'86 944 Trunk Latch wont close (rain water?) - I need immediate help

[jwolfe]

My trunk latch has been working just fine since owning my 944 for about a month, but just an hour ago during heavy rain i opened it to put away groceries and all the water that was sitting on the top ran off backwards right into where the bottom of the trunk struts meets the wire connections. Now I'm not sure if those connections or something underneath are what control the latch but it does not shut and lock at all anymore. The teeth that engage and hold the pegs in place don't move.

I live in the city so this is a real issue because now my trunk cant lock shut and I street park. For now I took off one side of my struts so the weight of the trunk keeps it "closed" but this is not good.

Any immediate solution to lock it again until I can fix the problem/take it to a shop would be amazing.. Did the water actually do this or is it something else?

Here is an image of the area im talking about. Water was running off on both sides right into the area, so stupid/annoying!


Thanks!
Justin

[thom4782]

I suppose its possible that the water caused a short that keeps the latches open...I don't know.

You could try a few things to see where a non-electrical issue lies.

Start by removing the rear carpet so you can access the rear locking mechanism. There are two bars the go from where you insert the key into the lock to the latches on either side.

Next insert the key into the lock and turn it. if the bars move then the electric circuit isn't keeping the latches open.

Then try loosening one of the latching mechanism and see if the latch closes. If it does, the the latch may need cleaning/lubrication or it may have just been too tight. If that works on one side, then repeat on the other side.

All of this takes 15 - 20 minutes. Last time my driver side latch wouldn't close, I loosened the nuts and the latch promptly closed.

Hope these few suggestions help

[Spring44]

Bearing in mind that any trunk/hatch is prone to being overrun with water in a hard rain, here are a few things to consider.

1)Is the water running off of the roof and down the body channel then over/under the hatch seal rubber?

2) Or, is it running off of the side of the hatch glass when it is raised?

If it is 1), then check to see if the rubber seal is tightly attached to the body along the top and side of the seal.

If it is 2), Then your spoiler drain holes may be plugged causing the spoiler to collect excess water and that water is being suddenly dumped off of the side when the hatch raises up. Clear the spoiler drain holes.

As to the hatch not latching, if you have new struts they may be pushing the hatch backwards away from the front hinge when it is opened. Hatch glass separation is fairly common on these old cars and will cause a misalignment of the latch and the latch pins, making the hatch hard to latch.
Disconnect the struts, then gently push forward on the hatch/spoiler to realign the latch pins with the latches. The hatch pins ought to latch after you do this.
HTH

[jwolfe]

Originally Posted by thom4782

I suppose its possible that the water caused a short that keeps the latches open...I don't know.

You could try a few things to see where a non-electrical issue lies.

Start by removing the rear carpet so you can access the rear locking mechanism. There are two bars the go from where you insert the key into the lock to the latches on the latches on either side.

Next insert the key into the lock and turn it. if the bars move then the electric circuit isn't keeping the latches open.

Then try loosening one of the latching mechanism and see if the latch closes. If it does, the the latch may need cleaning/lubrication or it may have just been too tight. If that works on one side, then repeat on the other side.

All of this takes 15 - 20 minutes. Last time my driver side latch wouldn't close, I loosened the nuts and the latch promptly closed.

Hope these few suggestions help

Thank you for the response. Ill start tomorrow and try to work through all the more obvious issues. Maybe I just have bad luck and it decided to mess up on the worst possibly pouring rain night. Thats the main reason I assumed it wasn't the case and something water/electrical related.

[jwolfe]

Originally Posted by Spring44

Bearing in mind that any trunk/hatch is prone to being overrun with water in a hard rain, here are a few things to consider.

1.)Is the water running off of the roof and down the body channel then over/under the hatch seal rubber?
2.) Or, is it running off of the hatch glass when it is raised?

If it is 1), then check to see if the rubber seal is tightly attached to the body along the top and side of the seal.
If it is 2), Then your spoiler drain holes may be plugged and collecting excess water and that water is suddenly dumped off of the side when the hatch raises up. Clear the drain holes.
As to the hatch not latching, if you have new struts they may be pushing the hatch backwards away from the front hinge when it is opened. Hatch glass separation is fairly common on these old cars and will cause a misalignment of the latch and the latch pins, causing the hatch to be hard to latch.
Disconnect the struts, then gently push forward on the hatch/spoiler to realign the latch pins with the latches. The hatch pins ought to latch after you do this.
HTH

#2 is more in line with what the issue is. seems the drain holes in the spoiler dont do much good so when it opens an excess amount of water runs off the side directly into the trunk.

also, I did just put new struts on a few weeks ago. Hadn't had any issues yet so maybe it finally adjusted everything out of place. I was just told about new struts being a bad idea b/c it could separate the glass. What do I do then? old busted struts aren't fun lol.

[djnolan]

This thread my be helpful, but unfortunately the hatch design has a few issues as you have discovered. When it is wet I just open the hatch very slightly until the water drains away. I am also very happy with the prop rod solution. It is impossible to make it hands free like a modern car.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-924-944-968-technical-forum/1004864-decklid-glass-separating-frame.html#post10173784

[kdjones2000]

Spray some lube down holes where the hatch pins go in.

Use the key to work it so the latches open and close.

[irish44j]

ditto, I drilled out my hatch pistons - so they're still attached to help with stability but don't actually "do" anything. I have a cut-to-length aluminum pole that I keep back there to prop it up when I need it open. But unless it's something big, I just go through the side door and tilt the seat forward.

Someone recently was talking about the possibility of using modern-style electric hatch struts (like many new cars have), since they have no pressure when closed. One of these days I may get around to trying to see if there's one in a length that would work for us and/or how to control it.

[jwolfe]

Thanks for all the feedback. Today I went out to trouble shoot and sure enough the trunk was locked again and works fine. Im not sure what the reason was for last night but I'll closely monitor and see if it acts up again. I have disconnected one of the struts in the mean time to ease the pressure. I installed new trunk struts a few weeks ago and maybe the pressure finally adjusted it out of wack. So for now I'll just use a stick to keep it propped open..

Thanks guys