Rear P38 Tailgate Security!

[troverman]

When I got my 1995 4.0SE, of course the pushbutton open of the tailgate did not work, the switch was frozen and junk. Not wanting to spend $90, I cut the two wires and ran jumper wires into the loadspace area. Touching the two wires together open the tailgate fine. When I locked the vehicle, touching the wires no longer had any effect; the tailgate did not open. This was the way it was supposed to operate. The wire method has worked for me well for as long as i have had it. I had nothing better to do a week ago, so i took the switch out and worked it until I finally got it apart. The inside was very corroded and rusty. The spring crumbled apart. The button couldn't move because the plastic was rusty colored. The microswitches appeared ok, though. I thoroughly cleaned the whole thing, greased it, and took the spring out of a flashlight where the D-Cell batteries go. I cut and bent the spring, and it fit! I put it all back together, and voila! Pushing the switch now opens the gate from the outside! Awesome! saved $90! Then i lock the car and push the switch for kicks. The top gate pops and the alarm goes off! So now the ground which the switch completes when pressed no longer goes away when the alarm is armed. The only thing different is the vehicle had to have the BeCM "F-Out" procedure because of a no-start alarm condition. What's up?

[troverman]

I have solved the problem, for anyone who cares or may have this prob in the future. The tailgate button is controlled by the passenger side door lock / latch mechanism. This mechanism includes two microswitches. Not sure how it works, but after carefully taking the switch apart (full of gears, arms, etc) I found one of the microswitches had the button part of it pooped out and on the bottom of the switch housing. So I put in back in place, and used a small sticker with a hole for the button to push through, and some duck tape to hold the button in place. So far, the fix is entirely sucessful.