V70 Body/Trim: Tailgate wont open

[Symes]

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.

[ensign_ricky]

Terrific post. Solved my problem of a locked tailgate. The solenoid was over-reaching. After opening it, greasing etc., as per your post, it occasionally still stuck. The plastic in the lock assembly seems to be flexing (old age I guess), allowing it to over-shoot and move a little off line. I used a cable-tie as a stop to prevent the solenoid moving too far. Put it in place as shown in the photos and apply a little super glue. I've had no problems since.

[Symes]

It's good to know that there's someone else out there who's prepared to try and repair rather than replace - good job!

My tailgate lock has been fine now for almost a Year - so much so that I've forgotten about it and don't get that "I wonder if..." feeling any more! But... if it start playing up again I'll look into the cable tie fix first!

Thanks,

Symes.

[Bernard333]

great post , I have a problem with the fuel filler flap motor on my 2003 V70 not working and am planning to take this apart to see if I can make it work again rather than buying a new one , will post photos if successful .

[ensign_ricky]

My fuel filler flap has never worked, but I never bothered trying to fix it. Post back it you make progress, I'll help if I can.

[RonJ]

Originally Posted by ensign_ricky

My fuel filler flap has never worked, but I never bothered trying to fix it. Post back it you make progress, I'll help if I can.

Thanks - my tailgate stuck and your pics were most usefull. I had to come up with a few novel tricks to get around my dog cage though!!!

[seamusb]

Really useful thread.
My problem was that the lock operated when the boot was up, but didn't when it was closed.

Tracked it down to a wire (between lock and block inside bootspace above rear speaker) that was bent/broken through, which was not touching when the boot was closed.

Top thread though - gave me the inspiration to fix a non-locking boot that I've put u[ with for a year !

[timberpolka]

You mentioned fuses and relays that should be checked before taking the car apart. Where are these located? All of the fuses under the hood up front seem to be in good shape. Is there another box somewhere that contains the rear actuator relay?

[Chris_Rogers]

There is another set of fuses in the rear of the car on the rear electrical module, this is located behind the trim on the left side of the luggage area on a RHD car.

[timberpolka]

Thanks for the tip, but like Seamusb it turns out I was suffering from a broken wire in the tailgate harness. Removed the panel around the left rear speaker, unplugged the harness, and checked for continuity between that plug and the one on the tailgate lock actuator. Eventually tracked down two wires that were broken near the tailgate hinge, above the speaker.