Rear Hatch

The rear hatch on the Excursion is…. complicated.

Three panels, electric and manual locks, washer, wiper and defroster.

When I bought Fessick, none of the above worked.

The key cylinder was a rusted lump of metal of various alloys. You could put a key in, but it wasn’t turning anything.

The lock actuator didn’t actuate.

The wiper didn’t wipe.

The washer didn’t wash.

The defroster didn’t defrost.

I found out that the actuator actually did work when I got home from our first camping trip and couldn’t open the hatch. I had to unload a lot of gear through the back doors so I could get to the hatch and disassemble the lock mechanism.

Good times.

Today I decided to start diagnosing the remaining systems in the hatch.

I removed the lock cylinder from the hatch. It is currently bathing in penetrating oil in an attempt to free the tumblers.

I put a multi-meter on the wiper motor. I’ve got power to the wiper motor plug. I don’t have continuity through the motor, so I suspect the motor is fried.

I have continuity across the defroster elements, but no power. As the fuse is good, I suspect a bad switch.

I also suspect a bad switch for the washer. There is one pump that serves both front and rear washer systems (I think). It pumps fine when it gets power from the front switch, but does nothing when the rear switch is engaged.

There is a lot of rust behind the window trim. Which may explain the broken wiper motor. I’m going to leave the trim off for the next few rain storms in an attempt to locate the source of the water. There is no point in replacing a motor if it’s going to go bad immediately. An alternate theory is that the washer switch was disconnected because the washer was leaking inside the hatch trim causing problems with the wiper motor & defrost.

I’ve already added the cup holders to the hatch.

LOVE THEM. USE THEM EVERY CHANCE I GET.

When I get the factory installed systems squared away, I want to add a galley to the barn doors and an interior release to the glass panel.

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