1987 Other Ford Models trunk pull down motor and latch

Tiny
JERSTAN
  • MEMBER
  • 1987 FORD
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 1,000 MILES
I have a power trunk pull down motor installed in a 1940 Ford Coupe street rod.I'm not sure what the motor came out of, but I did get a rebuilt motor assembly on E-Bay from a '95 Caddy and it fits in perfecly. The motor is in the "up" p[osition and it will not do anything.I have power to the motor and the latch (the latch wil "unlatch") but nothing happens when I close the trunk lid.I have groung to both motor and latch. Any suggestions?
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 AT 5:49 PM

16 Replies

Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,394 POSTS
This particular type of latch is supposed to activate with slight downward pressure once the trunk lid is closed. What killed most of these was people weren't aware that the trunk had this option and "slammed" the trunk lid like you normally would. In doing this, they would break the actuator switch or the motor drive itself. If you can open up the drive unit, you might be able to see what's wrong.
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Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 AT 9:19 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
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I have tried 3 motor assemblies to date and none work
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008 AT 8:08 AM
Tiny
JAMES W.
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I have trunk latch units for Cadillac from '76 to '84, and they all work basically the same. Basic wiring system is; power up, power down and ground. But, The pull down latch has to contact "ground" from the trunk lid ground before the latch motor will start to pull down and close the trunk. Hope this helps.
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008 AT 11:44 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
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Are there 2 power lines to the motor then? I have only 1 right now hooked up
here are the wires I have hooked up.
1. Orange. Power
2. Black/white. Not hooked up becomes hot when power is run to orange
3. Green. Not hooked up I have ne idea what it does. Maybe a warning light?
4. Black. Hooked to ground
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Friday, December 19th, 2008 AT 7:47 AM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
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Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I've had "horrendous" computer problems. My cut and paste system crashed. You will be my first test to see if it is working again.
According to the diagram, there are 3 wires coming from the motor unit;
1- orange w/black (power)
1- dark green (I believe this is actuator ground)
1- black (body ground)
Let me know if diagram doesn't come through.
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Saturday, December 20th, 2008 AT 2:50 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
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  • 9 POSTS
I did not get the diagram. It appears as though the 2 important wires are orange and black and I have those connected and still nothing.I can't figure this out.I hope your computer is better.
There is a small switch bar in the latching mechanism in the trunk lid. Could that be a problem?
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Sunday, December 21st, 2008 AT 10:55 AM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
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Is the "small switch bar" a part of the latch motor unit itself? I haven't seen one of these units in 20 years so my memory is a little vague and my diagrams don't tell me much. If you have, or have access to, a fax #, I can send you a wiring diagram. Sending them with the post is not very clear. Please advise.
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Sunday, December 21st, 2008 AT 12:00 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
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  • 9 POSTS
Thank you, I would appreciate the wiring diagram. Maybe that will help.
My fax 1-815-838-2157
Thank you!
By the way. The switch I refered to is part of the latch itself. When the "claws" close, the switch is pushed up. It must be more than just a popper because there are some wires that run into this switch mechanism?
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Sunday, December 21st, 2008 AT 4:38 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
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Hi
I would really appreciate the wiring diagram if you could possibly fax it to me.(1-815-838-2157). The latch has a switch which when pushed up (when the latch on the lid catches the motor latch) it turns on a ground, but I don't know where to run that ground wire that becomes "live" when the switch is pushed up?
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Monday, December 29th, 2008 AT 10:51 AM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
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Sent diagram to; 1-815-838-2157
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Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 AT 9:13 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
Thanks for your help. You have been great and I would like to do something for you. Let me know.
I still can't get the trunk pull down to work but I have checked everything and it seems as though everything works. It has to be the wiring and I don't know what else to try? I will keep working on it!
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 11:46 AM
Tiny
JAMES W.
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Now that I have your fax #, as I come across something else I can fax it to you. As long as you brought it up, there is a "feed back" section on your post. A few "brownie points" always look good on the record. Thanks, Jim
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 1:15 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
Hi
I finally figured the wiring out today.I think I have maybe 12 hours inthe switch and its wiring. Htere is a ground switch on the trunk lid mechanism that has to be run back to the pull down motor so that when the latch opens it knows to run up and when the latch is closed it knows to run again but down. Its hard to explain, but it works now and I feel good about it! Thanks so much for working with me and helping out.I really appreciate your time! I will certainly put in some good words for you!
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 4:22 PM
Tiny
JERSTAN
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  • 9 POSTS
Hey James, how do I give points to you?
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 4:34 PM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
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Thanks, anything else, you know where to find us, Jim
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 4:41 PM
Tiny
JAMES W.
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To honestly tell you, I don't know. I've never done it. I just get a message from home base once in a while saying I got "X" number of points from such and such. I really don't know how they do it. It's no big deal. I always thought it was done in the give feedback section.
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 11:03 PM

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