I'm here asking for guidance and help as have exhausted other sources and my own knowledge .

Bought the car as a CAT S having had rear bumper damage. Not quite sure how bad it was but the car came with a removable tow ball , but nothing to fit it into. I can see the electrical plug tucked up behind the bumper ......all this just for a bit of background information.

Car runs very well and I'm VERY pleased with it, apart from not having a rear wiper or washer. The latter I can live without , but a rear wiper really is essential.

So far have replaced the rear wiper motor and also the rear tailgate latch but I still can't get power to the motor to run it.

The dash display MFD ? is showing the tailgate is open even though it is securely closed , and my question is " what factors influence the display of that tailgate message ? "......or where does the MFCD get its information from as I think the spurious information is what is causing the wiper not to work.

I have checked the wires up in the door/body rubber casing and found at least six have small breaks in the plastic covering of the wires, but no wires are actually broken .

I have removed all the tailgate interior trim to see if there is any other obvious issues with wiring , but its all hidden away inside the door skins.

My final thought was a bad earth.......but where is that located for the rear wiring and anyway if it was a bad earth, then I'm guessing none of the rear lights would work or are there separate earthing points for different electrical items ?

Slowly driving me nuts as it's really such a basic thing and yet with the wiper having so many trigger functions, i.e. column switch, selecting reverse gear with wipers on etc, I'm really at a loss where to look now.

Any help or guidance would be much appreciated......and I'm sure its not that wiring up by the tailgate left corner as the wires all look perfect.

Thanks, Frank

Very possible that the rear-end damage has caused the tailgate sensor to misalign, causing the 'tailgate open' warning.

I believe the rear wiper will not operate if the sensor indicates the tailgate is open.

1 hour ago, Warrior193 said:

Very possible that the rear-end damage has caused the tailgate sensor to misalign, causing the 'tailgate open' warning.

I believe the rear wiper will not operate if the sensor indicates the tailgate is open.

Thanks for the reply, but where is the tailgate sensor located please ? I have replaced the latch in the bottom of the tailgate door, but are you referring to the part that the latch attaches to ?

I don't know the location of the sensor switch - are there any wire connections on the latch itself?

It might need a trawl through a manual unless anther Yeti owner can advise.

Do the trunk lights operate correctly - I.e switch off when tailgate closes?

2 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

I don't know the location of the sensor switch - are there any wire connections on the latch itself?

It might need a trawl through a manual unless anther Yeti owner can advise.

Do the trunk lights operate correctly - I.e switch off when tailgate closes?

Sadly the rear trunk light is not working either. I took it out and it had corrosion on one of the terminals. But the real problem was a small resistor I think. Why do they make life so complicated ......

There are wires running to the bottom catch on the trunk lid, but nothing on the part that sits in the door frame, but as I said above, I have already replaced the latch on the the bottom of the trunk. Thanks for your reply.

How many wire connections are there on the trunk latch?

I have seen references, in some models, to the sensor switch being incorporated in the latch itself - are you able to try manually closing the latch while the tailgate is open, to test if the 'gate open' indicator extinguishes then?

1 hour ago, Warrior193 said:

How many wire connections are there on the trunk latch?

I have seen references, in some models, to the sensor switch being incorporated in the latch itself - are you able to try manually closing the latch while the tailgate is open, to test if the 'gate open' indicator extinguishes then?

Wow!!!! Fantastic suggestion.......I don't know why I never thought of doing that , i.e. locking the tailgate manually with a screwdriver shaft.....Not only did it put the warning light on the car silhouette out , but the rear wiper is working and so too is the rear washer pump. What a result. So..... all I need to do is move the striker plate a few millimetres out from the present location and it should perhaps work......if only life was that simple. Someone has been at the large torx bolts and bu**ered up the heads of the bolts . They are large bolts for sure and it'll be interesting finding a way to get them out , and of course they will need to be replaced.

But thank you so much for your suggestion......I was beginning to think I would never find the answer........another little job will be repairing those damaged wires now, but at least I know what was the REAL reason for the lack of enthusiasm from the rear wiper and its associated washer pump.....I owe you a BIG BEER! :-))))

hehe sometimes the simplest of things eh.

16 hours ago, DogBook said:

hehe sometimes the simplest of things eh.

yes indeed, but I had already tried that idea.....but it was with the original door catch. However, when I bought the new catch I thought it would solve the problem, but it didn't so I then went looking elsewhere.....like the wiring harness up in the top left corner of the boot opening.

Today, I tried the old catch just to see if it was in fact working .....and it wasn't. So I actually had two issues, the catch and the fact it wasn't catching the bottom part on the door frame correctly.....the wiring was all a red herring BUT......it did let me discover the damaged pipe for the rear windscreen washer.......and it now turns out its damaged in other places too.....behind trim in fact , so more removing of panels in the rear of the car. BUT at least I know what the problem is , more than half the battle.

The joys.

We’ve been ran around in circles a few times with issues on our steam system. Then like you you realise something you swapped was actually faulty and it helps you fix other issues it highlights.
If it helps, I found going to Nepal and visiting Boudha Stupa very peaceful and calming away from our western problems 🤣

To close this post , as the problem was finally sorted, by moving the boot lid catch on the door frame about a quarter of an inch beyond the normal adjustment. ( rearwards towards the back of the car ) Everything works perfectly now.....happy days......especially as we seems to be having non stop rain here in the West Country so wipers , front and rear, are working overtime.

Thanks to everyone who offered help and advice.

On 20/12/2025 at 15:59, CZmate said:

I'm here asking for guidance and help as have exhausted other sources and my own knowledge .

Bought the car as a CAT S having had rear bumper damage. Not quite sure how bad it was but the car came with a removable tow ball , but nothing to fit it into. I can see the electrical plug tucked up behind the bumper ......all this just for a bit of background information.

Car runs very well and I'm VERY pleased with it, apart from not having a rear wiper or washer. The latter I can live without , but a rear wiper really is essential.

So far have replaced the rear wiper motor and also the rear tailgate latch but I still can't get power to the motor to run it.

The dash display MFD ? is showing the tailgate is open even though it is securely closed , and my question is " what factors influence the display of that tailgate message ? "......or where does the MFCD get its information from as I think the spurious information is what is causing the wiper not to work.

I have checked the wires up in the door/body rubber casing and found at least six have small breaks in the plastic covering of the wires, but no wires are actually broken .

I have removed all the tailgate interior trim to see if there is any other obvious issues with wiring , but its all hidden away inside the door skins.

My final thought was a bad earth.......but where is that located for the rear wiring and anyway if it was a bad earth, then I'm guessing none of the rear lights would work or are there separate earthing points for different electrical items ?

Slowly driving me nuts as it's really such a basic thing and yet with the wiper having so many trigger functions, i.e. column switch, selecting reverse gear with wipers on etc, I'm really at a loss where to look now.

Any help or guidance would be much appreciated......and I'm sure its not that wiring up by the tailgate left corner as the wires all look perfect.

Thanks, Frank

It's not just these wires between tailgate and car, in the left rubber.

They also having trouble in connectors behind left plastic between c and d pillar. It shorts there and causes to sign that tailgate is open etc. There you need to clean it and maybe change connectors.

Also while you are there check hose for window washing fluid. Because it happens that it breaks and fluid leaks over these connectors.