[rl968]

There is a wire sticking out from the base of the rear hatch strut. There is a housing for the wire with a connector, but on one side it is not connected and is just a bare black wire. i think everything works back there except the light, but would seem odd that this would control the light since the light is on the other side of the hatch. Anyone know what this wire controls?







Also, it appears that the wire has broken off the connector inside the housing, any idea how to re-attach it? Solder maybe? Not the best picture, I know.

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[flash]

i think that runs the upper bands of the rear defogger

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[chudson]

Correct - rear defrost wire. Mine is broken in exact same manner / place. I plan to solder and perhaps reinforce with shrink wrap so the wire doesn't continue to bend where it attaches to the connector. This, however, may serve to do nothing but make the wire break somewhere further up in the insulation.



It really needs a ribbon type cable for that application.

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[sstman]

I also runs the rear interior light, which is switched off by the connector within the end of the strut (that bit with the screw head in the photo)

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[Darryl]

Mine was also broken in a similar manner but to make matters worse, had gotten sucked back into the body of the car. I found it when I was diagnosing my detached sunroof drain tube. I crimped a new spade connector on it and plugged it back into it's mating connector...rear defrost again!!



- Darryl

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[AJG]

Is it not also part of the alarm system if someone tries to gain entry via the hatch? You will note that the connection is open when the strut closes and lifts the tab off.



Andy

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[Darryl]

Now that I think about it, that may be the ground side and it's certainly possible that it would be for the light, alarm, defrost, or all of the above. Only the schematic knows for sure!



- Darryl

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[rl968]

Daryl,



How did you get the spade connector out of that rectangular housing? I'm trying to pull it out with needle nose pliers, but it's not coming out and I don't want to risk breaking it.

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[rl968]

Fixed this today. Stripped off a bit more of the black conduit to expose more of the bare wire threads and fed them back into the connector. Used electrical tape to secure it all in place and now the rear light works. Didn't check defrost, but assume that now works as well. Hmmmm...maybe that will also fix the oil level light on the dash that comes on sporadically... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/unsure.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

as a general reference, black, or black with a stripe, is a switched hot, and not ground - brown is ground

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[kwikt]

Rear defroster/ alarm. Repaired this a few years ago then my alarm worked properly.

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[flash]

i just did one the other day myself

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