Power Latching Tail Gate Problem

[Salty Spuds]

I’m currently in the alps & have developed a problem with the tailgate, I can’t get it open. It has power latching & when I try & open it, the mechanism makes all the right noises but doesn’t open. I thought it was frozen initially but have now ruled this out. The door is partly open & “off the latch”, I can see daylight around the seal from the inside. If I try & close it fully, it doesn’t “pull in” like it normally does. The MFD is showing the door as closed, normally if it isn’t full closed the MFD warns me. I’ve tried brute force, pushing pulling kicking from inside & out. No joy. I have a Cali tailgate kit fitted with chairs & blind, so I can’t get to the inside of the door. Any thoughts please??

 

[Pauly]

Im guessing it’s your central locking motor in the tailgate that’s causing this but you may be able to get the tailgate to close fully by applying 12v to the motor

Can you get to the control module in the rear quarter panel ?

 

[Fish]

Can you manually open it from inside?.

 

[Wills]

Disconnect the van battery for 10 secs?

 

[Salty Spuds]

Im guessing it’s your central locking motor in the tailgate that’s causing this but you may be able to get the tailgate to close fully by applying 12v to the motor

Can you get to the control module in the rear quarter panel ?

Thanks for your reply @Pauly I can get to the NS quarter panel but not the OS, which one is it in?

 

[Salty Spuds]

Can you manually open it from inside?.

Nope, no internal release or handle. I guess the Cali chair kit covers it up, if there ever was one.

 

[Ads_Essex]

Thanks for your reply @Pauly I can get to the NS quarter panel but not the OS, which one is it in?

Near side - almost right beside the C pillar

 

[Salty Spuds]

Disconnect the van battery for 10 secs?

Not heard that one but I’m willing to give it a try. Thanks.

 

[Fish]

Mine had stopped as it jammed on something down side.. so was too much pressure to electroicly release

 

[Pauly]

Yeah could try disconnecting battery and see if it helps

The control module for the power latching system is inside the near side rear quarter panel, you could get to the module and unplug it and it’s possible to dab a couple of the wires together to make the motor close, doesn’t help the overall situation but will make it closed properly for travelling if required
Giving it a bit more thought it does seem quite strange, the fact the tailgate is stuck would suggest a faulty lock in the tailgate but the fact the dash is showing closed would indicate an issue with the latching system, it’s worth noting the two systems are independent and powered separately, the only common link between them is the door pin switched negative which is generated inside the tailgate lock and fed to the latching control module to trigger it

 

[Salty Spuds]

Cheers for all the input folks, I am still here & listening, but on very flaky internet. I’ll try disconnecting the battery first as it’s the easiest option to try. Ripping the van apart will have to wait until I get back home. It’s sub zero here & I’ve only got limited tools, the van is packed to the rafters & I’m wary of making things worse.

 

[Tourershine]

I feel for you @Salty Spuds, I know how gutting it can be to run around daily with no problems, and then the second you go off on holiday, something goes wrong I hope it's not causing too much trouble on your Alp trip.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Ok folks, tried disconnecting the battery, no joy. So I’m sticking with it until I get back to Blighty. I have the Cali chair/rear window blind kit. This has a strap to pull the door down which I’ve snapped off in my efforts to cure the problem. But I’m now left with a hole that has the remains of the strap assembly in it. Would removing this “bung” give me access to the door lock gubbins? I’d quite happily destroy it in the process & replace it with a blanking plug if it solves the problem.

 

[StudleyGlass]

Dont no if these pictures are any help but if you can get access to it i can tell you the small hole at the bottom of the door you can see a manual release for the door lock ?

 

[Pauly]

If you can remove rear quarter panel I can guide you to forcing the motor to close so the tailgate is actually shut but don’t think your gonna be able to fix the tailgate lock issue without parts/tools other than manually releasing it ??

 

[Salty Spuds]

Dont no if these pictures are any help but if you can get access to it i can tell you the small hole at the bottom of the door you can see a manual release for the door lock ?

View attachment 35790

View attachment 35791

Thanks for that, very helpful.

 

[Salty Spuds]

If you can remove rear quarter panel I can guide you to forcing the motor to close so the tailgate is actually shut but don’t think your gonna be able to fix the tailgate lock issue without parts/tools other than manually releasing it ??

Thanks for the offer Pauly, I’m not going to do anything drastic whilst I’m on the road, I don’t want to make it worse. I may well take you up on it when I’m home.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Quick update. Got home & managed to dismember the Cali chair kit from the inside & get access to the inside of the tailgate. The bit of bent coat hanger wire that connects the electric actuator to the latch had dropped off, so the actuator didn’t actually operate the latch. I operated manually from inside, but the power latching also isn’t working, so it looks like 2 faults. It’s booked in on the 5/March. I’ll update you later on the findings. Thanks for all your help & suggestions.
As an aside, I’d filled the 6kg onboard gas tank just before the door went tits-up, so 4 weeks in the alps later, living & eating in the van, the tank is still 3/4 full. Can’t argue with that

 

[Salty Spuds]

Just to close this down, it went into the dealers last week & they refitted the the rod between the actuator & latch in the tailgate. I got a call to say it was all done. I asked if they had also sorted out the power latching, to which the service girl assured me that it was all working. I then get a phone call to say that the technician isn’t happy with the power latching operation, hmmm. They ordered a replacement BCM & latching motor. I asked if I could replace the tailgate Cali chair kit & was told yes, as the tailgate latch was working perfectly & the tailgate showed up as “closed” on the MFD.
Cut a long story short, they had it back again yesterday & it was the microseitch in the tailgate even though it was supposed to be working. Anyway I’ve got it back & it works: for now

 

[bobbybasic]

4 years later, same power latching issue, also in the Alps.

The tailgate opens from the inside release switch, but nothing from the handle on the outside.