Adding Power locks to Jeep JK (OEM and aftermarket) Part 1

[2ndchance]

Awhile back I started a project on installing Power Locks onto my 4-door JK. The intended end result was to have a Viper 1002 Alarm/Keyless entry with secondary perimeter sensor. I didn't want door lock switches inside the cab, so I figured it would be pretty easy.

Installing aftermarket actuators proved more difficult than I expected. It wasn't hard, just took a lot more "logic" than I anticipated. But, at a cost of only $15 for both doors, the savings was hard to pass up.

The rear doors, however, were a no-go. There was just NO ROOM for an aftermarket actuator. So, I had to order OEM ones to get the job done. This set me back $165 for the actuators and wiring harness.

Here's the write up.

WIRING

The front and rear actuators are two-wire. That means that "something" has to reverse the polarity to make it lock or unlock. This is usually done via RELAYS. My Viper 1002 has built-in relays. If you are doing just a keyless entry unit, it should have one built in, as well. The wires on the system would be marked "Door (+) and Door (-)". The system will automatically reverse the polarity when locking and unlocking.

I pre-wired my A-pillars and B-pillars. I used a red wire for my (+) connector and a black wire for my (-) connector. At each pillar, I soldered disconnectors to the wire. This way, I can remove the doors when I feel like it.

The Left B-pillar wires tapped into the Left A-pillar wires. Simple setup that works. A quick diagram, in case you need it.




FRONT DOORS

These "before" images are of the front-LEFT door. Both doors installed the same way. The pictures were taken during my research time. I was in such a rush to get the job done, I forgot to take "after photos". So, please excuse the crude drawings. If you don't know how to remove the door panels, I can refer you to this link from JKO Forum. (sorry).










The 2nd door only took me an hour. The first door took 5 hours because I was designing and figuring crap out, as I went along.

[2ndchance]

REAR DOORS

The rear doors required OEM latches. There was just no room for aftermarket actuators! This write-up is on the Rear-LEFT door.

The right door will be the same.

These are the part numbers for the power latch and wiring harness for the Rear-LEFT door.



These are for the Rear-RIGHT door.



The rear doors dissassemble the same way as the fronts. The yellow boxes are two Philips Screws. The yellow circles are locations of trim retainers. Note: You won't need to remove the rubber plug for the rear doors. That bolt isn't used.



Yellow boxes are the tabs you'll need to remove to access the door glass retainers.



Yellow circles indicate a 11mm bolt. The one on the door handle is a Torx (T-25 I think). You'll also remove the bar that holds the wire channel. Same Torx.



These 3 Torx hold the latch to the door frame. Also, the same Torx size as the door handle one.




Disconnect the wiring harness from Latch. Undo the cable retainer (circled in yellow).




Remove the other two cable retainer on the other side (circled in yellow). The arrows are pointing at the release tabs to separate the old door latch from the panel.









Pull back on the wire loom/door strap of the new wiring harness. With force, you should be able to retract about 6-7" back. This is a good position to clip the wire plug. After you solder the wires back, all the wiring work can be covered by the wire loom/door strap and it will look clean.

Rear Left Door Wiring Colors

Door Sensor = Grey & Purple/White
Lock Switch = Tan/Blue & Tan/Yellow (not used)
Lock Actuator = Tan/Orange & Tan/Purple

(note: Tan may be beige. I'm color blind and it's too close to tell)



Cut the Door Sensor plug from the old harness and solder it onto the new harness, match up the colors.







Completed wiring



Wire loom/door strap streched back into place and 3M friction taped.



Reinstall the subpanel and panel, then button it up.

Take some time, as the rear door sub-panels are a pain to get back in.

The 1st door took about 2.5 hours (not counting photo time). I expect the 2nd door to be about 1.5 hours. There is more soldering to do on the rears than the front.

I routed the door lock leads (for the alarm) under the steering column for now. I planned on installing the alarm module soon. Just deciding where to hide it and find someone who's not color blind to help me ID some wires!

The right rear door should be the same process. The wire colors may be different, because that's how assembly plants like to do thing... The process is the same.

1. Match up the colors for the Door Sensor.
2. Match up the colors for the Door Actuator.
3. The other two wires are not used.

In retrospect, I think that I would have been better off installing OEM door latches/actuators on both the front and rear. They feel smoother and didn't require extra mods. If the front ones fail, I will replace them then.

[UPDATE]

Well, go figure. Jeep just HAD to use different color wiring for the rear-right wiring harness. The new harness for the door latch has 4 BLACK WIRES?!?! WTF?




Ok, so I had to test all four wires and try to ID them. The door latch connector is numbered 1-4 in the front. Pins 3&4 are for the door sensor. 1&2 are the actuators.



At first, I thought I may have flipped 3&4 by accident. When I reinstalled the door panels and plug it in, the dome lights came on and would not turn off for over 3 mins. I started the Jeep and cycled through the interior/dash switch. After that, everything seems to have returned to normal.

Maybe I did it right. It was 7pm when I finished and all the other installs were finished when the sun was still up and I never noticed the dome light. Or, the ECM detected the error and 'fixed it' internally. Not sure, but everything seems to be functioning fine.

Good Luck!

[fatbob309]

That sir is a GREAT tech write up!

[Avis]

That sir is a GREAT tech write up!

Ditto that, very nice!

[2ndchance]

Just updated the 2nd post. The right rear door was different... the new wiring harness has 4 BLACK WIRES!!! Had to tone out each wire and do up a wiring diagram. So, I edited the 2nd posting. Now, it's complete.

[Bill88xj]

Great write up, very informative!