Tailgate Repairs

Contributed By: Eric Faust

Well, after a year of procrastinating I finally tore down my tailgate this evening. Muchas gracias to Michael Baxter for his write up in the IFSJA tech section. So far you've been right on the money. I got the regulator removed and was about to remove the faulty tailgate key switch when I realized I left my tamper resistant torx bits at work. While I'm in there I think I'll replace the window channel. It's pulled off on the left side and shows the beginning signs of cancer. Also the defroster wire broke right where it attaches to the window, so I'll have to solder that back on. Oh yeah, and the handle is busted off the latch, so I need to replace the latch assembly. All of the weather stripping looks great. If I don't have to work too late I should be done before the weekend. I have one contribution to the tailgate "how to". My window was stuck in the up position, but the motor was fine. I disconnected the motor at the connector about 1 ft away from the motor and connected two 8 gauge wires approx 10 ft long. Using these wires I could raise and lower the tailgate by applying 12vdc (swapping polarity to raise/lower). I secured the wires tightly with tie wraps so they would not fall off when the window was down. This came in real handy getting the screws to line up with the holes when removing the regulator! In a pinch you could run these wires up to a dash mounted switch and still use the tailgate while you are procrastinating.

Eric Faust '89 Grand Wagoneer (Soon to have a working tailgate power window!)