Has anyone installed an electric tailgate lock on their truck? I've seen a couple on-line & I'm thinking about buying & installing one on our 2005 F150 SCrew. Trying to find out what brand others have bought & the satisfaction they’ve had.

Thanks,<O
Willie

 

I installed a Pace-Edwards lock. Pretty easy installation...make sure you connect it to the passenger side power locks...that way it doesn't cycle open/closed every time you unlock the driver's door. I only hit the passenger locks maybe 30% of the time I use the truck, so it greatly cuts down on the tailgate lock cycles!

 

Thanks for the reply Don. Did the standard Pace Edwards LK370 kit work for you or did you have to buy the additional Crew Cab Extension Wire Harness?

Willie

 

Hey Willie...I don't have a Crew cab, so fit was no problem. I can't remember how much wire was left over, but if you have a Crew you should probably go the safe route and include the extension harness.

I have a 2004, but the wiring is the same for the 2005's. If you want to hook to the passenger locks, here's the quick n dirty:

- Pop off the kick panels by the fuse box (front pass side)
- Look for the wire harness that feeds from the door to the body
- In that harness, look for a Pink w/ Orange stripe wire (that is the Unlock), and a Pink w/ Black stripe wire (for Lock). NOTE: on a Crew cab, those wire colors are for all doors EXCEPT the driver's side. I located the wires and pierced them with a pin, then used my multimeter on the pin and ground to confirm I had the correct wires.
- Splice the tailgate lock wires into the appropriate wires.
- If, upon completion, you find that it works backwords (door unlocks and tailgate locks), just reverse the wires on the tailgate actuator to correct it.

If you'd rather have it work in conjunction with the Driver's door, then pop off the Drivers side kick panel and look for the harness coming from the door. The Driver's Unlock wire is Red w/ Orange stripe, and the Lock wire is Pink w/ Black stripe (same as the others).

I have some crude pix in my gallery of my tailgate lock installation. It took a little bit of cutting and filing of the mounting bracket before it would align to my satisfaction, but it wasn't a big deal at all to install.

Good luck with your project! There is peace of mind in knowing that your tailgate is locked whenever you lock your doors.

 

Don, Wiring it to the front passenger door is a great idea. I hadn't even thought about doing it that way. Thanks for the color codes on the passenger door. After looking at the posted pictures of your truck. The length from your tailgate to the door should be the same as my SC. You have more bed & less cab & I have less bed & more cab. They want an extra $27 for the Super Crew wiring harness. If the wires need to be longer, I'll splice them & cover them with a plastic wire protector.

Willie

 

Couldn't you also splice it to a rear door of a Screw and not need the extenders? Wonder if wire colors are the same as for front passenger door?

 

That would make sense. Just pop the switch out and test the wires to find the unlock wire.

This is a cool idea, you guys are going to make me do it.

 

Willie...you're right...the overall length between our configs should be the same, so save the $27 and buy a case of beer (the universal currency). Glad to help out, and make sure YOU take pix of your installation...I just got in too much of a flow while doing it, and step-by-step photos were an afterthought. But it can help others if good pix are taken during a mod of any sort. Just gotta start taking my own advice!!

My latest mod was an additional feature to my Hella reverse lights; now, when I put it in Reverse, those bright lights come on, and the REAR flashers flash and a beeper sounds at the same time for each flash. I did it mostly for safety of pedestrians in the quik-mart (Wawa) parking lot. I just like playing with electrical stuff, I guess!

 

Chetlogan; Good point. Since you have to push the un-lock button on the remote twice to un-lock the front passenger & rear doors, why not wire this into either of the rear doors.

black04lariat; You actually have to locate lock the & un-lock wires. I'm gonna say that the front passenger & rear doors use the same color code. I'll do a check & post the results.

For anyone interested, there are two of these tailgate locks for our trucks:
Dyno Lock Part# FFS04C (Not sure if the “O” is a zero or the letter O)
Pace Edwards Part#LK370

Don, The extended wiring harness for the Pace Edwards is $29 & not $27 as I stated. Those extra $2 should be able to make it a case & a half. I’ll take some pictures when do the installation & post them.

Thanks everyone for their input.

Willie

 

I installed the Pace Edwards Electric Tailgate Lock successfully today. There was more to it than I had expected. The supplied instructions were just a guideline.

The Installation Was Modified From The Manufactures Instructions. Manufacture Supplied A Relay Block With 2 Relays That Were Fused. The Purpose Of The Relay Is To Supply Constant Independent Power To The Tailgate Lock & Not Have To Use The Power From The Door Locks. Because The Door Locks Are Factory Fused & The Time It Was Going To Take To Install The Relay, I Chose To Wire The Tailgate Lock Directly Into The Door Locks.

The Installation Is Wired To Un-Lock With The 2<SUP>nd</SUP> Push On The Remote. It Un-Locks With The Front Passenger & 2 Rear Doors

I have a complete detailed DIY with pictures in my gallery. The lock & un-lock colors for the front passenger & rear doors are just as Don has listed.

Pink / Black Stripe = Lock

Pink / Orange Stripe = Un-Lock

Thanks to everyone for their input,

Willie

 

Willie,

Congrats on a good installation, and also for the detailed pics in your gallery. When I did mine, I just went too fast to take pics, and before I knew it I was done!

Good job!

 

Thanks Don, You helped on this one. Pulled up your gallery while I was installing. Did your kit come with the 2 relay block & did you install it?

Willie

 

Nope, no relays. Just a straight shot from the solenoid to the lock/unlock wires (but I did protect them running from the cab with fuses). Also had to 'modify' the bracket somewhat, trimming away where there was some interference with structure, but once done worked as smooth as silk!

 

I have a '06 SCREW. Installed my lock about one year ago. Had problems with electrical so had a local car audio installer complete the job. They used the two relays and tied it in such that the tailgate lock could only be operated via the door lock switch (no remote). They tied it in under the driver door sill plate using bright pink w/green stripe and bright pink w/yellow stripe wires. Never liked the arrangement, but never managed to take it back to see if it could be changed. Always wanted it tied to the remote as you guys did, operating in conjunction with the passenger doors.

Encouraged by your posts, I dove back in today. Found two small guage bright pink w/black stripe wires and one larger guage pale pink w/black stripe wire. Also found another bright pink w/yellow stripe wire that was larger guage than the one used in the original install. The yellow stripe could possibly have been a faded orange. During the process of trying to determine if any of these wires were correct for remote operation, somehow caused the tailgate lock to stop working altogether, even when returning to original configuration.

Looking back at what I did, I am wondering if having connected it to the small guage bright pink w/black stripe wire caused the problem as I subsequently discovered it carried a constant 12V current. Guess I will have to purchase another unit as it has surely exceeded the warranty period. Anyway, two questions:
1) Does the constant 12V signal sound like a probable failure mode for the actuator?
2) Do the larger guage wires I indicated above sound like the right wires based on what you found?

 

tooldad,

I’m having trouble understanding your original hookup. Works with the lock / un-lock button, but not the remote. I didn’t know there was a separate wire for each.

I’m not sure if having a 12-volt constant that you spoke about had to be connected to actuator to stop working. Your actuator may not be bad; I think you’re connected to the wrong wires.

Too keep this short; do you know how to view my gallery? I have a detailed picture gallery on exactly what I did. If you have any questions, send me a private message or email me.

Willie