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1996 Deville trunk won't close. help finding paddle switch

49K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  cadical 
#1 ·
Hello, The trunk on my 1996 Cadillac deville has stopped closing. It will sometimes close if left for a while but I have been afraid to open it for fear it won't shut back.

After reading here it seems like most are recommending replacing the pull down motor or paddle switch.
I am not sure are those the same part with a different name or two different parts I need to replace.

I also saw mention of a set of pull down instructions somewhere on the forum but was unable to find them. The op said they were made by ricko.

If possible pictures would be greatly appreciated as I am completely unfamiliar with this.. Thanks Dan
 
#2 ·
Re: 1996 Cadillac deville trunk won't close. help finding paddle switch

Might try cleaning the contacts on the actuator button next to the p[ull down latch.

I also saw mention of a set of pull down instructions somewhere on the forum but was unable to find them. The op said they were made by ricko.
Check the Tech Tips section.
 
#3 ·
Re: 1996 Cadillac deville trunk won't close. help finding paddle switch

Look at the pictures and compare them to your trunk latch and pulldown. If they look the same, read on otherwise ignore my post as these pictures were taken from a 93 DeVille. Yours might be similar. Look for any broken pieces, switches plastic housing etc. Look at the plastic housing carefully where the pulldown striker goes into. I have seen several of those broken.

TRUNK LATCH: How this works, the striker goes into the latch and pushes up on the switch lever. When the switch lever goes up, the pulldown motor pulls the striker down. When your lid reaches the point where it is closed completely, the latch makes contact in the area I have identified that makes contact with the paddle switch. When the paddle switch is pushed down far enough, it turns off the power to the pulldown motor. When the latch is released to open the trunk, the switch lever on the latch goes down, the paddle switch goes up and the motor turns on to raise the striker.


PULLDOWN MOTOR: How this works, the switch on the trunk latch sends power to the motor and it pulls down the lid until the latch makes contact with the paddle switch. When the paddle switch is pushed down far enough, it turns the motor on the pulldown off. The paddle switch is wide next to the striker. Notice the wiring harness connector at the pulldown motor, the contacts get dirty and it will stop working. Unplugging and cleaning can prevent problems down the road.


PULLDOWN MOTOR POLARITY SWITCH: How this works, there is a small tang on the striker pulldown that makes contact with a small switch below the paddle switch. It is small maybe a half inch wide. There is also another small metal tang further down the striker pulldown. When the striker goes up and down it flips that small switch up and down. That switch changes the polarity of the pulldown motor so that the striker raises up when you open your trunk.
 
#4 ·
Re: 1996 Cadillac deville trunk won't close. help finding paddle switch

I recently had this problem on my 97 deville base. I just blew all the sand away, then liberally sprayed CRC electronic parts cleaner on the outside and whatever I could inside. Let it dry. Then sprayed WD-40 all over and inside the movement tracks and gears, and slapped it all back together. Seems to work fine. Car has 185k on it. Just had the rear brake lines rust through, and had to have the proportioning valves replaced. Tranny is getting a little sloppy. Things are starting to show their wear and tear. Might be getting to that point where I'll just try to get by with it.
 
#8 ·
Re: 1996 Cadillac deville trunk won't close. help finding paddle switch

Mine just stopped working yesterday. I noticed my striker is stuck in the up position. Should i try to get my air compressor and blow air into the cracks and see if that fixes it? And also is there a way to manually close the trunk all the way until i get the time to replace whatever needs to be replaced
 
#11 ·
Re: 1996 Cadillac deville trunk won't close. help finding paddle switch

Mine just stopped working yesterday. I noticed my striker is stuck in the up position. Should i try to get my air compressor and blow air into the cracks and see if that fixes it? And also is there a way to manually close the trunk all the way until i get the time to replace whatever needs to be replaced
I`d also like to know how to just close it manually in case mine ever stops working.
 
#9 ·
Re: 1996 Cadillac deville trunk won't close. help finding paddle switch

dennis93coupe does a great job of explaining how this works. I might add one small suggestion. Whenever one pulls off an electrical connector, IMHO one should grease both plug and socket before plugging the connector back in. I learned this from my 1992 Honda Accord (23 years faithful service R.I.P. now). I never had a single electrical connector issue ... and every electrical connector was full of dielectric grease. The Suzuki had issues. The Cadillac had issues. My son's Explorer had issues. My FIL's Olds 98 had issues. None of them had any grease. And after I greased them, they didn't either. <grin> For a long time I was just using the white lithium grease from my tool box (Permatex WL-9). Then, a couple years back, someone put me on to the dielectric grease (Permatex 81150 - 0.33oz / 22058 - 3.0oz). It really does make a difference over no grease at all. I now "grease" electrical connections on all my gear (cars, lawn tractors, etc.). And that's my 2¢.
 
#10 ·
removed the pull down switch held down by a clip and torx fastener. I sprayed the entire switch and connectors with CRC QD electrical contact cleaner and put it to dry infront of a hair dryer for 5 minutes. put the switch back and the switch worked. Trunk closes again
 
#13 ·
Manual fix: I removed the four cargo net posts (took a pliers to start them unscrewing). Then pull up on the black threshold panel to remove. Used (hex?) screwdriver to remove single screw holding paddle switch to pull down motor assembly. The switch pops up to remove after screw is out.

This will expose the two blade contacts for the motor. I stripped two wires and held them to the top of a 9V battery, then touched the blade contacts to activate the motor. If it doesn't move the right direction, just reverse the wires. All the way down was too far to engage the trunk clasp, so I had to trial and error it up a little bit a time until it engaged.

I ordered a switch but not sure I will bother since the car is old. The trunk closes just like every other car now!
 
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