Power door lock
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Power door lock
The trucks are not pre-wired for power door locks, you will be in the market fora power door lock kit with keyless entry function. Here are a few of my observations/comments after having performed this job on an 04 and 07 Quadcab.
1) Dont bother shopping locally for the parts, I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metrolplex and couldn't find anyone that would let a kit go for less than 100.00.
2)There are two types of installations, one in which you wire up the relays, or one in which you buy a kit that comes with a black box "brain" that has micro-relays already built into it. I would stronly suggest the second option as I am real weak on installing relays....
3) Get it on Ebay - Read the sales description CAREFULLY as some kits do not include the keyless entry module or they are soooo super cheap you wonder if they will surive shipping alone...
4) Now getting to the nitty gritty. Make sure that you have plenty of wire for the long runs needed to both back doors, typically in 99.9% of the kits you buy on ebay that stock length of wire is not going to make it. You will want to use quality connectors for any splicing that you perform.
5) When you get to the point of running the wires through the door and into the interior of the cab of the truck you will find that there are connectors in place within the rubber cable cover, you will have to drill through the connector at a spot where there isn't already a lead for the door speakers or door ajar sensors. Also to make life much easier just cut the rubber wire cover about half way so that you can fish the wire through easier, don't cut it completely just enough to see what you are doing.
6) Actuator installation- Now the fun begins, you have to always be mindful of the window mechanisms that go up and down and clearance for your new actuator, also double check that the final installation area of the actuator does not interfere with the plastic hooks on the door panel (Trust me once you remove the door panel you tend to forget that it will be going on later). I did my full install only to find out that the panel hooks were using a couple of the holes where the actuator was now in use - so i cut the plastic hooks off the door panel [:-]. Ah well I don't think it really needed 6 hooks anyways.
7) Wire everything up on the floor of the drivers area and test BEFORE installing things in a concealed fashion, also be sure you have used a volt-meter to triple check the electical lines you are tapping into, or to be ultra safe run your own power line direct from the battery with an inline fuse. A test light supposedly is no longer sufficient as it "can damage the onboard computer".
8) Enjoy!!! Take your time, both jobs took me no less than 12 hours of labor A PIECE. on the 04 i had bought a cheapy kit and after a year the one of the actuators started malfunctioning. on the 07 i spenta couple of extra bucks to get quality chinese parts
if that is possible...
1) Dont bother shopping locally for the parts, I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metrolplex and couldn't find anyone that would let a kit go for less than 100.00.
2)There are two types of installations, one in which you wire up the relays, or one in which you buy a kit that comes with a black box "brain" that has micro-relays already built into it. I would stronly suggest the second option as I am real weak on installing relays....
3) Get it on Ebay - Read the sales description CAREFULLY as some kits do not include the keyless entry module or they are soooo super cheap you wonder if they will surive shipping alone...
4) Now getting to the nitty gritty. Make sure that you have plenty of wire for the long runs needed to both back doors, typically in 99.9% of the kits you buy on ebay that stock length of wire is not going to make it. You will want to use quality connectors for any splicing that you perform.
5) When you get to the point of running the wires through the door and into the interior of the cab of the truck you will find that there are connectors in place within the rubber cable cover, you will have to drill through the connector at a spot where there isn't already a lead for the door speakers or door ajar sensors. Also to make life much easier just cut the rubber wire cover about half way so that you can fish the wire through easier, don't cut it completely just enough to see what you are doing.
6) Actuator installation- Now the fun begins, you have to always be mindful of the window mechanisms that go up and down and clearance for your new actuator, also double check that the final installation area of the actuator does not interfere with the plastic hooks on the door panel (Trust me once you remove the door panel you tend to forget that it will be going on later). I did my full install only to find out that the panel hooks were using a couple of the holes where the actuator was now in use - so i cut the plastic hooks off the door panel [:-]. Ah well I don't think it really needed 6 hooks anyways.
7) Wire everything up on the floor of the drivers area and test BEFORE installing things in a concealed fashion, also be sure you have used a volt-meter to triple check the electical lines you are tapping into, or to be ultra safe run your own power line direct from the battery with an inline fuse. A test light supposedly is no longer sufficient as it "can damage the onboard computer".
8) Enjoy!!! Take your time, both jobs took me no less than 12 hours of labor A PIECE. on the 04 i had bought a cheapy kit and after a year the one of the actuators started malfunctioning. on the 07 i spenta couple of extra bucks to get quality chinese parts
if that is possible...
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Best place to mount actuators?
Thank you for such a detailed to do list for the keyless entry install. I was wondering if you may be able to discribe (since I'm sure you don't have a photo) where you mounted your actuators? I have a 2004 Dakota and it has the type of lock that slides left to right not up and down and I am having a heck of a time figuring our where to mount these buggers. Thanks for any more advice you can provide!
Record Breaker
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,810
Likes: 105
From: PA
I swapped from manual locks to power locks on my 04 2500 regular cab. All I did was buy a remote control from amazon for $13 that included 2 remotes. Then I went to the local junk yard and pulled the door actuators from a power door truck, and grabbed the harness while I was in there. I added two wires to my non power harness, ran them through my factory harness connector and into the cab and over to the remote control unit. Works great, no problems. I probably spent $10 per actuator, and $5 per door harness (I took inside the door and cut and took the connect inside the truck). So for mine it was like $43.
I see that the unit I bought isn't available on amazon, but you could probably pick any of those with good reviews.
When I bought the remote control kit, I wanted small remotes... this unit looks like it might be the same one.
I see that the unit I bought isn't available on amazon, but you could probably pick any of those with good reviews.
When I bought the remote control kit, I wanted small remotes... this unit looks like it might be the same one.
Last edited by fj5gtx; May 23, 2020 at 01:22 AM.
