Hi,

im from germany and have a 98 dakota SLT clubcab.

im trying to install an aftermarket RKE system and everything is fine to one point: its just not damn opening the doors!

all the right wires were connected and i've found out that in the door's switch there is a 4.7ohm resistor integrated so i tryed to solder one in the wire for the RKE systems "open" line but it didnt works, just closes the doors instead of open it. if i do some kind of brigde with the resistor directly at the switch it will work but nothing happens down in the kick panel where i placed everything?!

can anybody help?

 

You should not need to wire any resistors with the new keyless entry unit to interface with the power door locks. Dakota's did not have the one-wire door lock system that required resistors to interface a keyless or alarm until the 2000 model year.

Your Dakota should be a basic 5 wire reverse polarity door lock wiring system. You can re-connect any door lock wires you may have cut or spliced into during your previous installation, so you can start from scratch. After that check the door lock system in the truck to be sure it still works properly.

Then, look at the 16-pin connector behind the fuse panel on the driver's side of the dash. Find the green/black door lock wire and the light green door lock wire at that 16 pin connector. Cut one of these 2 wires, and test the door lock switch on the driver's door. If your door locks stop working in either direction, you know for sure you have one of the door lock or unlock wires you need. Now temporarily re-connect back together the wire you just cut, and cut the other wire, test the door lock switch again and if they don't work in either direction then you know you have identified the other door lock (or unlock) wire.

Then it is just a simple interface with 2 Bosch SPDT relays. Assuming your keyless unit has negative pulse door lock/unlock outputs, wire them like this:

Terminals 86 and 87 on both relays go to 12 volts positive voltage
On one relay, connect terminal 85 to your door lock output wire from the RKE unit.
On that same relay connect terminal 87a to the switch side of the cut door lock wire. The switch side is easy to identify because during your initial testing of the door lock wiring, the switch side of the wire will rest at ground when you cut the door lock wire when the other lock/unlock wire is still intact (has not been cut yet). The other side of the cut wire will have neither power nor ground on it, it will be neutral because it is now just connected to the door lock motor only.
Then connect the other end of the cut door lock wire to terminal 30 on that same relay.

For the unlock wire the procedure is the same, terminal 87a to the switch side, terminal 30 to the other side of that wire. Connect the door unlock output wire from the keyless to terminal 85 on this same relay.

You would want to be sure to fuse the positive inputs to the relays at about 20 amps. When I used to do this type of door lock interface I always ran the power wires for the relays to the positive battery terminal, or you can pick it up at the positive terminal at the Power Distribution Center, either one will do fine. Be sure to install a fuse within 6 inches of the battery terminal or PDC connection. This is so that if the power wire ever were to short out to ground, it woyuld just pop the fuse instead of the wire getting super hot and possible causing a fire. You can also connect power at the battery + wire on the ignition switch wire harness too, just be sure to make a good solid and well-insulated connection there and fuse it properly.

Hope this helps you.

Jimmy

 

did the truck come from the factory with keyless entry? (maybe the key fob got lost or broken). also, does your keyless have a (+) or a (-) output? if it did come with a factory keyless you must do what 01silver said above, if it didnt come with keyless you just do a straight (+) pulse to the lock/unlock wires in the truck.

lock is orange/violet or green/black.(+) you will not need to cut this wire for either setup, (i.e. with or without factory keyless)
unlock is pink/violet. if it has factory keyless, you must 5 wire. if not, a straight (+) off of your keyless unit.

 

the truck has no factory RKE, and yes its positive triggered, locking works fine, but i found out that simply bridging the positive to the orange-purple locks it, but on unlocking to pink-purple it doesnt come up so i measured the switch inside which sits in the door panel and it has a 4.7ohm "resistance". then i tryed to bridge it with a suitable resistor: ITS WORKING!

but then i soldered the 4.7ohm resistor into the positiv trigger line of the RKE unit and it doesnt work, i've also tried some lower resistors but nothing unlocks...this is the point where i cant get a clue. maybe the whole system (positive line, fuse, unit, line out of unit) has a resistance higher than 4.7ohm so it always locks instead of unlocking?!

 

None of the wiring info I have says anything about using resistors for unlock in a pre-2000 Dakota. Does the keyless have on board relays? Whether it does or not, what happens if you wire a relay to send a straight 12 volt positive trigger to the unlock pink-purple wire? Maybe try a test with pulsing 12 volts to that wire, see if it unlocks. Use a fuse in line on the test lead to avoid damaging the door lock system.

Jimmy

 

right, you should not need a resister on your truck. http://www.bulldogsecurity.com/diagr...BS%20UNITS.pdf . try this diagram and see if it helps. this is the only site i use without needing a password.
the top digram is if your keyless does not have on board relays, the bottom is if it does. what brand of rke are you using? the rke in the diagram is for the bulldog security rke. so the wire colors may be different than yours

 

This web site has a chart a little ways down the page where you can look up wiring for any type of car. They have very good info on all aspects of car security, cruise controls, relays, diodes, car audio, sub enclosures, you name it. It's all free too, no passwords or login needed.

http://www.the12volt.com/

Bulldog is a good site too, it has been around for a long time.

Edit: I guess I should add that the 12volt.com is free to read what others have posted. You can read posts, read all the charts and info from the categories on the home page and all that is free. If you want to post a question, tip, trick or idea in their forum you will need to register and create a password. But that is still free, they don't charge any membership fees or anything.

Jimmy

 

The RKE system is a car guard premium system, it has internal relays, i also tryed to simply put the pink-purple on a constant 12volt...nothing happens.

the thing is with the resistor, it works perfect up on the connector in the door panel, but somehow down in the kickpanel where i connected the RKE unit it doesnt work with this. in my opinion the resistance of the whole RKE circuit is above those 4.7ohm so it doesnt recognize the signal right.

my next idea would be to do a 5-wire setup directly in the door panel where i take the 12volts, send it through a relay to the pink-purple with a resistor in line and trigger the whole thing with the open wire of the RKE unit, so it should keep minimal wire lengths and connector amounts?!

 

I think at this point you might call the manufacturer of the keyless entry system and see if they have a technical assistance line that might be able to help you. Or if you bought the keyless from a car audio/alarm shop maybe see if they can help you with it. You should not need to use any resistors in this type of door lock interface. Something is not right somewhere in your door lock circuit.

Jimmy

 

you can do the 5wire setup right in the kick panel. the resistor is just connecting the circuit at the switch, its not using the resistance. for some reason this is being a little more complicated than it should be. im also thinkin ur truck has factoty rke and you didnt know. i would find a shop near you who can help.