Hatch Alignment

[Side-Swipe]

Nothing on my hatch works and the hatch is not flush, how do I align it. I tried looking in the service manual but no luck.

[Loye]

http://www.starquestclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28018

[Killtodie]

what am I looking at in that post?

[Burton]

Inside of the roof, at the back. Behind the leather covered panel behind the headliner- The back of which is shown in the first pic.

 

Also, I was told by another member that you can also loosen and adjust the electrical connections at the ends of the hatch struts that meets the hatch. Loosen the little electrical connectors there and slide them a bit on the shaft towards the ends of the struts that meets the car. Snug the screws enough that they have a little friction, but not tight enough to keep the hatch from closing all the way. Close the hatch all the way, and then re-open it and tighten the screws fully where the connectors sit.

 

Over time those connectors can slide away from the connection points, not allowing for a good connection, even if your hatch is aligned properly.

Edited September 21, 2010 by Burton

[NotStock88]

what am I looking at in that post?

 

how to adjust the hatch...

[Side-Swipe]

So is that what I have to do if none of the electronics are working?

[Burton]

So is that what I have to do if none of the electronics are working?

 

 

I bet the connector adjustment alone, would fix the electronics issues, but having the hatch out of adjustment can cause leaks and just looks bed, so I suggest doing both. It's not that hard to do either- I can do both in under an hour.

[TexasQuest]

I would check the connections on the hatch struts before adjusting the hatch itself. That's what I did and my rear wiper and defrost started working again. Alot simpler fix if that's all that's wrong.

[Indiana]

http://www.b2600turbo.com/images/hatchadj01.jpghttp://www.b2600turbo.com/images/hatchadj02.jpg

 

 

[kev]

For the hatch alignment, the hinge has a double adjustment.

 

If you ever removed the hinge from the hatch window, you will notice that the hole in the window is much larger then the grommet outer diameter for the hinge. You may also notice that the grommet is always pushed up to the top of the window; ie your hatch was slipped down by about 1/8". I took the hatch off of my car, put on the hinge (with grommet), pushed it all of the way down on the hatch. Prior to clamping the hinge down with the 'rectangular' rubber piece that mounts to the underside, I filled in the 'gap' between the window and grommet with RTV silicone. Then installed the rubber piece to the hinge assembly, tightened it good and tight, and let it dry overnight.

 

The second adjustment is how the hinge mounts to the car itself. It's simply four studs in oversize holes. You just adjust it to fit.

 

I found that without doing the first adjustment of the hinge on the windshield, that there is simply not enough slop in the holes on the car to adjust the hatch back into position.

 

 

Also, Indiana's post shows how to address an electrical problem with your defroster, wiper, and brake light. Adjusting the striker bar shouldn't be done unless the hatch isn't latching closed correctly.

 

 

kev

[bha280]

I just did all the steps here and havn't got to test whether teh defrost works or not, but the button beeps now and lights up when I hit the button. However, when the key is on the light for the rear defrost is on and dim, but when I touch it it is bright. Can't say the defrost has ever worked, but is the light always on and dim? FYI, the wiper always worked but not the defrost or 3rd brake light.

[kev]

The light should be on or off...not dim. Not sure what is going on there.

 

The rear wiper actually needs both rear struts to work correctly but will still 'work' with only one strut. The one side feeds power for the intermitant feature, the other feeds power for the constant on. Does both intermittant and on work on your rear wiper? If it is only one or the other, then you are making good connecction on one strut and not the other. Consult the service manuals to determine which one it is. I'll look at my car over the weekend and clarify which is which.

 

The light gets power and ground from one strut (I can't remember which one off the top of my head).

 

The defroster needs both struts to complete the circuit. On CQ's the tab soldered onto the grid on the rear window typically comes un-done causing the defroster not to work. Look to see if this tab is just hanging there on either side.

 

Also, inspect your hatch struts. Typically the joints that make connection when the hatch is closed (socket joint) became deformed and corroded with time. Look them over good, clean them up, and try to bend them back to make good contact. Adjust the collar as Indiana states in the post above.

 

Kevin

[bha280]

The wiper use to only work at normal, never intermitant, and the defrost never worked and the button would only light up if I held it in for a while (read somewhere to try that). I havn't checked the intermitant rear wiper, but I did align the hatch, sand the contacts and bend the tabs out. Haven't had a foggy window to see if defrost works. The dim light key-on-engine-off kind of baffled me too and when I hit the defrost button it gets bright and beeps without having to hold it down like stated before.