$10 DIY Power Lock Tailgate

Post 1 has the write up on it.

 

I need more explanation than that. And what are the pieces used to attach wire into exsisting wire. Like you’re showing a 5 year old.

I have everything else done. Just need major assistance on the wire part. I don’t want to fry any wire on my truck

 

I understand. I am kind of the same way. I would like to watch someone do it correctly vs looking at pictures and reading instructions. Especially on wiring. Have you watched the pop n lock installs on YouTube. It's virtually the same and I am sure you will get a better parts list.
Actuator
Wire
Wire taps
Wire loom
Small piece of wood and mounting hardware.

 

I’ll check that out. I just need to know what the wiretaps are and how to do them. Thanks.

 

https://youtu.be/dpDAzi7fYY8

 

Did mine a couple weeks ago and followed Meso's idea of rubbing wire to the drivers side B pillar. There's a plastic grommet that i drilled and put my wire through then siliconed and hit it with plastidip because why not.

 

I took some inspiration from all of the posts here and came up with my own implementation which i'm very happy with. I used

$19 Directed Electronics Install Essentials 524N High Power Door Lock Motor

this actuator since its the same one used for the pop&lock and bent some aluminum i had laying around to create a bracket to mount the actuator on. Overall its very clean with less moving parts. Hope this helps anyone who is planning to undertake the project.



I enlarged the hole slightly in the white plastic to allow the round pin to move freely.



i ran it to the passenger side harness panel and tapped into the same wires that pop&lock suggest. I also managed to squeeze the wire into the same grommet where this harness is going to and didnt need to make any more holes in the bottom of my truck.

 

Thanks @mesojdm and to everyone else that shared their installations and knowledge. This saved me a bunch of time not having to figure all this out as I go. Finished it in about an hour this afternoon. Now I can make fun of my ford buddies for not having soft opening tailgates.

 

Thanks for the suggestion and pics, I set mine up the same way and it works great!

 

isn't there a concern that the pin will pop out at the top of the actuator?.......is it long enough to protrude far enough where it won't cont out with movement?

 

No concerns for me. If you really wanted you can use a cotter pin to ensure it doesn’t move. I think there may be enough “meat” on the pin do it.

 

how far does the pin stick out/up?

 

I shaved off some of the base of the actuator arm so that it would drop all the way down on the pin. If you position the actuator at the correct level, there is not enough play in the arm for it to lift off of the pin. I used a wood block to mount the actuator and it took a few tries to get it to the proper thickness. The pin sticks up about 1/8” over the top of the actuator arm.

 

thanks...that was what i wanted to here.....i was concerned if the actuator hole was thicker and that would make it easier to come pff, but if it is sticking out by ⅛", that should be enough

 

any idea how tall that aluminum spacer bracket you made is, that spaces the actuator from the tailgate surface? Awesome job, I am going to duplicate yours. I could just wait and measure when I do it, but if I knew the height of that spacer, I could make it at work better than I could at home.

 

ill take some measurements this weekend and post them here.

The bracket is 62mm. Sorry for using metric but that’s the caliper I have.

 

awesome, thanks!!!

 

ready to do this mod, anyone have the cheap actuator fail so the tailgate wont open, or if it fails, can you use the key to override it? Or can you pull the tailgate cover off with the tailgate closed?

 

The key would still operate the lock.