I have a new trunk seal on my GT. As a result, it is difficult to close. I have had 3 battery drains now. The latest is as follows. I thought the trunk was closed as I slammed it down. Then I put the battery charger on and set the alarm. As it happens I was not feeling great and did not check it for a day. Now I have drained my new battery which fortunately is under warranty. What can I do to make this trunk shut better? I have a switched trunk light which I may put on, but even so as careful as I am I know this will happen again if I can not get this trunk to close easily. I am very frustrated because I can not be that vigilant. I suppose I can just remove the bulb, but that is inconvenient.

Thanks!
JJ

Do you know for sure the light is on when the trunk shuts?

Take the bulb out. If it still drains it will show the drain was somewhere else.

[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 06-20-2014).]

I am pretty sure. Bulb has felt warm before. And it usually does not drain. Only when trunk appears closed but does not latch. What about retrofitting an older style switch? This annoys me that the trunk is closed but not latched. The older style would not have this problem. I took the bulb out. But that pisses me off since it is a garaged car and I need the light. Ugh. The bulb I put in 2 weeks ago looks old. I am 95 percent sure trunk light is the issue.

[This message has been edited by JJFieroFan (edited 06-20-2014).]

i glued a thick washer to the trunk lid to make sure mine was pushing the pin switch all the way down(was also the ajar light switch).

Try temporarily adjusting the latch further down on the decklid so it doesn't have to close as tightly to latch. There are only two 13mm bolts that hold the latching mechanism to the decklid, which has oversized bolt holes to allow adjustment. The trunk may not align perfectly height-wise after you've done this but after the new seal settles and takes it's new shape, you should be able to re-adjust the latch for a tighter fit.

quote Originally posted by maybenot: i glued a thick washer to the trunk lid to make sure mine was pushing the pin switch all the way down(was also the ajar light switch).

Someone did a switched trunk light swap here that would solve your problem as well, can't find it right now but I am sure now that I mentioned it someone can and will post it. To be honest it really is a good idea and I always wondered why GM didn't install them at the factory when they built these cars. they were available at the time for other models at GM as map lights in the passenger compartment of many other models. But I think someone, Might have been 82 TA at home who found a suitable replacement from VW I think, but don't take my word for it, I have been known to be wrong as my memory is shot.

If you just want to make sure it is the trunk light causing your battery drain problem the easiest way to find out is simply unplug the light or remove the bulb. If the battery drain stops that is definitely your problem.

I found one of the threads on replacing the original light with one that has a built in switch.

//www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/132197.html

I do believe there are a couple of others but that gives a couple of different switched lights that will give you a switched truck light you can turn off and on.

Steve

------------------
Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't



Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 06-21-2014).]

Is this a pin type of switch? If so they can be adjusted by carefully pushing the tube in the housing up or down some. I had to do this for my hood.

Remove the switch and put in a vise so the connection is up. Use something like a small ignition wrench and slide it between the tube and terminal. Tap gently on the wrench to move the tube. Reinstall the switch.

I also replaced the light with an LED bulb I got off of Ebay for a couple of bucks.

------------------
88 GT 5 Speed Black with gray interior
3800 SCII Swap.
Paint in Progress

IT RUNS!!
IT'S QUICK!!

"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not."

1. I will leave the light out for a week to be sure that is it.
2. I have LED bulb so that will work to lessen the drain.
3. I am going to try either the washer or adjusting the switch.

Thank you so much.

JJ

quote Originally posted by JJFieroFan: I am pretty sure. Bulb has felt warm before. And it usually does not drain. Only when trunk appears closed but does not latch. What about retrofitting an older style switch? This annoys me that the trunk is closed but not latched. The older style would not have this problem. I took the bulb out. But that pisses me off since it is a garaged car and I need the light. Ugh. The bulb I put in 2 weeks ago looks old. I am 95 percent sure trunk light is the issue.

To make sure its the bulb, put your phone on video, place it in the trunk. Then view the video.