Liftgate release mod |
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Dust Seal duct taped back together 2281 viewsThis shows the dust seal duct taped back together; also the surplus wire rope exiting from the actuator area prior to being cut to length.
I do not think the sticky plastic membrane is a dust seal, but more of a cable protector to cover up the wiring bundle that is effectively sticking to the underside of the flexible membrane.
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Flexible wire rope fishing leader 0.032" diameter exiting carpet 1949 viewsThis is all you see of the completed mod.
The short little angled "line" about an inch long that looks like a piece of debris and is located a few inches "above" the support cable is actually the wire rope release cable exiting from under the carpeted lift gate cover.
I drilled a very small hole in the carpet and pushed the 0.032" diameter release wire thru and then slipped the loose end under the black plastic.
To release with the lift gate etc closed, from the inside, just pull the loose end free from under the black plastic and gently pull wire about 5mm, (1/4"), and the upper door catch should release. You will have to manually push the upper door out wards to actually effect opening, but you will already be inside the rear cargo area so that part is easy to do.
The assumption is that the lower door latch still works electrically and hence, the lower lift gate half will open as normal by pressing the usual button on the top left of the lower door half.
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Carpet Panel Removed showing Bass Speaker and Dust Shield 1734 viewsSomething is wrong with the orientation, however this shows what you see when the carpet is removed.
The dust shield, (under which the actuator is located), in the picture is as yet uncut. The white bit is the underside of the plastic lower lift gate carpeted cover panel.
The round thing is the woofer speaker for the Harmon Kardon radio. When the radio is working, one can see the speaker moving, but not much bass sound actually seems to emanate from the speaker.
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0.032" OD metal fishing leader and lead fishing weight clamped to existing wire rope 2121 viewsI used a size #0 lead fishing weight as a clamp to attach the 0.032" diameter flexible wire rope fishing leader to the release cable.
The pictured weight is the smaller #00 weight, however it did not work very well so reinstalled with the larger #0 size. I clamped to the cable as what breaks is the L retainer that is hidden in the actuator and holds the cable. When the L breaks, it lets go of the cable so you hear the clicking but there is no opening action.
Clamping on to the cable is an attempt to resolve that reality; also if the actuator electrically fails, the release mod should still do the task. Note in the picture the two Torx T15 screws that hold the gold plate to the plastic case and also the two 8mm cap screws that have to be loosened to remove the actuator from inside the door.
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Carpeted cover removed showing uncut dust seal and underside of carpeted cover. 1628 viewsNote that there are all sorts of electrical wires sticking to the underside of the dust shield - so be very careful when you cut thru the shield.
I used a box knife very slowly and was surprised at how many conductors there were running just under the shield membrane.
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Dust seal cut; note electrical conductors right under dust seal 1627 viewsShows what is underneath when the dust seal is cut. Note the electrical conductors.
I used a box knife to cut the plastic and it was at first easy; then I seemed to hit something and fortunately I stopped - it was the wires - lots of them stuck right to underside of the sticky seal material.
Also shown are the two 8mm nuts in slots that you only have to loosen to release the gold actuator assembly.
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Dust seal rolled back showing electrical conductors 1658 viewsNote power conductors just under the dust seal which makes cutting the seal more interesting.
Also shown are the two 8mm nuts located in slots. One must loosen each nut to effect removal of the actuator. This will then reveal two T15 Torx screws that one must completely un-thread to remove the top gold plate from the actuator assembly.
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Door Lock Wiring Diagrams1730 viewsNear the bottom of this 5 page pdf on page 224 are shown the pushbuttons and locking mechanisms for the rear hatch and tail gate.
The pdf will open vertically but you can download and print it out or just rotate the image clockwise by right clicking on your screen and selecting the "Rotate Clockwise" button.
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