I thought it might be good to ‘celebrate’ my 100th post by putting together a quick ‘how to’ which will might help if / when your tailgate refuses to open! This problem generally is either down to the wiring loom failing where it flexes at the hinge, or the lock itself – however there are also fuses and relays which should be checked before you start taking your car apart!
Assuming the initial checks point to wiring or lock, you’ll need to open the tailgate to remove the trim.
Before you can repair the lock or wiring, there’s a bit of a struggle involved to reach the mechanism.
Lower the rear seat(s) and climb into the loadspace, then carefully ease the top of the rear tailgate trim away from the frame. <IMG SRC="tailgate.jpg"><img src="trim removal.jpg">
Take care as you don’t want to split the plastic.
Once you have created a gap you can look down into the tailgate interior and see the lock, using a long screwdriver, or similar, press down on the ‘spoon’ as shown. <IMG SRC="tailgate interior.jpg"><img src="spoon.jpg">
The lock will disengage allowing you to carefully remove the trim.
Remove the trim around the hinge and inspect the loom which may show signs of wear and tear – repairs will be much cheaper than replacing the section of loom – as long as you ‘re handy with a soldering iron and heatshrink! If like me, you’re lucky the only damage will be some breakage to the insulation – I took a short cut and just used insulation tape to make each cracked wire safe.
To remove the lock itself:
Disengage the arm connecting the exterior handle to the lock, remove the electrical connections and unbolt the lock itself.
Once removed it was easy to see what had occurred – the solenoid had over extended, pushing the actuator arm past it’s normal position so it ‘misses’ the ‘spoon’.<IMG SRC="actuator.jpg"><img src="lock assembly.jpg>
Closer inspection of the solenoid showed that the sliding pin was ‘dry’ and showed signs of binding.
<IMG SRC="solenoid.jpg"><img src="solenoid2.jpg>
I decided to break down the solenoid further, the unit is secured with lugs which can be opened with a small screwdriver.
<IMG SRC="solenoid3.jpg">
The internal screw and cog mechanisms were greased, but the sliding pin had no lubrication where it contacts the housing.
<IMG SRC="solenoid4.jpg"><img src="solenid5.jpg>
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I cleaned up the pin and filled the grooves with vaseline before reassembling the solenoid into the lock mechanism.
<IMG SRC="solenoid6.jpg">
Refit the lock into the tailgate and reconnect the wiring loom, do not fit the trim until you are happy that the lock is operating reliably!
It's been 6 months since I repaired my V70 tailgate lock and so far the mechanism has operated flawlessly.