Tail gate latch opening by itself

[pault2612]

The tail gate on my 2003 3 door Micra has started to activate itself and open while driving. The door does not actually come open but the door open light illuminates and the latch can be heard operating from time to time. I'm also noticing that sometimes when turning the ignition off the tail gate latch operates at the same time and open the tail gate then. Any thoughts on where to start with this? Thanks in advance, Paul

 

[Mach1]

I would start from the latch and work backwards, firstly checking the wiring/ connectors, the wiring that feeds the rear hatch electrics is prone to wiring breaks near the area that comes out of the main body of the car through the rubber boot and into the rear hatch, which can cause connection/ breaking contact faults. if all checks out look to replace the latch unit.

 

[pault2612]

I would start from the latch and work backwards, firstly checking the wiring/ connectors, the wiring that feeds the rear hatch electrics is prone to wiring breaks near the area that comes out of the main body of the car through the rubber boot and into the rear hatch, which can cause connection/ breaking contact faults. if all checks out look to replace the latch unit.

Thanks - I'll take a look at the wiring - as it seems to work without issues for a while it does have an broken connection feel to it