2001 xc70 tailgate lock doesn't work manually or with key

swilson50 · Post by **swilson50** » 02 Oct 2013, 18:46

hi, an independent mechanic told me i had a short in the wiring to the tailgate lock (2 stage, with back seat) that was blowing a fuse. prior to this, the remote control of the lock didn't work, but the button moved up and down manually. suboptimal, but workable. now, the button doesn't move up/down manually and is stuck in the unlocked position.

my question: has my lock failed, or does it require power even for manual usage? i don't want to replace the lock only to find out a new one doesn't work manually without reconnecting and fixing the wiring.

thanks,
Scott

swimNdrive · Post by **swimNdrive** » 02 Oct 2013, 23:46

I recently have some tailgate problem with my 2004 XC70. I opened up the trim panel and look for the problem, took some pictures and asked for help. I have resoled one issue but still have another issue which I will work on it this Sunday.

My issues have been with the electrical wires. The someone worked on this car before I bought it and messed up the wires. With some help, the door lock and unlock correctly now, but the dash show the tailgate open message. Here is link to the discussions.

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthrea ... c-Reversed

If you don't mind to work on it yourself, remove the trim panel is very easy. Once you have the trim panel off, you will see the tailgate lock unit which is not very complicated mechanically. Salvage parts are available on eBay or your local salvage yard at about $50. You can then determine if you can fix it or replace it with a working unit.

swilson50 · Post by **swilson50** » 05 Oct 2013, 10:33

I had opened it up and would replace the part, but i'm not convinced that a new part will solve my problem. i'm trying to determine if the tailgate lock is rendered useless (even for manual use) when the wire is cut. logically, i would think its not, but i've heard conflicting thoughts.

swimNdrive · Post by **swimNdrive** » 06 Oct 2013, 00:04

While you have it open, in addition to checking it out mechanically, you may want to trace the wires to make and see if any of them were cut. That normally happen around the drive side hinge. Since I have tailgate issues, I am very interested in your findings. Some pictures will be nice. Thanks

swilson50 · Post by **swilson50** » 19 Oct 2013, 17:04

I definietly have some wiring issues. i've seen many posts on repairing the wires, but not on replacing the harness. are there any tricks to replacing the harness with a new one (other than the cost)?

swimNdrive · Post by **swimNdrive** » 19 Oct 2013, 22:05

I thought about that too, but I could not find the part number. For something like that, I would want to replace with a new one. If you find a part number, please let me know.

In terms of replacing it, while I was there, the drive side hinge seemed to be in a way for removing the harness. I thought if I would need to take the whole get off, at the least the left hinge, before I could remove/replace the harness. It may not be too big of a deal, but it would need two people to do that.

swilson50 · Post by **swilson50** » 01 Nov 2013, 12:09

I confirmed the motor on the lock assembly was bad and replaced the whole assembly. It doesn't need power. Very easy job.

As for the wiring, sounds like we need some help with replacing/repairing the harness in that driver's side hinge area.

Post by **mikealder** » 01 Nov 2013, 12:41

You need to remove the trim panel from around the Rear Electronics Module (REM) (the fusebox in the boot) and the trim from the D pillar to get access to the wiring to inspect it visually for any damage.

I did a re-wire only three weeks ago on a 2001 XC70 where the tailgate hinge point wiring had shorted out but the damage went all the way back to the REM, wires were damaged by the heat caused by the overload due to the short circuit at the hinge point, in total I replaced about 20 different wires. Not an easy job that requires a good ability to read wiring diagrams to work out what goes where.

If you do find damage at the hinge point take care you connect the correct wires back together again as there are multiple wires that are the same color and size (three yellow ones from memory), you need to trace each one back to the multiway plug in the drivers side D pillar and establish what pin it is in to work out what it does - Mike

swilson50 · Post by **swilson50** » 04 Nov 2013, 16:30

Thanks Mike. Is replacing the wiring harness a plug and play type of thing once everything is opened up, or is that more complicated?

Post by **mikealder** » 05 Nov 2013, 01:14

The breaks in the wires are by the hinge point so fairly localised where they damage, you can either crimp the wires back together of solder in a new length of wire to replace the damaged sections covering the joints with heat shrink sleeve - I wouldn't try changing the whole tailgate harness for this sort of damage - Mike