Tailgate Soft Close Issue

[spngr311]

I've been fighting some electrical gremlins in my wagon for the last few days. It started with my soft close not working on the tailgate. I thought it was the motor, but I put 12 volts to it and the motor works fine. I can get the soft close motor to operate using INPA and all of the buttons on the tailgate operate properly. I tried resetting it and following the advice of what I found on the forum. Is there a signal that comes from the exterior button to the soft close motor (or to the general module)? It doesn't look like any of the wires in the hinge are broken (at least on the driver's side). Any advice?

[schatzy62]

I had a similar problem when i replaced the tailgate. No wire broken and the soft latch would rotate. There is a switch in the latch on the tailgate that causes the soft latch to rotate.

TO test if that is the problem.

1. open hatch - latch on tail gate should look like this - soft latch at base should be rotated to back of car
20170814_214507.jpg

2 use a screw driver to partially close that latch to the first click latch should look like this point of latch about 1/2 -3/4 closed - soft latch at base should be rotated to back of car
20170814_214451.jpg

3. use screw driver to close latch fully latch should look like this - at this point you should hear the soft latch close and it should have rotated toward the front of the car.
20170814_214458.jpg

if soft latch did not rotate then there are a number of possibilities.

1. latch switch is broken
2. latch switch connector came undone
3. latch switch wires broken in door. (I think they may run thru the passenger side hinge - but I am not 100% sure on that. I just remember there being a lot of wires when in replaced the hatch).
4. I am sure there could also be other possibility as well as it is all controlled by the general module.

Good Luck.

[spngr311]

Ah, I did not realize there is an actual switch in the latch. Makes sense. I know when I did the screw driver test, it did not solve the problem. I know I had issues with the hatch glass not opening when I first got the wagon due to the wires on the driver's side being broken. I'll check the passenger side hinge and see how it looks. Thanks for the tip!

[geargrinder]

Yeah check the wiring.

If the latch gets borked up and 'latched' accidently while the hatch is open, then slammed, it can cause all kinds of weird stuff, although it should be recoverable. But sounds like you've tested that. With INPA you might be able to manually activate the soft close in the GM in order to test it, and/or to see if the latch switch is properly sending signal, I dunno.

[schatzy62]

I know it is not the easiest but if you remove the lower inner panel from the tailgate you can more easily follow the wires. And as I sated before "i thing but i am not 100% sure they are on the passenger side" and with the panel off you can also check the switch by removing the connector from the latch and shorting the two pins on the connector. If that does not work then it is definitely a wire problem.

The wires in the hinges do break rather easily if someone has played with them for any reason. Make sure when you are in there that you do not pull on them to much or get them pinched when reassembling the covers. The covers are a real pain to get back on properly and have them stay and not cause problems.

My problem occurred when I replace the tailgate and did not get the connector pushed in to the receptacle properly.

Good Luck

[schatzy62]

Yeah check the wiring.

If the latch gets borked up and 'latched' accidently while the hatch is open, then slammed, it can cause all kinds of weird stuff, although it should be recoverable. But sounds like you've tested that. With INPA you might be able to manually activate the soft close in the GM in order to test it, and/or to see if the latch switch is properly sending signal, I dunno.

He did mention that he was able to get the soft close motor to turn with INPA, and test all the buttons on the tailgate, I assume that means the window button and the hatch button. So with that we know the soft close and buttons are working properly. I have not tried nor do I know if the latch switch can be tested in INPA.

I am thinking that (but have not tested it) as you state if the latch is closed before shutting the hatch and then slammed shut or forced it may break the switch in that latch mechanism.

[spngr311]

Fortunately (unfortunately?), I have the panel off since I was trying to see if something was jammed and left it off so I can attempt to repair the broken mounts. I'll check after work and see if I can see a spring loose or something. Is the switch/sensor for the latch located in the solenoid or is there a second place that it get plugged into? Just trying to figure out if I need to order a solenoid, a repair spring, or a latch...

[spngr311]

So all of the wires look good on both sides of the car. I ordered a replacement latch assembly off of ebay, so we'll see if it is something in the latch/solenoid. It was cheap enough to give it a shot.

[spngr311]

I wanted to share an update. I solved the issue. The solenoid must have a switch in there to signal back to the general module that it is closed all the way. It probably failed from closing it too hard. Replaced it with another one and it worked right away.

[geargrinder]

Nice. Thanks for the report back

[schatzy62]

Great to hear it was a realatively easy fix. And glad you reported back. So many people dont.

[spngr311]

No problem. I was very frustrated searching for answers, I felt obligated to follow up to give some closure.

[spngr311]

I have to revise my solution. It looks like a black trim screw that I could not see with the latch installed had found its way into the mechanism. The mechanism deformed the screw enough to allow the latch to retract the two clicks, but there is a third click that it was not reaching. After removing the screw with some pliers (it was really jammed in there), I was able to manually push the latch back to the third click and I could feel a switch engage in the solenoid. My tailgate is fully back together, so I don't know if the original latch still works right (I think it is fine), but I have it in a box of spares in case the replacement fails badly. Sorry for the goose chase, but wanted to make sure I put the right info out there.

[geargrinder]

wow. freak stuff like that is so freak. thanks again for the double-report-back!

[TylerDurdenk]

I've got an issue with my tailgate which I believe is to do with the soft close mechanism.
I've made some videos of what is happening. I hope you can see them.

Testing the latch switch and the softclose doesn't rotate when pushing the latch with a screwdriver. (FYI, my latch only has 2 positions, not 3 like yours).
Is there a way to bypass the switch to test that a new one would work, I have already tried a jumper cable between each of the contacts in the plug as a test but that didn't work.
Thanks in advance.

https://youtu.be/W9Rc9-J49CQ
https://youtu.be/bUp71Vi_e54
https://youtu.be/ENeSy9xTKFY