88GT with remote trunk release. For some reason my trunk key that used to work doesn't anymore.

- Battery was removed for the winter.
- Trunk release solenoid doesn't work anymore (I've tried applying 12V to grey/black wire at trunk release relay, I hear the relay click and I can hear a faint clicking sound at the trunk latch, but trunk doesn't open)
- Read a few treads that suggested simply drilling out the lock cylinder. Attempted to do so, now lock cylinder moves freely 360 degrees. (See picture)

How screwed am I ?



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Ben
87 GT / 88 GT
84 Indy #1863

[This message has been edited by benoitmalenfant (edited 05-27-2017).]

You need to get thru the lock cylinder behind it. The lock cyl moves a small lever on the back that locks/unlocks. If you could tap on the solenoid that might free it up, try that first if you have access.Maybe a locksmith. good luck

shem

[This message has been edited by shemdogg (edited 05-27-2017).]

So, after a few attempts at reaching the lever shemdogg referred to, I was finally able to open the trunk

At first, I did not know what the lever looked like and wasn't sure how to trigger it so I took the latch from my other Fiero apart (another good reason to have at least 2 Fieros ). After inspecting how the mechanism worked, I had a better idea of what to do and was successful.

In order to help other newbies like me, here are a few pictures to help understand how the latch works and how you can open it even if you have drilled too big of a hole in the lock cylinder, or if the lock cylinder refuses to turn even after drilling the tumblers out (which was my case.).

First, here is what the whole assembly looks like (this is a top down view):

As you can see in the picture, there is a metal rod (lever) that is attached to the lock cylinder and goes all the way in the latch assembly. When the cylinder is turned by the key, the lever rotates as well and releases the latch to open the trunk.




Here's a top down view of the lever once rotated by the key:



Here is a back view of the latch assembly, showing the lever in the closed and opened position:

Closed (Trunk locked):



Opened (Trunk opened):



Now, if you drill too big of a hole in the cylinder, the lever will detach from the back of the cylinder and the cylinder with turn freely 360 degrees but the trunk won't open. This is what happened in my case:



At this point, you want to get a long screw driver (ideally flat blade) through the hole to reach the latch assembly and rotate the lever manually. You might have to drill an even bigger hole to get your screwdriver through (this is what I did) Here are a few pictures to illustrate:







And this is how big of a hole I had to drill in order to accomodate the screwdriver (I went all the way up to 3/8 drill bit, in small increments every time not to damage the trunk lid or light lenses):



Hope this helps someone!

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Ben
87 GT / 88 GT
84 Indy #1863

One other possibility; If you can get someone to push down on the lid while popping the solenoid it may be just hung up....If not, start drilling a big hole thru the lock, then try grabbing the extension "rod" or get it out of the way and shove a long slot screwdriver in there...

If the lock cylinder is still rotating when you try to drill it, get a slender screwdriver and try to wedge it so it doesn't spin.

That is a lot of rust on that latch Could be why the popper didn't work as it grounds through the latch.

Next time, add power to the popper wire and and stick in another ground wire into the lock.
Same thing if you shut a plastic bag on the latch.

quote Originally posted by sardonyx247: That is a lot of rust on that latch Could be why the popper didn't work as it grounds through the latch. Next time, add power to the popper wire and and stick in another ground wire into the lock. Same thing if you shut a plastic bag on the latch.

A lot of rust indeed. We got a LOT of rain this spring and I noticed that water was getting in the lid through one of the wings gasket and then leaks out near the latch. My trunk carpet was actually humid when I finally opened the lid.

I had tried putting power to the wire (unplugged the relay and wired a battery straight to it) and then shoved a screwdriver connected to the car frame by boosting cables and all I could hear was a faint click in the latch solenoid, but it wouldn't budge.

When I finally was able to open the trunk and took the latch apart for this post I tried moving the solenoid manually and it was unable to as it is completely jammed in rust.

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Ben
87 GT / 88 GT
84 Indy #1863