electronic hatch latch?

Acamori · Post by **Acamori** » January 10th, 2005, 7:13 pm

i'm not sure if anyone here knows about them or not, but old IROC-Z's had an electronic hatch latch that would pull the hatch down tight. seeing as my hatch sounds as though it's going to shake itself off when my bass is going, i was wondering if anyone has heard of a way to do something similar to our hatch. it releases normally from the tight posistion but the arm moves up to catch it and pull it back down when it's closed. if anyone knows of a kit to do this, or knows of a relatively easy way to do it without a kit, let me know.

Typhoonk · Post by **Typhoonk** » January 10th, 2005, 9:05 pm

can you get a pic of the iroc one?

cause this sounds like a good idea.............

Acamori · Post by **Acamori** » January 10th, 2005, 10:15 pm

a friend of mine has one, i'l see him tomorrow night so i'll try to get one then, but i'm not sure how well i'll be able to see it.

Acamori · Post by **Acamori** » January 11th, 2005, 9:44 pm

i got a look at the iroc-z's latch earlier, but couldn't get pics because of nasty weather and bad lighting. i'm all but certain that the latch mechanism in the iroc wouldn't fit in an mx-3 without having to make more room. i did get to figure out how it works though: the entire mechanism that grabs the loop on the hatch is pulled down by a motor of some sort (there's a couple of contatcts that tell the motor when the latch is closed).

i've been told that there are some more recent nissans or other such imports that have similar, and smaller, such mechanisms. i'm gonna try looking into that if i can, i'm also gonna look around for kits (though i'm not holding much hope for those)

Silkwyrm · Post by **Silkwyrm** » January 11th, 2005, 10:12 pm

Some cadillacs have this for the trunk as well. My '89 Sedan Deville had it. Also made it so you dont have to slam the trunk closed. Just push it down a little and it would close itself. Supposedly this was for older people with less arm strength to be able to close the trunk easy.

Acamori · Post by **Acamori** » January 11th, 2005, 11:21 pm

yeah, it helps for that, but at least on the iroc, it pulls the hatch down really really tight compared to a normal latch. and since my hatch rattles a lot when my subs are going unless i like sit on the hatch, i'm pretty sure it'd help, a lot. anyways, i'll have to find one that's fairly small (since there's not much room in our cars back there)

DJsMX-3 · Post by **DJsMX-3** » January 19th, 2005, 6:02 am

Have you thought about replacing the rubber"bumpstops" left and right that the hatch rests on? They get worn and old too, and if the hatch is mostly resting on the latch and the seals there will be lots of rattling..

neutral · Post by **neutral** » January 19th, 2005, 7:58 am

For one possible fix, there is a TSB link here, http://mx-3.com/tsb/s047-93.gif re the 1993-MX-3-rear-hatch-hinge-rattle-when driving-over-bumps-rough-roads-and-cranking-the-bass-problem...

Acamori · Post by **Acamori** » January 19th, 2005, 8:24 pm

hmm.. the stops would probably help. i hadn't thought about those, i'll have to see if i can get a new set or something. as for the hinge, i'm not sure how well that'd help, if i knew what the modification was i could probably do it myself.

Spotted · Post by **Spotted** » February 12th, 2005, 12:24 am

Another thing you can try is running 4 gauge wire throught the hole in the center of the hatch seal. It makes it a bit harder to close the htch, but it help a ton with the rattling.
Give it a shot it may be a bit easier than converting the hatch closer.
Those were installed on a bunch of GM cars.
They were on Cadillacs, Camaros, Trans-Ams too. They had a problem though, they have a plastic body that WILL break if someone who doesn't know how to close the trunk closes it like one normally would.

MX-SLICK · Post by **MX-SLICK** » February 12th, 2005, 12:33 pm

Most GM models from late 80's on to today have theese. Pontiac 6000's, chev celebrities, grand-ams, sunbirds, baretta's , etc etc...they ald had a yellow button in the glove compartment for the trunk latch. There are gobs of theese cars in wrecking yards, you could easily find one and thake the lock actuater thing out......