$10 DIY Power Lock Tailgate

Parts used:
12V Actuator (search Amazon/ebay/etc) ~$5
15ft power/ground wire ~$5

Step1:
Bent metal bar to hook from the actuator to tailgate;


Step2:
Drill hole in tailgate lock plastic(to the left of the orange connector)


Step4(optional)
Because the actuators are so noisy, I built an enclosure to dampen the sound(ABS plastic)
Then covered the inside with sound deadening. This helps A LOT



Step5
Position actuator box, mark holes and bolt it in


inside view;


Put a piece of sound deadening over the holes. More can't hurt!


Step6:
Route the wires. I followed the OEM camera wires.



then ran them up the drivers side and into the grommet right behind the drivers seat on the floor.

Step7:
Pop off B pillar panel, find the harness going to rear drivers door. The 2 wire colors are pink/red and pink/green. Tap these 2 and plug your actuator in. I choose tapping off the rear because I drive the truck 99% of the time and only unlock the drivers door. 2 button presses, and it will unlock the rest of the doors/tailgate.


Good luck!!

 

Pics don't work....

 

I can see pics fine.

 

Very cool!

 

Awesome write up! Thanks!

 

awesome, might have to try this! thanks

 

Very good information and write-up. Thank for taking the time to share this!

 

Hey @mesojdm you have any plans to make this into a ready to install kit that you can sell to other tacomaworld members? Looks like you did a great job and I like the idea of tapping into the rear doors for the lock/unlock feature.

 

^ Probably not. It's not too hard if you are somewhat mechanically inclined. If not, Pop-N-lock sells the kit but its $100+.

 

Pics don't work.

Edit: They don't work in the Tapatalk app, but do on website.

 

Or shop around and you can get it on ebay and Amazon for $85 shipped.

Really cool DIY.

I would definitely give this a go if I didn't already purchase the P&L.

 

Subd. Thanks a lot OP

 

Sub

 

Nice job - beats paying MSRP for a pop n lock.

Speaking of, my pop n lock is extremely noisy, and putting sound deadening in the tailgate is an idea I'm going to steal from you.

 

OP, do you think something like this can be rigged to automate my caps lock? I have an ARE Overlander cap, it only has manual locking features, I want to automate like this.

 

The difference with a cap is it's actuating two locking bars, so more torque is needed than a simple actuator for a lock. Tracing the circuit, tapping into the wire, and adding an actuator will definitely work the same in your cap as it would in a tailgate. But again, the needed torque is higher for the latching mechanism on the camper top.

It will probably work if you grease the latch and long pins. You certainly won't know until you try!

 

Which actuator did you get exactly? I'd like to get the same one you used. Awesome write up btw!

 

@mesojdm Making TW members feel shitty about their DIY capabilities since 2015

 

I have the same question. I can't find the actuator OP used.

 

I found this one for $12.