Pop and Lock PL8521 Power Tailgate Install (2012 Tacoma)

Nice call with the extra bar to brace up the solenoid. If you get a pic of that sometime would like to see it. Not sure why you would randomly take an additional pic, but maybe if you find that origianl one. Thanks for the idea share.

 

Glad it worked out for you without having to damage anything in the process! You really dodged a bullet by not reinstalling the composite cover.

 

No problem and you're welcome. Glad to see it worked out okay.

Actually, you don't have to permanently remove any of the plastic pieces securing the existing wiring to the tailgate or truck. Instead, I removed the plastic split-sleeve covering the Pop and Lock wires and then inserted those wires into the split-sleeve covering the back-up camera's wiring.

Afterwards, I was able to easily refit the plastic parts holding that wiring (w/sleeves) as it enters or exits the tailgate or truck.

Now all the wiring is well covered and well secured to the truck and tailgate.

 

I took a similar approach, but cut away the outer sleeve of the existing harness from were it stopped inside the tailgate to a point just past where the clip secures under the truck. Then tucked the smaller sleeve that was inside the one I cut off inside the sleeve that had the pop n lock wires in it. For whatever reason the back up camera wire had two sleeves over it. So as I am sure you figured out, you can remove all the wire retentions and after your method or mine, use them to secure both wires back like normal.

As to the other fiasco about having the tailgate stuck in the locked position, I am curious now if I shouldn't fabricate some kind of emergency manual unlock in case the solenoid ever goes bad or something of that nature. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

I'm just not that worried about it. Similar solenoids are commonly used for vehicle door locks and the overall locking mechanism surrounding that is fairly simple, suggesting the whole thing should be reasonably reliable.

However, if push ever comes to shove (the tailgate is locked with absolutely no access), desperate measures (busting the lock on a tonneau cover, etc) will surely get it open. Of course, I don't have a tonneau cover, which eliminates that worry. With enough time, I can remove enough of the torx screws holding the interior panel to get sufficient access to the locking mechanism.

 

Well I hadn't wired it up yet, which I did this weekend. So here is the pic of the additional brace.


I am getting some interference when it is unlocked, have to rattle the handle to get it to slide up a bit more. I think I am going to go in there with a grinder to open it up a bit more.

 

If you have the Tonneau cover like I do, just bend the end of a hanger (or small metal rod) to create a hook at the end, slip it through the side your cable is on and try to catch the emergency handle.

I tried this AND grabbing the actual cable and it released with no problem. It wasn't that I was stuck, more trying to figure out what to do if I locked my keys in the bed. If you don't have a hanger handy, you can pry the cover high enough to slip your hand in, but you will do some damage to either the clips, rails, or your arm.

As for the pop-and-lock... You can definitely get to all of the screws on the tail-gate while it is up. It may be painful trying to slip the cover off, but you can at least get to it without breaking stuff.

Essentially, the F1 Tonneau cover I have isn't all that secure which is a bit of a disappointment, but after really thinking about it, it has enough security to prevent a quick theft in a packed parking lot, but flexible enough to break into if I get stuck.

 

Got mine installed. Super happy. Used a combo of some suggestions (sponge, feeding the wires into the sleeve without totally removing the plastic plug from the bottom of the tailgate where they pass through, extra white lithium grease). I must say, it turned out better than a pro would've done it. Thanks to this thread! I wouldn't have had a clue which wires to tap into without this info.
Aside from me locking myself out of my own tailgate and having to break into my own new tonneau cover... It went really smooth LOL.
I'll post some pics later once I figure out how in here (<noob)
Thanks again.

 

Mine is on the way and I'm looking forward to putting this write up to good use as soon as it gets here. Hope I've got the patience to pull it all off. Thanks.

 

WOW, I want to thank you guys! I was trying to install one of these, and I installed the solenoid, no prob. Ran the wires, no prob. But the wire colors they say to use were not there! Commander's chart was WRONG. BOTH ways I found Pop & Lock saying to do it was wrong. Tech support... said use a meter to find the right wires or call the dealer (This is Saturday afternoon, no dice). YOU GUYS NAILED IT!!! 5 minutes after reading this, and I had it working! THANK YOU!!! Now to go button it up...

 

Thanks for the write up! Installed it in about 1.5 hours (including a trip to the store because I only had one wire splice on hand) this evening.

Your pictures of which wire bundle to start looking for the wires for helped!

 

Great write up. I must do this!

 

I just put mine in today. Instead of coiling all the extra wiring I just cut both of my cables to length. In the tailgate I cut off the connectors and soldered the wires together and then ran the plastic sleeve all the way to the actuator. So no wires are exposed or coiled in the tailgate.

Behind the kick panel I cut the wires since the kit came with a second set of crimp on plugs. Once the wires were cut to length I put on the new plugs and hooked them up. No wires coiled under the truck. I would probably go with the earlier suggestion of changing out the splice connectors if I had it to do again...

Since I had my new cover out, I used some of the foam packaging behind the actuator to reduce the vibration sound. I'm glad the noise issue was brought up in this thread, it would have driven me crazy.

I'm glad I did it before I put my step bars on and with very few miles. Better clearance getting under the truck and everything was still nice and clean.

It is a quick install. I was able to put on my new cover, step bars and new pop and lock all before 1 pm today. And before this morning I had never even removed a kick plate before... But between reading these forums and surfing for pictures before the install it was a breeze.

Thanks for posting all the great info in these forums!

 

question before I order one, with the 4 door cab do I need to order the extention harness?

 

No.

 

I installed this on my DC and had more than enough cable to reach all the way around the entire truck. You'll want to trim some of the extra slack off where you can. It does come with a short pigtail for disconnect if you ever need to remove your tailgate.

 

Installed mine last night . Thanks to the great write up and all the other Suggestions in this thread. I would have been lost with the directions it came with. They were very limited. Thank you all!

 

Glad the write up helped and continues to help TW members. Went through all the pages and there are great suggestions that have been brought up to improve and ease the install.

 

I just ordered mine. Are these the same wires as the 2011? Thanks

 

I just installed mine using the instructions from this thread. Great write up!

One change I made was with the rubber plug going into the cab. Instead of cutting an "X" in it I drilled a hole with my drill press. A 3/8" bit gave just enough of an opening to get the wiring in the sleeve through while keeping a solid seal. The rubber stretched while the bit went through then shrunk up so the end result isn't as big as the bit itself.