albbu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2015
Location: southampton
Posts: 22
  
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Hi Chaps,
After my last post the lower tailgate worked fine for about 3 months, then again started to intermittantly fail, and eventually stopped altogether, as usual with the tailgate locked!!
Managed to remove the black cover eventually and then a small screw driver into the rear latch tripped the small white plastic actuator which realeased the tailgate. Hurahh!!
Got the actuators out and stripped down, they consist of a small motor which is momenterally supplied with 12v dc when the release button is pressed, this is suplied by the FET device in the main control ECB, providing other factors are software satisfied, i.e the upper gate is open etc.
This 12v dc is current limited to prevent burn outs of motor, wiring etc. As these tiny motors age and the current increases they eventually trip the FET intermittantly and then totally.
I got two new latch actuators and refitted and all works now, rewired the supply from the trailer wiring bodge, back to the FET and all ok ( at PRESENT!!)
I think the moral is, as with upper actuator when it starts acting intermittantly, get some new latches, and prepare for the failure, even if its just removing the interior trim, ready for the inevitable!!
Hope this helps some people, you may even be able to buy just the motor from ebay etc and replace, as the rest of the mechanism is fine, but i havnt looked into this, you can usually go by voltage and body size etc. 2007 D3 HSE
2006 D3 SE LHD
2006 FreelanderTd4
2002Td5Disco2
1974 109" Daktari
1948 80"
LRSOC Member for years
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 29th Sep 2019 10:09 am |
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dunton10
Member Since: 23 Dec 2006
Location: SUTTON COLDFIELD, WEST MIDS
Posts: 208
 
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I had this issue yesterday and today. A press of the rubber button resulted in nothing. It felt like the button wasn’t depressing, it felt solid. I prised out the square rubber cover and you can then see the switch, which is a white square. Mine wasn’t popping up or moving at all.
I tried a squirt of gt85 but no use. I then carefully used a thin feeler gauge to ease the white button out and it worked, but only once.
I removed the black plastic trim and I carefully removed the switch from the hole.
The white button then popped up.
If I squeezed the metal clips gently, simulating putting it back in, then the button jammed.
So, as detailed in the post of sept 2019, I removed the metal clips and siliconed the switch back in place so it was not under any tension. Being careful not to get any silicone on the white bit.
Reassembled everything and all now working as it should.
My theory is that this extra warm weather we are having makes the switch housing more supple and it then bends under the stress of the metal clips ever so slightly but enough to jam the white button part.
As the button hasn’t returned following it’s last push it then doesn’t fire the lock actuators. Currently 2015 D4 SE Tech, Corris Grey
RLD Protector, led interior lights, timed climate, towing equipment
Previously
2006 D3 S
2001 TD5
1996 Shogun LWB
1989 Range Rover TDVM
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| 19th Jul 2021 8:05 pm |
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