2005 RX300SE Repacing the Tailgate Motor.

[Glimmer Genie]

I have a tailgate that won't open. I removed the rubber switch cover, which was in good condition with no sign of any moisture ingress or damage to the switch so I had a look on eBay and found a second-hand tailgate motor that appeared to be the correct replacement. It was only £20 so I bought it. Clearly I ought to have taken my time and done a bit of research first because it turns out that it's not an exact replacement. I think the original motor is fairly basic; you press the switch, the lock releases and you manually lift the tailgate. The  replacement appears to have more features, if the electrical wiring is anything to go by. Anyway, I was wondering if it might be possible to use this motor anyway? Despite being a bit bigger, the unit fits but the electrical connector is different to the one on the original unit. The original unit connects with 4 wires (red, black, yellow and blue) whereas the replacement has at least twice as many (see images attached). I'm wondering if I could swap the electrical connectors and just connect the wires that release the lock (assuming I can work out which they are) and leave all the others disconnected? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Herbie]

I'm confused - your post is headed "Tailgate Motor" which, to me, means the motor that opens/closes the tailgate but then you say "I think the original motor is fairly basic; you press the switch, the lock releases and you manually lift the tailgate." which would suggest that your car doesn't have a power tailgate and you're talking of the locking/latching mechanism?

[Glimmer Genie]

Hi Herbie, thanks for replying - sorry for having confused you. The car doesn't have a power tailgate but the unit I'm talking about is a small electric motor, an actuator if you like, which acts against a lever to release the latch. At the moment, the only way I can release the latch is to climb into the boot and manually move the lever with my finger through a little access window. I've attached an image of the unit I'm trying to replace.

[Herbie]

Aha, all becomes clear now David  

I'm literally just about to sit down to my tea of BBQ ribs, chips and peas but later on I'll try to find the wiring diagrams if I can.

[Glimmer Genie]

Thanks Herbie, enjoy your tea

[Herbie]

2 hours ago, Glimmer Genie said:

Thanks Herbie, enjoy your tea

Cheers David, it was excellent!

Five years ago I had a triple heart bypass so things like that are a very rare treat for me these days.

I had a look for the wiring diagram but the info is spread over multiple pages, so I've just sent you a private message that should help.

[Glimmer Genie]

Thanks Herbie, your help is very much appreciated.

[hypojames]

Hi, I have exact same dilemma at the moment. Can't find this basic rear lock anywhere online. Only the more complicated versions. 

 

The basic lock only uses 2 wires for the unlocking solenoid and 2 wires for the microswitch monitoring if the boot lid is closed of not.

 

Did you have any luck adapting the more complicated lock to your basic bootlid?

 

I've ordered the more compicated locking mechanism on eBay and hope to adapt the wiring to work

[hypojames]

was only £12 so was worth the gamble.

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, hypojames said:

Did you have any luck adapting the more complicated lock to your basic bootlid?

 

I've ordered the more compicated locking mechanism on ebay and hope to adapt the wiring to work

I've just sent you the same info by PM that I sent to David, so I hope it helps.

[Glimmer Genie]

Hi James,

No luck I'm afraid. I had a couple of attempts, one of which produced some whirring, but I couldn't get the mechanism operating properly. I would have persevered but I happened to see the correct mechanism on eBay so I bought that. It was £60 but worth it to sort the problem out. I think the seller said they are quite rare. Hope you're able to sort it out - good luck.

[hypojames]

The wire colours are not correct for the simple back door lock but the wire numbers and how they relate to the plug connector are. (easy enough to see and understand whats going on)

The wire colours and wire numbers seem correct for the power rear door lock.

 

You can see the power rear door motor can rotate both ways to lock and unlock the boot, the negative and positive are fed from the body control module so it can rotate polarity. On the simple door lock you can see its only supplied a positive from the control module and is earthed down the other side meaning the motor/actuator can only rotate one way to unlock the boot. Manually pushing the boot door closed does the locking part so no electrical motions required.

 

The notification switch indicating the boot door is open or not should be straight forward enough to wire in

 

 

Can someone verify when you manually close the boot on a powered boot car the lock catches over mechanically and locks. Obviously i dont have the electrical hardware to rotate the locking motor both directions so i hope the lock mechanism works the same way roughly

 

I hope that makes some sense

[hypojames]

Just a small update. I rung toyota for a price on the lock. Only £65!

 

Will collect Saturday just to confirm part numbers and such.

 

 

[hypojames]

All fitted all good. 

[Herbie]

Excellent, well done James

[Illogan]

Super result!

 

And, to be fair, at £65 from Toyota/Lexus that's darned good value, Normally its that price for the turned Bakelite insert that fits inside the second level of the Mickey Mouse rubber flapper valve actuator for the self-dimming cup holders

[Kennybeag]

If the solenoid isn’t throwing the mechanism enough , and is throwing less and less the more you press the open switch does that indicate a fault in the lock solenoid ?  Or is there some other component that could cause this ever decreasing operation....   if left alone for a few days the door opens ???  Can someone send me the wiring diagram for the manual door latch ?