The 1991 240 wagon my son drives has developed an electrical issue.

It appears to be a short in the hinge area of the tailgate where (on the passenger side) a wire has been completely severed.

It began with a persistent "light out" dashboard warning when the brakes were applied. A mechanic removed the center brake light bulb to stop the warning light, but then the rear wiper stopped working, so I replaced the bulb, replaced one of the license plate lights and fixed a rusted wire connector on that light.

When I tested the lights and wiper with the tailgate open, all worked fine, but when I closed the gate the center brake light came on only when my foot was off the brake, the wiper stopped working, and the rear defrost light in the dash came on.

My son couldn't get the car to idle with the tailgate closed, but open the gate and it idles fine.

Once I noticed the severed wire in the hinge I was puzzled as to how to get into that area to splice or repair the wire to see if that fixed these issues.

Any suggestions?

Kyle Swisher