Hey Art,

Thanks for the information. I did see that the ground wire on the drivers side tailgate hinge was damaged. However it was hard to tell the original layout of the wiring layout due to the wires being severely burnt and frayed. Is there a ground wire that attaches to both sides of the hinge? For example a ground point that connect to the inside of the hinge on the lift gate to a ground point that connects to the inside of the hinge on the roof?

Thanks,
Garrett

Hi Garrett,

I guess there is not a wiring diagram specific to the tailgate hinges. At least not in the wiring diagram manual. Each system using the wires through the hinges has its own detailed drawing.

Two of the systems use a wire supplying key-on power through the tailgate harness: the rear wiper via the right hinge, and the defroster through the left hinge. Both systems, as well as the third, high-mounted brake lamp, need to ground through the hinges. Each hinge has a ground wire inside, which I have never seen unbroken. The problems this broken wire causes are rarely seen by the driver; only by folks following him, as the ground circuit is closed by the hinge pin or latch with varying success.

You could troubleshoot the "always-on" brake lights (I assume you meant brake lights, not tail lights) by disconnecting the circuits for the defroster and maybe the wiper, either by just turning the key off (brake lights should function normally without the key) or by removing fuse 1 to eliminate the wiper's parking source, or fuse 11 to eliminate the defroster power.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

I fired my masseuse today. She just rubbed me the wrong way.