Power Tailgate Lock Installed
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Power Tailgate Lock Installed
OK, it is in and working..not as easy as I would have liked, but not that hard either. The instructions are not bad, and I will only add information where the reality is different from the instructions...
This the Pop & Lock Power Tailgate Lock purchased at http://www.truckaccessorizer.comfor $79.95 (free shipping).
It looks pretty sturdy, appears to be constructed out of 1/16th to 1/8th inch stainless steel. The bolt which 'locks' the gate is in center with the cutout square. Just to the left is a brace, along the side there is a spring mounted latch which catches in the hole to 'lock' thebolt in place so you can't put your finger in there to just push it back.
Be carful removing the outer bezel on the tailgate, the snaps holding them in place break easy (I broke one of the lower ones).
To release the rods you need a flathead screwdriver to remove the clips, they then swing away and the rods pop out. The handle should then come out easily They are even color coded so you can't put it together wrong (I don't how as the handle would then be backwards..).
Remove the front kickpanel, lower B pillar cover, and rear scuff plate. Despite what the instructions say, you need toaccess the wires under the B pillare so we cantap into them. The harness goes by the pillar and splits, one goes along the floor and the other goes up. Find the harness that goes up the B pillar. Locate the light green and tan/orange wire (don't know why it looks so orange in the pic, but it more tan than orange). While these clips are 'ok' they are not great, you may need to use a knife to shave away some of the insulation to ensure a good contact. Alternately you could solder the wires and use shrink wrap. But I'm lazy and I just used these.
There is drain hole dead center at the bottom of the tailgate, I used a clothes hanger to snake the smalllength of wire down to thedrail hole from the to the topso Icould get the connectionsdown and out.
Insert the Pop & Lock into the hole, the actuator goes to the driver's side and the mounting plate should be flush against the back of the tailgate. Reinsert the handle and connect the rod you removed earlier.
Here you can see the lock in the tailgate behind the latch. The actuator is behind themetal plate to the left so if the bezel is removed, you still can't get to anything. This is the PITA part... partially screw in the bottom bolt to kinda hold everything together. There is no hole in the Pop & Lock for the bottom screw. You need to slidethe lock as far over to the right (passenger side) as you can. The throw on the bolt is not that long and if it is not installed far enough over, there is enough play in the handle to allow you to still open the tailgate when it is 'locked'.
Connect the short wire to the long wire and snake it up to the front of the truck. For this you can just follow the OEM wiring harness.
I found no easy place to route the harness back into the truck. From inside the truck, just to the left of the steering column there is a wire/cable (have no clue what it is) that goes outside. Pull on the rubber boot and it slides right out giving you easy access. I did not run the wires up the boot as it is a *very * snug at the bottom end, I just cut the loom and pushed it back and slid the rubber plug back into place.
Run the wire along the OEM harness and make your connections, I had barely enough wire to make it this far. I guess if I needed to, I could have pulled some of the short wire harness from the tailgate to make it reach. Test to make sure that it locks when it is supposed to, if not, you may have to flip your connection.Put everything back together,go back under the truck and use the zip ties in a couple of places to hold everything in place, and you are done.
NOTE that your handle will now stick out a tad further than it used to as it is now sitting on the mounting plate.
It took me way longer than it should have because I was trying to find the wires in theinstructions behindthe kickpanel. WhenI finally called tech support theygave meseveral wire combinations to try, but they were adamat that I had to tie into the harness behind the B pillar.
This the Pop & Lock Power Tailgate Lock purchased at http://www.truckaccessorizer.comfor $79.95 (free shipping).
It looks pretty sturdy, appears to be constructed out of 1/16th to 1/8th inch stainless steel. The bolt which 'locks' the gate is in center with the cutout square. Just to the left is a brace, along the side there is a spring mounted latch which catches in the hole to 'lock' thebolt in place so you can't put your finger in there to just push it back.
Be carful removing the outer bezel on the tailgate, the snaps holding them in place break easy (I broke one of the lower ones).
To release the rods you need a flathead screwdriver to remove the clips, they then swing away and the rods pop out. The handle should then come out easily They are even color coded so you can't put it together wrong (I don't how as the handle would then be backwards..).
Remove the front kickpanel, lower B pillar cover, and rear scuff plate. Despite what the instructions say, you need toaccess the wires under the B pillare so we cantap into them. The harness goes by the pillar and splits, one goes along the floor and the other goes up. Find the harness that goes up the B pillar. Locate the light green and tan/orange wire (don't know why it looks so orange in the pic, but it more tan than orange). While these clips are 'ok' they are not great, you may need to use a knife to shave away some of the insulation to ensure a good contact. Alternately you could solder the wires and use shrink wrap. But I'm lazy and I just used these.
