I thought the lift gate actuator was broken. After I installed the new one then I examined the old one more closely. The first part that I thought had broken off apparently just separates via a magnet that slides into place. It was made in Mexico. The replacement part was an "after market" cheap part from China. The OEM is maybe $150 to $200 from Rock Auto parts while this part was $45. It sounds kind of weak in the electromagnetic solenoid but my "rear gate is open" light now no longer stays on!
So I'll save the old part just in case.
This person calls it "a genious design" - and it is pretty impressive.
I relied on several youtube vids like the above to install the new actuator.
I needed to clean off the rust in that area first. Meanwhile I studied the videos a bit more while the phosphoric acid reacted with the rust.
The thing about that first video is he had part of the mechanism detached and then reattached to the actuator. So that's what I did so I could clean the rust off that part - I took it out of the tailgate and then reattached it separately to the actuator. It made it a tight fit to get it all back into the opening of the tailgate but it also made sure I didn't break off the plastic electrical parts.
This second vid - he said he held onto the plastic when installing the new actuator and it broke off so he had to superglue it back on....
So he wonders what caused his to fail. On mine I must have got some of that polyurethane spray foam attacked to that plastic electromagnetic arm and when I lifted up the tailgate handle I must have disconnected the magnet out of the locking connection. Below is the separated out plastic electromagnetic arm as I called it - that got disconnected from the locking mechanism (the rest of the actuator part). So that is the OEM part and they want $68 for just that "part" of the whole actuator. While I paid $45 for the whole actuator as an "after market" not OEM Product.
- Will replacing this part help communicate to the computer that the door is no longer open? Posted by Customer
- A:Yes, this will help the computer know to turn the dome light off as the door is closed
- Will replacing this part help communicate to the computer that the door is no longer open? Posted by Customer
- A:Yes, this will help the computer know to turn the dome light off as the door is closed
So he also said the motor activates when you plug it in so make sure it's bolted in first before reattaching the wires. Yes that's what I did and the motor definitely activated - pretty awesome.
It's pretty grimy for sure but the spring mechanisms don't seem too tight or bound up.
So the cheapest replacement part got bad reviews:
Got it in and the hatch lights would not work had to order another one and it works
This worked, and saved my about $350 from taking to a dealer
Well it locks but sadly rest of other application like rear wiper doesn't work now when it did and my fob won't lock the vehicle as well
hmmm
I think my rear wiper now also doesn't work!!
With the harness disconnected at the tailgate and disconnected from the wiper motor, there WAS continuity on the orange wire. I assume this is supposed to go straight to the wiper motor.
https://www.trailvoy.com/threads/electrical-issue-in-tailgate.91201/
My wiper moved forward but didn't return? Or maybe it was just as slow speed?
I should drive around but there's no rain (anymore).
Well, there's THREE orange power wires at that connector (C900). At least in 2004. Three power, one ground, one license plate light power, and one data communication wire.
There is no fuse #9 in 2004. Just a circuit breaker. In the rear fuse block. So the orange wire goes directly in the body harness from the fuse block to connector C900 at the liftgate.
All there is at the wiper motor is power, ground, and a speed control wire D-GN from the LGM. The LGM is connected by the data communication L-BU wire to the BCM and the BCM gets its commands about rear wiper speed from the switch in the dashboard.
If the data communication wiring had a disruption, you would also lose your remote entry keyfob function, liftgate locking solenoid, along with your defogger wire control.
The circuit breaker is a simple 2-pin device like a fuse. It isn't a relay. There are no relays in this circuit at all.
dang - complicated electronics. No thanks!
look for pinched/broken wires in the tailgate wire harness(if found repair and try).
hmmm I wonder if this thing is faulty after all - !!
Maybe the wiring is bad in the actuator?
the replacement liftgate module has to be programmed with software for it to function correctly
That's the "liftgate module" ....
Used ones are Plug and Play.
There are two fuses for the lifgate module, #2 LGM and #19 LGM/DSM. Both fuses are located in the fuse box under the passenger seat behind the driver. If the fuses are OK chances are the liftgate trim panel will need to be removed to check connections and inputs at the liftgate control module.
the remote key entry, rear wiper and lift window won't unlock.
OK I'll check the "lift window"
1) Where the wire harness passes from the lift gate to the roof/body. The wires have been known to chaffe inside that flexible rubber boot causing all sorts of odd behavior. Pull the boot at each end and inspect each wire thoroughly.
2) The lift gate module and the license plates share a common ground (G401, inside the rear-most body pillar). A flakey connection here could be causing the symptoms.
Is the wiper ramp tight? This is supposed to provide a lift to the wiper arm before it gets to the edge of the glass. If it does not lift the wiper arm slightly, the blade can get caught between the glass and lift gate. If it is stopping before that, then take a look at where the arm meets the ramp. You also may need to tighten the nut at the base of the wiper arm as it could be loose.
How well does your rear wiper work at cleaning off the rear window? If it is not spectacular, you may want to check out upgrading to the 07+ wiper arm and ramp. It is a VERY noticeable upgrade! Parts4Chevys.com has a package deal which includes everything necessary for the change over for under $60 when I bought mine and now the rear wiper works great! Their site looks to be down at the moment though.
Yes just confirmed the Rear Wiper still works!! Awesome.
No comments:
Post a Comment