Description:

Setting up a motorized trunk lid on a 96 Honda Civic 4Door by Rob Knapp

STEP1

The first step is doing some measuring. Look for a good place where you could mount the motor and check out your pivot points. Take a look at the http://www.firgelliauto.com/ web site. Browse through the linear actuators and print out a spec sheet. Take the Hole-to-Hole dimensions and see what your project looks like.

Remember to measure closed length and open length. I used two 9” stroke units, which is 13.5” collapsed and 22.5 extended. I also made tilting hinges so the trunk lid would pivot;

I braced the trunk lid arms together and used two 4” stroke units. The reason for used 2 for lift and 2 for pivot was stability and less flex. Also need to think about power, firgelliauto.com also has wiring kits, switches, and mounting brackets. I used power window switches for testing, and then used 6 pin momentary metal switches that match the air suspension for final design.

When you get your linear actuators setup some reversed polarity fused power and give them a test. They should work great, there is info on switch wiring on the firgelliauto.com website. Next you can hold the motor in the collapsed position where you think it would go, and mark it. Open up the trunk and run the motor extended. Hold the actuator in the same position and see if it still lines up with the previous marks. I went ahead and made mounts and tack welded them in place.

Open up the trunk and run the motor extended. Hold the actuator in the same position and see if it still lines up with the previous marks. I went ahead and made mounts and tack welded them in place. The trunk lid opened all the way, but would not close all the way

I had to change the angle, make it closer to zero. Which moved the actuator further back into the trunk

If you are not getting enough lift, move closer to the pivot point. You can test the actuator and see how it works, and then to a mirror image for the other side. Measuring to keep the actuator holes at the same distances. I removed the stock tension springs that help hold the lid up because it’s now held in place by the linear actuators.

Next for the pivot, this can be tricky with getting the motor in the right place. I could not have a single unit in the middle; it would be in the way for the trunk lid to swing. They had to go on the sides

The bottom hole was the wrong direction, so the base had to get drilled. The motor would now mount sideways. The shaft can just be twisted a little to adapt to the different mounting position.

Also if you don’t have enough lift or pull change the angle or move closer to the pivot. I had to notch the brace I installed so the actuator would not lean against it during movement. I added the brace for extra strength

Some extra notes, if the motors extend too far and you don’t need the fully extended distance you can add and external limit switch. The limit switch would cut the power to the motor; you would put that in series on that side of the switch. You can do this with the 6 pin switches but not a power window switch. The same goes for if you need to stop before fully collapsing.