My 04 Dakota came without power door locks and I have a guy that will sell me everything from his 02 Dakota. Has anyone done this or would it just be easier to buy an aftermarket package.

 

It would be much easier and a whole lot cheaper too to just go with aftermarket. I am only guessing here but maybe just one OEM remote keyless entry key fob could probably cost more than the total cost of the parts it would take to do an aftermarket keyless entry system with door lock actuators.

For what it may be worth to you I was looking at the Sonic Electronix web site and they sell an Avital keyless entry system for only $32.00:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...tal-2101L.html

It's made by Directed Electronics, the same company that makes Viper and Python and it should work out fine and last a long time.

Sonic Electronix also has a page full of door lock actuators. This one here would do fine. You would need one for each door:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ga-DS-2.4.html

You would need two of these relays, one for lock and one for unlock:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...mega-AU-7.html

It is not hard at all to do an aftermarket keyless entry and door lock actuators. To do the same thing with an OEM remote keyless entry fob you would at least need the high line CTM and the wiring to connect it, plus you might need the OEM door lock/latch assemblies but maybe you could add in aftermarket actuators to your original door lock mechanisms to save hassle and money.

I have heard you can buy the OEM remote keyless entry fobs online, but I have no idea what kind of quality they are or what the reputations of the vendors might be. Plus you would have to pay the Dodge dealer to program at least one of the OEM fobs to the new CTM, programming the fob requires the use of the dealer's DRB-3 scan tool.

It's just my opinion but I think aftermarket would be a lot cheaper, a lot easier to install and much more reliable.

Edit---I forgot you said your buddy would sell you all of the parts from his Dakota. I still believe it would be a lot more reliable and much easier just to go with an aftermarket system. If you have the mechanical aptitude, automotive electrical knowledge and the right tools for the job it is not hard at all to install a good aftermarket keyless entry system. If not, you could still get it done at a good independent car audio/alarm shop. I would guess it might cost anywhere from $150.00 to maybe $200.00 or $225.00 installed, depending on where you live and what brand of keyless entry system you buy.

Another edit--now that I looked more closely at the picture of the wire harness for that Avital keyless, I can see that it has built-in relays for lock and unlock. So you would not need the external relays and it would be even simpler to install. For $32.00 that is a great deal on a good keyless entry.

Jimmy

 

Thanks for the great detailed information. I believe I will go with the aftermarket as you suggested. Even though my buddy would sell me the CTM, actuators and complete door panels for $40. I would have to pay the dealership to program the new fobs and still run all the additional wiring not to mention that since I don't have power windows either I would also have o put power windows in at least the drivers door in order to use th door panel. Thanks again for the input.

Joel

 

well ive been looking at doing the same thing for quiet a while I have most of the stuff but the bcm or ctm whatever you wanna call it the pn for the one you have now should be p56049071 and you need part number p56049072al all I can say is good luck on finding a this one ive been looking for 2 years and only thing I can find is to buy a new one if you google the part number and there is 8 listings 1 expired ebay ad 2 listings of me looking for one 3 of others looking for one and to adds for the 04 Dakota according to dodge the body wiring harness is the same for with and without power windows. so to do the swap you need the following

2-power door panels
2 switches
2-lock cylinoids
2 wiring harnesses part number p56049514ab for right and p56049515ab for left
2- window regulators
2-mirrors
1-bcm part number p56049072al

and you should be good to go

 

My CTM part # is P56049071AJ. I am not sure what the AJ or AL mean but I also took a look at the wiring that goes to the driver door and found that according to the wiring diagram not all the correct wires are there. So not only would I need the wiring harness for the door itself I would also need the wiring harness that go from the CTM to he driver and passenger door.

Definitely looks like a lot more money time and money than an aftermarket one.