Open Tailgate without any battery power.

[markaustusa]

Does anyone know how to open the upper and lower tailgate when there is no electricity. Ie: I need some parts from a 96 RR but the complete front end is burnt, no use jumping etc, Is there a manual catch somewhere?
Thanks Mark

[wills]

No, no manual catch, 2 ways you could go about it though.

Download RAVE, take along a good battery and use the ETM to find the right wires and manually apply 12 volts to the correct wire and open the tailgate that way. Just had a look in the ETM and it looks easy enough.

Or you could always crawl into the boot and remove the trim from the lower tailgate and see if you can get it to pop open somehow.

I think the battery idea is the easiest though.

-Wills

[Tim (Scotland)]

Can't you get in the front doors and climb over the seats?

[ZUNDFOLGE!]

1. As suggested here previously, you can apply power to the appropriate wires, I have done it on my own rig when the RF door latch failed, taking out any electric tailgate action with it! You'll need to remove the panelling on the right rear side and behind there you will find the harness leading to the tailgate. Take a 12V battery with you and locate (please check me on this, my memory isn't the best any longer, haha) the PURPLE wire, which is the power wire and also (I believe) the WHITE wire, which, oddly, I think is ground. Apply power to the Purple and ground the White locally.

2. If you decide to just remove the lower gate trim panel, it will be impossible with it closed so you'll have to destroy it. You can then twist the latch inside one way to pop the upper part and twist it the other way to pop the lower part.

Look in RAVE in the ETM under CIRCUITS "S3- Security & Central Locking", specifically page 8

Good luck!

[p38arover]

It is a pain in the proverbial! LR came out with a kit to manually open the fuel filler door but not the tailgate!

[Bigbeardbiii]

I went through this yesterday and can assist with some updated advice. The easiest thing to do is to: 1. simply lower the rear seats and crawl in the rear, 2. lift the spare tire door all the way up and sit on the spare (this will reveal the six screws for the plastic "Range Rover" plate that folds down when the lower tailgate is opened), 3. Remove the six screws which will allow you to lift it up and remove it, 4. once plastic plate has been moved you will be able to unscrew the plastic screws on the lower tailgate carpet piece and remove it thus exposing the lock mechanism, 5. then simply move the lowest white plastic lever holding the linkage arm which will open the upper tailgate, 6. once you open the top tailgate then turn the same white lever in the SAME direction which will release the lower tailgate as well. I hope this helps someone else as it saved me time and not having to get into the wiring, hauling a battery, etc.. to the vehicle in the middle of a muddy salvage yard and allowed me to get to the parts I needed.

[DCNick]

if its at a junkyard like picknpull id just smash the rear window with a BFH... instant door... otherwise id just not waste my time trying to hotwire it and just climb in front the front, or you could always just energize the battery cables and unlock the vehicle... it will unlock the rear...

i vote option 1, smash the window, its fun

[RRToadHall]

if its at a junkyard like picknpull id just smash the rear window with a BFH... instant door... otherwise id just not waste my time trying to hotwire it and just climb in front the front, or you could always just energize the battery cables and unlock the vehicle... it will unlock the rear...

i vote option 1, smash the window, its fun

Yea, makes it real great for whomever needs to wade through the busted glass to get to a part. Heaven forbid someone should want the piece of glass you busted up. Yea golly gee whiz that sure is fun.

[DCNick]

yea there is always that one, but i did list many other alternatives, if i had more info about the vehicle, like where its at what kind of condition its in, i could offer specific instructions, you could always pop out the button and wire it to a battery real quick and jump it open like that.. i know of alot of ways to get it open, just need more info.

just a bit of info about rave... it hasnt been updated in FOREVER.. just saying... land rover dealerships have long since moved onto other things years ago, i found that alldata at my current place of employment has more information then my rave manuals...

[LarryS]

LR stopped making the P38 over 10 years ago, whats to update?...just asking.

[dave3d]

There was Dutch guy on here that did a pull cord mod for the tailgate like the fuel cap.
Did a search for it recently and couldn't find it. Surprise! Surprise!
New search facility sucks.

[RRToadHall]

New search facility sucks.

The new search is far superior with better results and more search options. Click advsanced search, click single source and fill in the blanks.