94 PA Trunk Motor

Well, I'm a newbie, I'll admit that. I'd heard that there are motors that automatically close your trunk but I thought it was just an urban myth.

I bought a 94 PA from a dealer last Monday and he said that the trunk motor had been disconnected because the trunk had been shut manually and something was broke?? Doesn't make sense to me that you can't shut the trunk manually without messing something up. But what do I know, it's just an urban myth right?? Anyway, what I'm looking for is troubleshooting tips on how to get this working again. It seems you have to slam the trunk really hard to get it to catch, and that can't be good on the car. Otherwise it's really a sweet ride.

Yes, automatic trunk motors do exist (I actualy got my fingers stuck in one when I worked as a carryout/bagger at a grocery store...funny story actually).

Yes, they can be broken if someone who doesn't know that the trunk has an auto-pulldown motor pushes on it while it is trying to operate.

Junkyard item if you ask me where to get one :)

Thanks for the response Alibi. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't want to get your fingers caught in this thing. I'm just trying to figure out how this works and how to fix it. I don't know if it's the motor, or a limit switch or what it is. It's hard to fix something if you don't know what the problem is.

I'm guilty of slamming my dad's 88' PA with a pull-down motor (didn't know it had one, and at the time didn't know they existed!) We had to replace the solenoid. The price for a new motor and solenoid is outrageously high (over 150-200 bucks online) Alibi had a good point about searching boneyards, but just make sure they allow returns in case it's damaged, too!

Thanks for the response Alibi. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't want to get your fingers caught in this thing. I'm just trying to figure out how this works and how to fix it. I don't know if it's the motor, or a limit switch or what it is. It's hard to fix something if you don't know what the problem is.
Chances are the motor is fine, and the switch inside is burned out. It happened to my 91 PA. I was able to snag a switch from a 92 cadillac at a junkyard and it still works great today. The switch is a black box mounted right next to the motorized latch. Piece of cake to fix.