The Camano Experience

[grumpin]

I looked at it quickly today, and I think it said Dash Mat.

I’ll get a picture tomorrow.

[grumpin]

Some photos.

[kramttocs]

Thanks. Looks great and that's one sharp interior!

[grumpin]

Thanks! Looks better in the pictures I think.

[kramttocs]

This is going to be a bit photo heavy but lately I have been primarily working on the "luxury options". Being the keyless entry and the window control.
A lot of this was covered here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/#nabble-td48183
Let me preface this post by saying that any time I add something electrical to the truck my goals are:
1. Avoid splicing or cutting into a factory wire
2. Any non-factory change must be easily reverted
3. No additional load can be added to factory wiring except relay triggers
I probably sound like a broken record at this point...

Often these cause extra steps (and always extra time) so I fully acknowledge that in a lot of cases you could just splice into the factory wiring and move on with life

Ok, on to the meat of it (again, some will be repeated from the referenced thread that has some great Gary diagrams).

For the keyless entry module I went with the Viper 211HV due to name, forum support(ish), simplicity of the fob, and simplicity of the unit as a whole. I haven't done any research but you can likely get a dozen different makes/models that all accomplish the same thing.

The primary functions are what you'd expect: lock/unlock, honk horn, and flash lights
Some additional features are 2 aux outputs, ignition controlled lock/unlock, and ground when armed

For mounting I chose to use some 3M black velcro hanging strips and place it up on the firewall directly under the antenna penetration. FWIW this is also how I mounted the component crossovers on the angled part above each kickpanel

This location works well as it gives you nice access to the passenger kickpanel as well as there being plenty of room for the myriad of wires that you could end up with.
To hook into the lock circuit I created a jumper that goes between the passenger kick panel connector that connects the main lock/window harness to the passenger door harness.
It's a fairly bulky jumper but it all fits into the cavity easily


This is the equivalent of splicing the keyless entry wiring into the Pk/Y and Pk/LG wires of the lock circuit.
For power, rather than using the hot wire of the power lock circuit, which would work, I ran a fused 10awg wire from my add on fuse box that I split into 4 12awg wires going into a metripack connector. That connector will provide power for:
1. keyless entry module
2. locks
3. dome light (the keyless entry module needs to know if it is a + or - circuit)
4. window automation module/+12v for window motors
I did the same thing for the grounds.

For the dome light that lights up when you unlock the truck I removed the terminal from the connector on the passenger footwell light and crimped a new larger gauge terminal onto it with both the factory wire and the keyless entry dome wire


For the parking lights to flash for confirmation or panic mode, the easiest and cleanest place to hook into is the drivers side kick panel where there will be a connector for the cab clearance lights. Since a PO had scotch locked into this wire and it split in half when removed, I had already had to add a metripack connection. In order to add the keyless entry wire I put both the main harness wire and the clearance lights wire in one metripack connector and in the mating connector I put the keyless entry wire and a loop to bridge the circuits. The reason for putting the factory wires on the same connector is that a 2 circuit  MP connector also works for a fuse holder so if needed, I can remove the male connector, throw a fuse in the female and my clearance lights still work.



For the horn and ignition circuits, please see the earlier thread link.
On the ignition part, since I am using a previously unused connector under the dash it's worth mentioning that it's the same connector as the one in the B pillar for the dome/cargo light harness. A spare one of those, a wedgelock terminal and you've got a clean connection for 12v in start/run.
It's configurable and I am still on the fence but with the ignition circuit connected the doors lock when in start/run and unlock when the power is killed (like a modern vehicle would).

I mentioned the ground when armed option earlier. This is commonly used as a starter kill switch. I have what I consider a good setup for this but rather than announcing it on a public forum, for all of our benefit it may make more sense to keep it offline. If you are interested in how I went about it, feel free to contact me directly.

Moving on to the 2 aux outputs. I am only using one of them currently and that is for the window automation module (535T). I think the one tap up/down in modern vehicles is great and that is primarily what this gives you.
Additionally it provides the ability to roll up the windows when the keyless entry module is locked (using the ground when armed circuit and a diode) and to use an aux channel to vent or roll down the windows. Both are pretty nice albeit not entirely necessary.

I mounted this the same way as the keyless entry and just to the left of it. Here begins the myriad of wires.

To tie this module in, I created a simple jumper for each door to go between the window motor connector. This is splitting the wires between motor side and switch side as the switch side is now just a relay trigger. The power to the motors will be coming through the 10awg wire mentioned earlier


I got some of the terminals used by the 535T and the Viper 211HV (molex and jst) so I could remove the jumper wires they provided and use my own wires to eliminate some unnecessary connectors.
Removing the jst type is easy but molex's are a pain - at least without the removal tool. I didn't want to spend the money on one but found that removing the plastic from each end of a twist tie (bread tie) and then looping it worked pretty well.

