convert manual locks to power locks 1998 dakota sport
Thread Starter
|
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
convert manual locks to power locks 1998 dakota sport
Hey all, I would like to convert my 1998 dakota sports manual locks to power locks (people now a days dont remember to physically lock my door and i am tired of asking if they locked it).
I have never done this before and am wondering if anyone here has done it and could explain how? Maybe with pictures? Maybe there is another thread already explaining it?
Thanks for your help!
I have never done this before and am wondering if anyone here has done it and could explain how? Maybe with pictures? Maybe there is another thread already explaining it?
Thanks for your help!
Record Breaker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 20
From: Clermont, Florida
Welcome to the forum...
Yes it is possible, it is not hard but may not exactly be easy for you either if you have no experience with it. You can buy aftermarket door lock actuators and mount them inside the door. The actuator is just a small 2 wire reverse polarity motor with a metal rod on it that you connect to the door lock rod up near the lock plunger, or you can also connect the rods to the lock mechanism itself on the door latch assembly. When you give power and ground to the 2 wires on the actuator, it moves in one direction, which can be thought of as "lock". When you switch the power and ground on the wires around (reversing the polarity of the connections) the motor moves in the opposite direction, which can be considered "unlock". All the actuator does is mimic the operation of you physically reaching over and locking or unlocking the door.
You will need one actuator for each door, two plain old 30 amp relays and the connecting wires and hardware to install the door locks. The relays provide the reverse-polarity power and ground to the actuators. Then you will also need either a remote keyless entry system or alarm system to trigger the relays for lock or unlock, or a simpler way is to just use a 2-way momentary spring loaded toggle switch so you can pulse ground to the relays, one direction on the switch for lock, the other for unlock.
I installed door lock actuators in my truck to go along with my Viper alarm. I have also installed aftermarket actuators in my wife's Honda when her factory door lock actuators broke. I did her driver's door a few years ago, and just a couple months ago I had to do the passenger's door. The actuator I bought for her passenger door came from Crutchfield, it only cost $8.00 shipped. Most actuators at stereo shops or Best Buy cost around $20.00 to $25.00 each. Here is a link to a pic of an actuator, maybe it can give you a better idea of what they are and what they do:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_220DA1/...uator&skipvs=T
if you buy from Crutchfield they will call you up before they ship the parts to be sure you are working with a rod door lock system, and not a cable-operated system. At least they called me before shipping the part to me.
It's not hard to do but that is easy for me to say. I have a lot of experience with it. You need some mechanical aptitude and a good knowledge of wiring and relays. If you don't want to tackle it yourself, you might also check out some local independent car audio shops and see what it would cost. If you did it with a plain keyless entry and two actuators, I would guess maybe it would cost $200.00 to $250.00 installed. Installing a basic alarm with actuators would probably add about $100.00 to the price. I am just guessing at those prices though, that's about what it costs around here in Florida.
Jimmy
Yes it is possible, it is not hard but may not exactly be easy for you either if you have no experience with it. You can buy aftermarket door lock actuators and mount them inside the door. The actuator is just a small 2 wire reverse polarity motor with a metal rod on it that you connect to the door lock rod up near the lock plunger, or you can also connect the rods to the lock mechanism itself on the door latch assembly. When you give power and ground to the 2 wires on the actuator, it moves in one direction, which can be thought of as "lock". When you switch the power and ground on the wires around (reversing the polarity of the connections) the motor moves in the opposite direction, which can be considered "unlock". All the actuator does is mimic the operation of you physically reaching over and locking or unlocking the door.
You will need one actuator for each door, two plain old 30 amp relays and the connecting wires and hardware to install the door locks. The relays provide the reverse-polarity power and ground to the actuators. Then you will also need either a remote keyless entry system or alarm system to trigger the relays for lock or unlock, or a simpler way is to just use a 2-way momentary spring loaded toggle switch so you can pulse ground to the relays, one direction on the switch for lock, the other for unlock.
