Tailgate wiring

[BudW]

I need to remove a tailgate from an ’80 Aspen wagon. This tailgate has a wiper motor on it – so I know it has a wiring harness inside of it.

My question is about the tailgate wiring: Do I need to remove the wiring harness from inside of the tailgate before removal of the tailgate – or is there an electrical plug-in on the body side somewhere?

It is not my plan to cut the wiring harness for I plan on re-using it later.

Thank you for any information about this.
BudW

 

[volareandgtcat]

Only speaking from a minivan point of view ... but we ran the wiring up through the sides of the lift-gate then plugged everything that needed plugging in. The power hooked up in the "D" post(s) .. .. there are a few things to watch for .. like the prop rod bolts and the odd flash weld catching the wire, we would route a wire with a hook on the end then attach the harness and finagle(technical term) the harness into position. don't forget your washer hose, but those were real buggers to route .. I would probably cut it somewhere convenient then re-attach when the time comes. Been a couple decades .. that's all I can remember for now ...... hope this helps
Just re-read the post ... should be plugs in the D posts

 

[Aspen500]

Looked at the wire harness routing illustrations in the service manual and it appears the t-gate wiring is part of the body rear harness so you'd need to unplug everything in the gate and pull the harness out before removing the t-gate.

 

[BudW]

it appears the t-gate wiring is part of the body rear harness so you'd need to unplug everything in the gate and pull the harness out before removing the t-gate.

My looking at the manual came to same conclusion, but sense I hadn't worked on one yet - I wasn't sure.