Rear Hatch and Glass Handles Inoperable

[stilljester]

This weekend I opened up my wiring harness in the rear hatch repairing the wires which were broken on both the left and right side. I've tested the wires from the trunk floor up to gate to verify continuity. Then I tested both micro switches for hatch and glass release and they test fine. I jumped 12V to the release and they function perfectly. Still the handles themselves don’t work….Anyone have any thoughts on what to look for next?

[stilljester]

Well I never got a response from anyone so hopefully this post will help someone else. My problem turned out to extensive corrosion in the splice point below in the harness below the rear distribution box.

This is the harness in question
Simply untape the mess and inspect for corrosion
http://images20.fotki.com/v360/photos/9/925706/4318638/CIMG4081-vi.jpg

Corrosion
You can see here the white powder from the copper corroding. The one of the wires had actually broken free.
http://images20.fotki.com/v360/photos/9/925706/4318638/CIMG4080-vi.jpg

I repaired the slice point - rejoining the wires and EURKEA!!! Both the glass and lid handle now work flawlessly!!!!

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

bad wiring under the rear seat, look for more bad connections

[stilljester]

bad wiring under the rear seat, look for more bad connections

Yup - I posted my findings from this weekend above :-)