trunk popper

[GreyGoose006]

How much power should be sent to the trunk popper?
i just yanked one off a car from the junkyard.
im guessing that it needs 12v but i dont know how much current it can take without damaging the solenoid.

anyone feel like taking a measurement for me?
thanks

[mike561]

I diddnt even take a measurement, i just hooked it right to the 12 volt batt source and it worked fine, however i was told i should probably put a fuse between the wire, forgot which amperage though. then i just got a basic toggle swich from advance auto and put it in my glove box. im geussing you took one from a 9C1 right? thats where i got mine from, it fit right over the bracket i already had

[PeteA216]

I got mine from a civi Caprice. I took the OEM switch too that goes down on the lower part of the driver's side dash. A constant 12V source with a 10 amp fuse worked like a charm. I even wired it to my keyless entry system.

[GreyGoose006]

i snagged it from a civvie caprice. like a 89 or so.
it was newer than mine, which is 84, but older than the ones with the single headlights and new lght piece.
i will hook it up to a 5-10 amp fuse i guess.

[GreyGoose006]

were your cars wired for a trunk popper?
i just realized that i would need to run a wire from the trunk to the dash...
blond moment.

so im guessing i have to take out the back seat, lift up the carpet and drill a hole in the dash.
anything else?
how did you go about it?

[PeteA216]

Yup... I had to wire it myself. Under the carpet, behind the back seat and through the insulation. I didn't need to drill any hole though. I just used the already existing opening behind the seat. Tucked everything in nice so nobody knows thew wire's even there. I soldered and heat shrinked (shinked, shrunk... whatever) all my connections to make sure there wasn't ever gonna be any failed connection or short. It wasn't too hard. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5 I give it a 1 1/2.

[GreyGoose006]

i mean drill a hole to put the button in the dash...

[GreyGoose006]

the bottom rear seat just pops out if you push on it right?
i seem to remember hearing that it does, but im not sure.
well its gonna be a cool project to keep me busy i guess.
what with school and all.

[PeteA216]

Originally Posted by GreyGoose006

i mean drill a hole to put the button in the dash...

The button (or switch) I got was sort of a slider kinda push down style switch. It was black with a little white picture of a car with the trunk open on it. Since the OEM hole was rectangular for it, I drilled a hole and carefully used a razor blade to shape the hole the rest of the way.

[GreyGoose006]

i just got a momentary button to put near the ashtray area.
i could put it there or in the footwell, but i dont want to pop the trunk while driving...

[PeteA216]

Even though I didn't do it this way, I believe that technically the power is supposed to be run through the neutral/park switch so that while the car's in gear, the trunk can't be popped.

[mike561]

Originally Posted by PeteA216

Even though I didn't do it this way, I believe that technically the power is supposed to be run through the neutral/park switch so that while the car's in gear, the trunk can't be popped.

I wanted to do it that way but i'm not too electrical savvy so i just put it in the glove box, i'm also working on trying to rig up a light on the dash that comes on when its open, there is a light lense that says "T-Gate Ajar" on the temp guage thats not used, i think ill put it on that one.

[GreyGoose006]

i was thinking about getting an LED to tell me if it was open while i was at radio shack, but couldnt figure out in my head how to do it effectively, so didnt.

what color is the neutral/park switch.
is there even one on my car?
i can put the car in whatever gear i want without my foot on the brake, which is odd IMO.

[mike561]

mine is like that also, i think only newer cars have that feature where you press the brake first to shift, its a safety thing

[PeteA216]

Correct. And these cars do have a gear positioning switch. It's neccesary to keep the starter from cranking while the transmission is in gear. Now if I only knew where it is.
Oh and BTW my car has the tailgait light too even though its not a wagon. I think they just made up a bunch of the same instrument panels so they could just all e throw into the car regardless of if its a coupe, sedan, or wagon.