There is drain hole dead center at the bottom of the tailgate, I used a clothes hanger to snake the smalllength of wire down to thedrail hole from the to the topso Icould get the connectionsdown and out.
Insert the Pop & Lock into the hole, the actuator goes to the driver's side and the mounting plate should be flush against the back of the tailgate. Reinsert the handle and connect the rod you removed earlier.
Here you can see the lock in the tailgate behind the latch. The actuator is behind themetal plate to the left so if the bezel is removed, you still can't get to anything. This is the PITA part... partially screw in the bottom bolt to kinda hold everything together. There is no hole in the Pop & Lock for the bottom screw. You need to slidethe lock as far over to the right (passenger side) as you can. The throw on the bolt is not that long and if it is not installed far enough over, there is enough play in the handle to allow you to still open the tailgate when it is 'locked'.
Connect the short wire to the long wire and snake it up to the front of the truck. For this you can just follow the OEM wiring harness.
I found no easy place to route the harness back into the truck. From inside the truck, just to the left of the steering column there is a wire/cable (have no clue what it is) that goes outside. Pull on the rubber boot and it slides right out giving you easy access. I did not run the wires up the boot as it is a *very * snug at the bottom end, I just cut the loom and pushed it back and slid the rubber plug back into place.
Run the wire along the OEM harness and make your connections, I had barely enough wire to make it this far. I guess if I needed to, I could have pulled some of the short wire harness from the tailgate to make it reach. Test to make sure that it locks when it is supposed to, if not, you may have to flip your connection.Put everything back together,go back under the truck and use the zip ties in a couple of places to hold everything in place, and you are done.
NOTE that your handle will now stick out a tad further than it used to as it is now sitting on the mounting plate.
It took me way longer than it should have because I was trying to find the wires in theinstructions behindthe kickpanel. WhenI finally called tech support theygave meseveral wire combinations to try, but they were adamat that I had to tie into the harness behind the B pillar.
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Joined: Nov 2005
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From: miami, fl.
RE: Power Tailgate Lock Installed
looks good. Im glad somebody finally got one of these so now i know what im in for when i get it. I was wondering if you could get a picture of the handle all together so that we can see the gap that you were talking about. Also with you having installed one of these is there any way to override the lock if the actuator fails? Meaning would their be any way to set up a manual release? thanks
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RE: Power Tailgate Lock Installed
ORIGINAL: mikey111k
looks good. Im glad somebody finally got one of these so now i know what im in for when i get it. I was wondering if you could get a picture of the handle all together so that we can see the gap that you were talking about. Also with you having installed one of these is there any way to override the lock if the actuator fails? Meaning would their be any way to set up a manual release? thanks
looks good. Im glad somebody finally got one of these so now i know what im in for when i get it. I was wondering if you could get a picture of the handle all together so that we can see the gap that you were talking about. Also with you having installed one of these is there any way to override the lock if the actuator fails? Meaning would their be any way to set up a manual release? thanks
As far as an overide,I don't think so. Once you install it, there is a metal plate covering the top and front of the actuator. It sits high up in the gate, so you can't get your finger in over the top. When I dig into the handle this weekend, I will take a pic showing how it sits, the one presently there is without it being bolted together. As I mentioned in the post, the bolt has a spring loaded latch to keep it closed...I mean you could try to install a wire or some such to try and pull the bolt back, but if you make it easy for you, you make it easy for someone else. I mean the packaging specifically states
[*]The TAMPERPROOF® line with a proprietary interlock that cannot be reset by hand - a crucial security feature for GM and Dodge trucks that have an easily removable tailgate handle trim piece.
However, if you go with the Pace Edwards, it may have a different setup...
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Joined: Mar 2012
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From: North Carolina
Wow. I've been looking for something like your post for a while. Thanks for sharing. Any chance you took any video of the wiring portion or some extra photos that show the wider shot of where the wiring needs to happen? I've never messed with wiring and am not sure I'll cut/connect where I need to in the cab.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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From: IL
Not sure if bringing this old thread back to life is a good idea or not BUT I did this installation last night and I used the wires in the A pillar (the one at the drivers feet) not the B pillar to tap in the wiring. The colors given were correct for my 2005 Dakota but the green wire went to the TAN not green on green (this was unlocking when locking). I also found by using all ten of my fingernails I could pry up on the bottom of the bezel and get it to come out with no broken tabs.
