wgusler
New member
- Joined
- May 10, 2016
- Location
- Apopka, Florida US
Decided to tackle the tailgate wire harness replacement as the lock and wiper have never worked and the third light died. Bought new OEM Volvo harnesses and decided to do one side at a time. Pulled the trim and one hinge and found some ugliness.
I knew about the broken wires but also found the tab broken off the hinge and the ground was just about done. The hinge tabs were corroded and dirty, been broken for a long time.
Looking inside the tailgate I discovered it had been hit in the tailgate and repaired. This might explain the broken tabs on the hinges.
To run the wires, I cut the ends off the original harness and attached a 16 gauge 6 foot long wire.
Pulled the old harness and wire and then attached the new harness to the middle of the 16G wire and pulled it thru. Worked like a champ and I left the 16G wire in place. Repeated the process on the other side.
Not having replacement hinges ( only black available OEM) decided that the broken tabs can't be too big a deal as the tailgate has worked fine for 4 years like that, so I left them as is but still had the ground wire problem.
I used the 16g wire and attached it to the ground locations inside the gate and ran them thru the hinge and down to the ground in the rear corners of the quarter panels.
I left 12 inches rolled up under the headliner on both sides so if they break in the future, I will just pull some thru and splice.
Everything on the gate now works!
I knew about the broken wires but also found the tab broken off the hinge and the ground was just about done. The hinge tabs were corroded and dirty, been broken for a long time.
Looking inside the tailgate I discovered it had been hit in the tailgate and repaired. This might explain the broken tabs on the hinges.
To run the wires, I cut the ends off the original harness and attached a 16 gauge 6 foot long wire.
Pulled the old harness and wire and then attached the new harness to the middle of the 16G wire and pulled it thru. Worked like a champ and I left the 16G wire in place. Repeated the process on the other side.
Not having replacement hinges ( only black available OEM) decided that the broken tabs can't be too big a deal as the tailgate has worked fine for 4 years like that, so I left them as is but still had the ground wire problem.
I used the 16g wire and attached it to the ground locations inside the gate and ran them thru the hinge and down to the ground in the rear corners of the quarter panels.
I left 12 inches rolled up under the headliner on both sides so if they break in the future, I will just pull some thru and splice.
Everything on the gate now works!