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I just got this car and over all it's very good. but one problem is. the door gate will open like a door but will not work as a tail gate. . I took the panel off and really only found one thing that I think might have an affect on it. there is a curly kind of wire that is unplugged and just hanging there. I'll try to send you a picture of the wire. It might not be that but if anyone has any ideas please let me know. thanks.
Do you have a factory service manual and chassis service manual? One of those would have directions on how the tailgate mechanism operates. You can check here for factory manuals.
That wire looks like its for the rear glass defogger grid. There should be another one. Which wouldn't have any effect on the tailgate mechanism, unless its jamming something.
The wire is for the rear window defogger and has nothing to do with opening the tailgate. The problem is that these tailgates are heavy and the bushings in the hinges wear. If you don't get the door completely closed, the interlock rods won't let you open it the other way. I had exactly this problem with my 86. You have to slam the tailgate to get it to latch properly, usually while applying upward pressure at the handle end to offload the sag in the hinge. Once it is correctly closed in one direction, the internal lockout rods will allow you to open it in the other direction. These rods are completely mechanical, there are no electrical switches. Details of how to fix this are in the Fisher Body Manual. To be honest, I can't say that I've seen a 1989 FBM, but the tailgate is the same from 1977-1990, so any one of those will work.
If the car had a rear window defogger from the factory, there will be a switch on the dashboard next to the radio. In any case, that wire is the defogger connection. The coiled part allows the wire to follow the window as it goes up and down. The end clipped to the inner door shell would have a wire connected to it if it were functional. As for the hinge wear, simply open the tailgate as a door and attempt to move the open end up and down. If you get any movement at all, the hinges are worn, which is your problem. I've never seen one of these wagons that didn't have this problem at this age, with the exception of my 84 that had the lightweight fiberglass tailgate. The metal ones weigh a ton.
thank you very much I will definitely take a closer look, I would like to get it function correctly ,hopefully I will be able to fit my mobility scooter in there.
I aways found that the strategic placement of motor oil on the mechanism worked wonders with the proper operation, but yours might be rusty and stubborn. Slamming the door firming also helped.
since I am new at this forum, I might have replied wrong, I tried to thank everyone for their advice on the door gate not working correctly, Well. I tried pretty much all the suggestions and one of them , I don't know which one . but it's working now, thanks again folks.. now I am looking for the strip of weather seal where the window goes down into the door, not the one all around the door but so far I have been unable to locate that particular item., if anyone has a suggestion as to where I can find that seal. I would appreciate any help, thanks again.
