the pullout trunk cover.

 

You have a trunk in your C4??

 

I think he means hatch, not trunk. Sounds like he is referring to the manual hatch release cable/wire thing that is under the hatch cover that pulls out.

That cable is a part of the hatch release solenoid assembly. You would have to replace the whole solenoid assembly if yours is missing. Sometimes, the cable gets tucked in there deep where you can't see it. Maybe try looking for it again carefully with a flashlight. You may have to pull off the rear plastic cover that is on top of the pull-out shade cover you mentioned to see the solenoid better.

I had to replace my hatch solenoid in my '93 because it was inoperative. I always had to pull that stupid little cable every time I wanted to open the hatch, which got tiresome very quickly. It isn't that hard to replace the solenoid assembly. The little plastic handle for securing the targa top just pulls off. Then remove the plastic trim piece at the back of the hatch. The solenoid assembly is held in by 2 bolts, remove those & disconnect the electrical connectors and the solenoid can be removed. You also have to remove the push switch that activates when the hatch is open & transfer it to the new solenoid assembly.

When you install the new one, just make sure that you install the new one in the exact same position as the old one (use tape or sharpie to mark location before you remove the old solenoid). Otherwise, your hatch will not close/latch properly.

 

Holy Markup, Batman!!

$159.99 on the big E for the solenoid assy.??

 

only about 4 inches of my wire is left. wonder if I can splice in a piece to extend it. My power release works fine though.

 

Wait a sec....you're talking about the emergency release cable only if your power release is fine.

Check out the thread below. You can probably take some info from it and apply it to extending your existing cable. Maybe create a loop at the end of your existing cable and then attach the extension?

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...with-pics.html

 

Yeah its about a 18gauge cable wire that comes out one side of the trunk latch and when you pull it the trunk glass opens.

 

Hint - if your hatch release selenoid is fubared you can use a trunk release selenoid from a full-size GM car of a similar vintage and add your own emergency cable.

I had to do it on an 88 a long time ago, forget which car I took the replacement from. It was either a monte carlo or a lesabre.

 

i crimped a wire lug on the end of wire and installed a keyring. this worked out great. if i need to, i can tuck it up under the rear trim piece for the out-of-sight look. if the factory wire is too short, i would imagine that you could use the same method and splice a small piece of wire to extend it...