I installed door lock actuators in my truck to go along with my Viper alarm. I have also installed aftermarket actuators in my wife's Honda when her factory door lock actuators broke. I did her driver's door a few years ago, and just a couple months ago I had to do the passenger's door. The actuator I bought for her passenger door came from Crutchfield, it only cost $8.00 shipped. Most actuators at stereo shops or Best Buy cost around $20.00 to $25.00 each. Here is a link to a pic of an actuator, maybe it can give you a better idea of what they are and what they do:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_220DA1/...uator&skipvs=T
if you buy from Crutchfield they will call you up before they ship the parts to be sure you are working with a rod door lock system, and not a cable-operated system. At least they called me before shipping the part to me.
It's not hard to do but that is easy for me to say. I have a lot of experience with it. You need some mechanical aptitude and a good knowledge of wiring and relays. If you don't want to tackle it yourself, you might also check out some local independent car audio shops and see what it would cost. If you did it with a plain keyless entry and two actuators, I would guess maybe it would cost $200.00 to $250.00 installed. Installing a basic alarm with actuators would probably add about $100.00 to the price. I am just guessing at those prices though, that's about what it costs around here in Florida.
Jimmy
Professional
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 213
Likes: 0
you'll have to get the motors and switches either after market or dealer new door panels if you want the switches inside other wise most car starters and alarms have an aux output that is used with a relay to operate the door lock motor. some alarm manufactures make relay packs for this others you'll have to make your own. either way you do it you'll have to get the motors or acctuators
Record Breaker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 20
From: Clermont, Florida
I checked online a few minutes ago, looked at Amazon, JC Whitney and the Viper web sites. I also looked at the Spal web site. For what they charge for the "kits" you could order in the actuators either from Amazon or Crutchfield pretty cheap. Relays will cost you maybe 5 to 10 bucks each at any good parts store or Radio Shack, same for a toggle switch. You would need to spend probably $20.00 to maybe $30.00 on wire for power and ground, to and from the toggle switch and to and from the actuators themselves, a fuse holder and the connectors for the relay terminals and wire connection points. I am just guessing at those prices but my point is the "kits" don't look too good to me. You could save money buying the separate parts and get better quality to boot.
If you need or want to use a remote keyless entry unit to interface with the door locks, some parts stores do sell cheap keyless entry units but I would not trust their quality. If you want a good unit call around and find a shop that sells Viper or other Directed Electronics alarms and see if they can get you a good quality stand-alone keyless entry. There is a shop locator on www.directed.com. Directed Electronics used to have a line called Your Valet, that was just a basic keyless entry. Viper had one too. I have no idea if those are still available nowadays. If you can find a shop that sells DEI, maybe they will sell you a keyless entry system over the counter (without installation). Some shops will, some won't sell it without installation, because of dealer warranty requirements. Auto Mate is a decent brand too, it is also a DEI product, mostly intended to be installed on new cars at the dealership. If it were me I would stay away from the lesser-quality kits that are out there, but that is just my 2 cents on it.
Jimmy
If you need or want to use a remote keyless entry unit to interface with the door locks, some parts stores do sell cheap keyless entry units but I would not trust their quality. If you want a good unit call around and find a shop that sells Viper or other Directed Electronics alarms and see if they can get you a good quality stand-alone keyless entry. There is a shop locator on www.directed.com. Directed Electronics used to have a line called Your Valet, that was just a basic keyless entry. Viper had one too. I have no idea if those are still available nowadays. If you can find a shop that sells DEI, maybe they will sell you a keyless entry system over the counter (without installation). Some shops will, some won't sell it without installation, because of dealer warranty requirements. Auto Mate is a decent brand too, it is also a DEI product, mostly intended to be installed on new cars at the dealership. If it were me I would stay away from the lesser-quality kits that are out there, but that is just my 2 cents on it.
Jimmy