The back gate chomped my wires

[rgk]

Help, my brake lights are out and I need the defroster this time of year.

I tried pulling the wires out a bit at the hinge and soldering them, but the result, with electrical tape and all, created an even bigger mess. Is there some place nearby where I can access the wires, crimp together new ones, and run them to the lights and defroster? I've tried pulling the ceiling panel off, but it seems to be glued or somehow attached very well, and I'd rather not do permanent damage.

Thanks!

[billofdurham]

If you look at our sponsor IPD's site you will find they do a repair kit for this very common problem.

Bill.

[rgk]

Thank you so very much, I'll check it out and report back.

[rgk]

I found the wiring harness for the gate at IPD, but opted to perform the repair myself without the harness. The connectors were still in place, so I just cut the wires in the appropriate places and patched them with new wire.

I figured I would have to run the new electric wire through the hinges and behind the tailgate with the assistance of a long, thin piece of non-electric wire. This worked to some degree, though it was rather difficult getting everything through. It took a couple of hours, but eventually I managed to get the upper/center brake light and the defrost wires through. On test, however, I was having some problems: the brake light didn't work, and the defrost only seemed to work by way of a voltmeter. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree when stepping on the brake. I knew that some of the wire had gotten torn in the process, and knew that I was going about things the wrong way. I tested the upper/center brake light bulb at the chassis of the car not directly connected to the tailgate, and saw that it lit up. I knew I had a ground problem.

A couple of days ago, I was impatiently trying to get the torn wires out of the tailgate hinge and in the process had torn one wire that was larger than the rest. Experience and common sense told me that this was a ground wire, but I could not find it coming out anywhere either in the tailgate or the rest of the chassis. I broke down and finally decided to remove the tailgate and hinges to inspect what had happened to that wire.

As it turns out, that wire runs across the top of the inside of the hinge. Once I saw it, it made perfect sense to me. This wire was acting as an electric bride to properly ground, to the rest of the chassis, everything that was grounded to the tailgate. Because this wire was cut in half, everything grounded to the tailgate was acting funky. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is because when you ground something, you allow the electricity it uses to run through the chassis of the car and return to the battery via the battery's negative cable.

I did not have time to order new hinges, so I decided to operate. I carefully removed the remnants of the ground wire in the hinge, which is attached to both sides by a very tight, specific little square "O" terminal. I then purchased about a foot of green wire, 10 gauge, and cut it to length. I also purchased some terminals that I felt would be good at staying in place. The hinge has little square notches that the terminal sits on - you'll know them when you see them. However, it will probably be very difficult getting an exact fit. I got the closest thing possible and then bent them into place with a pair of needle-nose pliers. I also had to remove the plastic off the terminal and bend it open, because that size terminal did not allow 10 gauge wire to be readily inserted.

I stripped the terminal, inserted the wire, and soldered it. I attached that side to one of the notches, and carefully measured how much wire I had to cut to fit it to the length between the two notches.

Here is a very important step. You have to hold the wire in place at both sides of the hinge, and move the hinge as if opening and closing the tailgate. The hinge actually pulls on the wire, straining it, when in the closed position, and provides slack when in the open position. This is counter-intuitive, but knowing it can save you a bunch of work and perhaps a trip to the hardware store.

After you cut the wire to size (remember, cut longer and measure again, if needed), you can solder the other terminal to the other end of the wire and attach the terminal to the notch. If there is some of that black sticky goo still in the hinge, you're lucky, because 1. it will prevent the ground wire (and other wires that will be running through the hinge) from moving around too much, and 2. you can take a little piece out and place it on top of the ground terminal to better secure it to the notch. Just remember to put it over the top of the notch and terminal, and not the bottom, so that the electricity still has a place through which to run.

Test the hinge by opening and closing it. If the wire is popping out of its notch even after you put the goo on, you may need to alter the length or bend the wire a bit so that it is comfortable in the way that the hinge bends. I became frustrated because the wire was popping out even after cutting to length and bending it, so I left it alone and went to eat dinner. After returning, I noticed the wire was no longer popping out after bending - perhaps it just needed some time to settle into its shape.

After you're done with the hinge, you can easily run the necessary wires through the tailgate. After you've done so, you can then attach the hinge to the tailgate. Remember to use the proper color wire to save yourself or someone in the future a lot of headache. If you don't have a lot of colors on hand, at least mark certain specific wires on both ends with some electric tape and use common sense. Having at least two colors is a big help. Get a helper to hold the tailgate while you insert the wires into the chassis and tighten the hinges.

Each hinge is connected to the roof by two 12mm bolts, and to the tailgate by a 13mm bolt which is difficult to remove and put back into place because of very heavy weatherstripping on the gate that is glued into place. Work your socket around it and be careful not to cross-thread, or all your hard work will go to waste, as you'll have to order a new hinge if you strip it. It's also attached to the gate by a screw which comes out easily with a large screwdriver. Just have a pair of needle-nose pliers handy so that you don't drop it into the gate when inserting or removing it. Remember to put the hinge back exactly into place where the markings on the roof are, so that your gate shuts properly. Also, don't forget to properly replace the rubber that sits between both the hinge and the roof, as well as the hinge and the tailgate, to prevent water from seeping in when it rains and damaging your wire.

I believe that covers everything. If your wiring is correct, you should be a happier, safer, more comfortable Volvo 240 owner!

[billofdurham]

Good write-up, thank you.

This is going into the Repair Database.

Bill.