ive got an 88 formula (2.8L)

my trunk latch is not working and neither is the trunk light. im pretty sure they run on the same fuse, the "ctsy lid" fuse. its fine and the courtesy lights in the car are fine. they are on when i open the door and turn off if i pull the fuse.

so i need a diagram of the wiring and relay for the trunk latch. and is theyre anyway to test the latch motor thing to see if it actually works?

thanks

The most usual problem with both is light corrosion.

Clean the electrical lead to the latch solenoid, and clean the contacts for the light.

Most of the time this does the job.

Hope this is it for you.

Arn

no all the connections are perfecyly clean, thats the first thing i checked. i couldn't get any reading from the wires though. i wanna make sure im checking that right too. how exaclty should that be done?

there is only one wire going to the power latch. i assume thats power and its grounded to the deck lid?

Try the Ogres Cave under Electrical>Other>Trunk Release. To answer your question ... yes, the wire to the solenoid is "hot" when the trunk lid release button is depressed and the circuit completes when the trunk lid is closed. There is also another terminal in the trunk lid latch that has four wires. One of the four wires that lead to that terminal is ground. To check the ground circuit you could run a temporary ground from any body ground to the solenoid (while the trunk lid is open). Then press the release button. The release solenoid should activate. If it does then the ground to the latch is bad ... probably at the connector that is up by the firewall. Good luck.

Power locks and power mirrors are also on that circuit.

ok so i was thinking it was a ground problem. so i took the trunk light and unhooked one side of it. i touched the other side to bare metal and it lit up. like its supposed to. so i checked the reading and i got 12v between the light and that same bare metal spot. so i checked the reading from the light to the ground coming from the deck lid expecting no reading. but i got 12v. so that means the light is getting power, but bad ground. and the deckild ground is good. right?

so what is the trunk light grounded to? because that should be the problem right?

i checked the voltage between the trunk latch solenoid (black/white wire) and the ground i used to get the 12v reading with the light. i got nothing.

so do i have 2 separate problems?

1. the trunk light has power but bad ground

2. the decklid ground is good, but the trunk latch is getting no power

are you sure that the plug by the fire wall for the deck lid is plugged in and is making contact. sounds like it isn't plugged in or not making contact at all/ the plug is on the pass. side by the hinge. i would check that conection first and then work from there. the switch for the trunk like just breaks the ground not the power.

i checked the connector, its fine.

but i figured it out im pretty sure.

the trunk light IS a bad ground.

the trunk switch had everything wrong. bad relay, broken switch and broken solenoid.
i got the relay. but...

where can i get a dash switch, and where can i get the trunk latch solenoid?

btw thanks for all the help so for.

The solenoid grounds thru the latch itself. You probably just need to sand down the catch that is bolted to the body, so it makes good contact to the latch.
I only say this because I had to figure the same problem out for myself.

no i checked that. i used the light to test all the grounds. theyre good. i also tested 12v to the bolts and area where the latch bolts up. so its got to be the solenoid.

ok so trunk latch is working fine now. except the button is still broke on the dash.

but the trunk light will not turn off now. or atleast i dont think it is. i thought the ground was the problem. so i found a new gound for it. it turns on fine. but it wont turn off. i figured the door ajar thing on the trunk latch would turn the light off. but it doesnt. what does?

anyone know?

bad switch?

------------------
Pat Jones

what switch? thats what im saying. i have no idea what turns the light on and off.

where/what is it?

pics are helpful always

how did you ground the trunk light? if you just ran a ground right to it then thats why it won't turn off. if you look at the wiring diagram posted above it shows that the ground comes from the switch, not the power.
http://24.182.73.46/fiero/Interior_lights.jpg

[This message has been edited by dudewithoutfiero (edited 08-13-2012).]

i cant read schematics very well. and yes i did just ground. and it wont turn off. so since i did that i figured theres a switch somewhere. but i dont know where it is. since the light didnt work before, and it works when i ground it. that means the switch is bad. but i dont know where it is. i thought it would just be the door ajar switch on the latch. obviously its not.

so like i said, does anyone know where the switch is?

quote Originally posted by 07Hoffmannd: i cant read schematics very well. and yes i did just ground. and it wont turn off. so since i did that i figured theres a switch somewhere. but i dont know where it is. since the light didnt work before, and it works when i ground it. that means the switch is bad. but i dont know where it is. i thought it would just be the door ajar switch on the latch. obviously its not. so like i said, does anyone know where the switch is?

Its built into the latch. It's the black part. It operates the light and the ajar.

[This message has been edited by 2farnorth (edited 08-13-2012).]

thats what i thought. it operated the door ajar light but it didnt turn the light off. thats why i regrounded the light cause i couldnt figure out where the switch was.

it sounds like you may have a problem in the wiring. i would see if you have continuity from the switsh to the black wire for the light. if not then there is your problem.

well it sound like i have a problem already, the light does not have a black wire. it has an orange and a white wire. the orange is the ground. so the white must be the power. so obviously something is weird here

WHOA!!! Wait a minute...

That is VERY strange...might want to verify it. The orange should be constant 12v...and the white should be a switched ground (uses the trunk ajar switch to turn the bulb on). The trick is, if you measure the voltage on the white wire with the bulb in, then it will also read 12v...because it is getting 12v through the bulb.

Now...let me go back through and update myself on the rest of the thread before I comment further.

OK....The switch itself should have three wires coming from it.

DO NOT test continuity on these wires with the battery hooked up. That is because the white wire (and the green wire) will show a 12v signal through the bulbs...and with the decklid open, the loop should be completed through the black wire to ground. Testing continuity on a live wire can damage the multimeter.

Black wire....this should be a constant ground...check continuity between this connection and a ground to verify the switch ground wire is good.
Dark Green wire...this is a switched ground (should be grounded only when the trunk is open), and controls the "Hood/Decklid/Door ajar" light in the dash.
White wire...this is also a switched ground and should only be grounded when the trunk is open. This one controls the light in the trunk.

Unplug the battery, and test continuity between the white wire end at the plug, and the white wire at the trunk bulb.

Assuming the wires show good...with the decklid open, unplug the switch, and test continuity between the pins on it. All three pins should show continuity between them (with the decklid open). If they don't, you have a bad switch.

Honestly, i would test the switch first.

[This message has been edited by CowsPatoot (edited 08-16-2012).]