MurphTingle
New Member
I will get some pictures up for this soon, but if you are having trouble with a dead, or intermittent failure of your tailgate button (mine does not have a power tailgate) where you just pull and pull and the switch eventually kicks the motor over, or perhaps simply does not work anymore at all - this could be the solution for you.
Background: over the past year I'd noticed the boot button beginning to fail intermittently, especially in really cold or really hot weather. This lead to many frustrating minutes holding carrier bags, tugging away at the tailgate like an idiot. I found a replacement tailgate opener switch (https://www.parts-honda.uk/honda-ca...DY-PARTS/TAILGATE-PANEL-2D-/30950/B55/6/30950) for about £65 but wanted to see if I could diagnose that actual fault first before buying new parts.
1. I had to use the internal access window in the boot to open the tailgate, by popping the little panel off in the centre of the tailgate liner.
2. Undo the two screws that are in the bottom of the handle holes in the tailgate (where you would grab to close the tailgate).
3. Gently prize off the whole plastic tailgate liner, it's a series of white pop clips holding it in, no other screws or anything that will snap.
4. You will now be able to see the guts of the tailgate, and the connector that runs to the switch (its bang in the middle, hiding above and behind the wiper motor ***y)
5. Disconnect the the switch connector and then do a bonus test;
- Bonus Test: With a multimeter set to 20 (milliamps?) shove a prong into each hole of the male end of the switch connector and it will fire the motor! Now you can rest ***ured it's the handle switch and not the motor ***y.
6. Prize off the black panel that surrounds the switch handle outside the car, above the reg plate, if you've got a reversing camera I'm talking about this long thin panel that also houses the reg plate lights.
7. Undo the 8mm? bolts that hold the switch into the body panel.
8. Fiddle the whole switch out from inside, you'll have to jimmy it around the rear wiper motor but it does come out.
Now it's time to pull the switch apart and clean it up. The switch is essentially a female connector housing attached to the flap/lever.
9. Stretch off the rubber boot in between the switch lever/flap and the connector.
10. Using a small thin screw driver, gently prize the two hinge lugs that hold the flap into the body. Be careful to not let the contents fly out like I did!
11. Inside there is a small metal 'rocker' that is moved by a blue plastic finger built into the flap. This is where we need to focus our cleaning.
12. Clean up/key the surface of the tiny rocker, the tiny prongs inside the female end of the connector and anywhere else you fancy.
13. reassemble and test the switch now all the contact points are firing.
That's pretty much it, reassemble in reverse order and you've saved yourself £65 plus postage
Pics coming soon!
Background: over the past year I'd noticed the boot button beginning to fail intermittently, especially in really cold or really hot weather. This lead to many frustrating minutes holding carrier bags, tugging away at the tailgate like an idiot. I found a replacement tailgate opener switch (https://www.parts-honda.uk/honda-ca...DY-PARTS/TAILGATE-PANEL-2D-/30950/B55/6/30950) for about £65 but wanted to see if I could diagnose that actual fault first before buying new parts.
1. I had to use the internal access window in the boot to open the tailgate, by popping the little panel off in the centre of the tailgate liner.
2. Undo the two screws that are in the bottom of the handle holes in the tailgate (where you would grab to close the tailgate).
3. Gently prize off the whole plastic tailgate liner, it's a series of white pop clips holding it in, no other screws or anything that will snap.
4. You will now be able to see the guts of the tailgate, and the connector that runs to the switch (its bang in the middle, hiding above and behind the wiper motor ***y)
5. Disconnect the the switch connector and then do a bonus test;
- Bonus Test: With a multimeter set to 20 (milliamps?) shove a prong into each hole of the male end of the switch connector and it will fire the motor! Now you can rest ***ured it's the handle switch and not the motor ***y.
6. Prize off the black panel that surrounds the switch handle outside the car, above the reg plate, if you've got a reversing camera I'm talking about this long thin panel that also houses the reg plate lights.
7. Undo the 8mm? bolts that hold the switch into the body panel.
8. Fiddle the whole switch out from inside, you'll have to jimmy it around the rear wiper motor but it does come out.
Now it's time to pull the switch apart and clean it up. The switch is essentially a female connector housing attached to the flap/lever.
9. Stretch off the rubber boot in between the switch lever/flap and the connector.
10. Using a small thin screw driver, gently prize the two hinge lugs that hold the flap into the body. Be careful to not let the contents fly out like I did!
11. Inside there is a small metal 'rocker' that is moved by a blue plastic finger built into the flap. This is where we need to focus our cleaning.
12. Clean up/key the surface of the tiny rocker, the tiny prongs inside the female end of the connector and anywhere else you fancy.
13. reassemble and test the switch now all the contact points are firing.
That's pretty much it, reassemble in reverse order and you've saved yourself £65 plus postage
Pics coming soon!
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