Thanks for the reply.<br /> The wires are both 14ga. I kinda figured one for up , one for down on power. I am puzzled about the ground though. One end of the lift is plastic on the mount , and the other is plastic with a steel sleeve over it.(The Rod part of the lift)<br /> Do you think it is setup to ground off of the steel sleeve? Or what are your thoughts on the dang thing?<br /> Thanks again for the help. . With that said, is there an electronics control box of any sort? Or is this just a couple of wires going to a motor assembly?<br /><br />It is possible that this came with a controller that you did not get. The controller would reverse the polarity of the power to the motor using the same two wires to make it go the other direction. And what's more, it may have had overload protection to automatically stop the motor when it shuts or fully opens. Without it, you may damage the transmission inside the thing (assume it has some kind of gear system). And of course, you could trap someone's hand, foot, etc. This also explains why the colors are what they are (instead of black, red, etc.).<br /><br />Here is what I would do. Without load, the unit should not require much power. I would go get a 5 to 10 amp 12v power supply from Radio Shack or wherever (a non-smart battery charger may do also that is rated at this much current). Hook up the ground to one of the wires. And then touch the other wire to the other lead for a second or so and see what happens. If it operates, then reverse the wires and do this one more time and see if it goes in the other direction. If this goes right, then you know that these are indeed the power lines.<br /><br />Of course, the above could damage the unit in the process (especially if it has a built-in controller and you have the polarity wrong) but if you do not keep the wires connected for long, the chances of that happening is low.<br /><br />The other thing you can do, is get an ohm meter and see what resistance you get from ground to each wire. If you get nothing or very high value (in mega ohms), either the chasis is not ground or you have an internal controller. Also check the resistance between the wires. If you get something really high (kilo ohms or higher), then they are not going directly to the motor and I would not try the above experiment.<br /><br />Sorry I can't help you more specifically. Kind of difficult to figure these things out in person let alone remotely .<br /><br />Report back with what you find and maybe we can figure this thing out...<br /><br />Amir <br /> Got it figured out. You were right reverse polarity on the wires for in or out on the lift. <br /> Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I sure didn't want to burn it up before it was even installed.<br /> Thanks a million! <br /> New problem. I can't figure out how to wire the lift so as to reverse polarity thru the switch. Is a relay of some sort needed for this install or am I missing something all together?<br /> Any place I might get a wire diagram from?<br /> Thanks 
.<br /><br />You can get as fancy as you like in this area. The simplest method is a Double-Pole, Double-Throw switch. Here is a nice diagram of how to turn this into a reversing switch for Motor Control: http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/switch.htm <br /><br />Note that you need to get a switch that is rated for the full current rating of the motor plus a good safety margin. Otherwise, it will self destruct in short order.<br /><br />Fancier system would be with a momentary switch. Here is a good schematic: http://www.uashem.com/pageid-150.html. Probably more than you want to get into. So here is one already built for less than $80: http://texasindustrialelectric.com/relays_24450.asp. <br /><br />BTW, with all of this, you still have the problem I mentioned above. Namely, as soon as the hatch closes, it will stop the motor, causing immense amount of current going through its windings. If don't have a circuit breaker to protect it, the motor will self destruct. If you do have a breaker, it will pop.<br /><br />Unfortunately, a controller that senses the current going through the motor and shuts it off is beyond simple instructions that I can give here. However, it could be adopted only to the push-button circuit above. Basically, you would put a small resistor inline with the motor and use the voltage created across it as the shut off mechanism (probably way more than you wanted to know ).<br /><br />Let me know if you want the protection circuit above and I will see if I can research it more and find a ready made solution.<br /><br />Finally, others may make the solenoid above. I found that source through web search....<br /><br />Amir Solved with a simple switch and relay setup. Btw, if configuring the covers switch in series with the directional control switch, your control switch can be much smaller, sized for the relays triggering demand and not the motors demand. There are a lot of good bargains on relays on Ebay. I just got a new 24vdc, 120vac/30amp marine-grade relay for $5. MSRP is about $120.<br /><br />If you decide to go for a relay, they come in two flavors; NO (normally open) the contacts are open/no current when there is no triggering voltage, and NC (normally closed) the contacts are closed/current is flowing when there is no triggering voltage. You want a NO relay.