Since a lot of the wiring had to go to the drivers side or to the battery (fuse block) the dash harness retainers have room for them and keep it all tidy.

Cleaned up and wrapped

Anything needing to go through the firewall I ran down the left side of the radio and out through the hole to the right of the gas pedal with the rest of my add on wiring.

Adding these two modules was really pretty straightforward; it was just all the details of doing it that took quite awhile. Happy to provide more detail on any aspect of it if needed.
I am hoping to put together a concise guide for this combining the info from the other thread and this one.

[Gary Lewis]

Excellent work!  Well done!  That is probably the best installation I've ever seen.  

I can see those pics ending up in a how-to page for installing security systems.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yes Scott.

Really nice harnessing!  

[kramttocs]

Thanks guys.

I'd bought new lock motors for both doors but the passenger one was always sticky. Now that the one touch window wiring was done and time for me to install the door panel I figured it was time to solve that problem. Pulled the lock motor from the door and tested it - it worked but wasn't really snappy. Hooked up an original one from a parts truck and it was noticeably snappier. Installed it in the door and the lock is working great. Guess I just got a bad aftermarket one.

Also, and I thought this was neat, I was playing around with the stereo and was thinking that steering wheel controls for volume would be another nice luxury item. After doing a quick look in the evtm I saw that the speed control buttons use different resistances over a single wire. Pulled that wire out of the speed control box and hooked it to the steering wheel control wire on the stereo. Went into the swc mapping section on the stereo (Android) and it recognized the button presses  Right now I have Resume = play/pause, Set Accel to vol -, and Coast to vol +.

I don't use cruise control so will try these out for awhile.

[Gary Lewis]

Scott - That's cool on the stereo!  I would never have thought of that.  But I plan to drive the wheels off of BB and speed control will be really helpful for those long trips.  Still, it is neat that it worked.

On the lock motor, it is strange that it doesn't work well.  There's not much to them so it is surprising that it won't work well.

[grumpin]

My drivers side lock doesn’t work well either.

Better when warm and when the engine is running. Seems to work better with the passenger side switch.

Going to look into that someday.

[kramttocs]

Dane - that's how mine was as well but just with the passenger side. The passenger side switch seemed to make it 'pop' better whereas the driver side switch it took a couple back and forth's when cold to get it going. I'd definitely try a jy motor if you can find one. Night and day difference.
I didn't really like the ebay ones I got anyways although the drivers side works great so I shouldn't complain too much. They are semi-universal so they have a bunch of ends that you install on the motor. The end that fit was a Z shape vs the 90 degree angle of the factory motor. It's a problem because when removing the motor since you can't remove the rod first, it's really easy to bend the rod when trying to get the motor out of the bracket. Although I guess if you are removing it then it's likely bad anyways so not a big deal...

Gary - It was definitely neat that it worked. Drove out to the bike trail with the family tonight and using the steering wheel controls was pretty nice. I am not sure if I'll keep them though. The cruise didn't work when I got the truck and although I hooked everything back up, I still need to figure out where it's failing.
I've never used cruise on these trucks - does it work well?

[grumpin]

I think the cruise works great. Especially for a 1986.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, the cruise works great.  We used it extensively on Dad's truck, running Rusty's engine, to/from DE from here.  And it motored up the steep climb in TN on I-40 in 5th gear with no problems on cruise.

And they are pretty simple systems.  I've never seen one that didn't work if all the pieces and wiring were intact.

[kramttocs]

Good to know it works well. It's on my list of things to look into. I can't imagine why it doesn't work either. The PO said that when a shop rebuilt the carb (not long before I bought the truck) that they did something and it didn't work after. Again, can't imagine what they did at the carb beyond messing with the 'chain' part of it. Haven't looked into it at all beyond pressing the buttons and it not holding speed.

Haven't had much time to do anything this week but did have one of those super simple but worked perfectly ideas. Be warned, I am dragging this experience out...
I've been needing to install the lower molding on the fenders (the little short pieces) so that I can get the wheel arch portion installed. Been putting it off as I tried when installing the running boards and sadly realized that I can't get my hand up behind there to install the nut (one retainer is push in, one is a bolt/nut).
Last night I tried forever to get the little 7mm wrenching nut on there from the door jam. If you haven't tried, don't. Even with grease holding the nut to my finger there is no way to spin it on there and you end up spending most of your time with a magnet rod getting the nut back. While a ratchet would eventually tightening it up, you still have to get it started.
I finally decided I had no choice but to loosen up the fender. This meant also removing part of the running board. Messing with the fender after just having it painted was pretty low on my 'want to do' list. Was getting late so was putting that job off until tonight.
Laying in bed I was still trying to come up with alternatives and how to start something blind at a 90 degree angle. Then it dawned on me. Awhile back I'd picked up a DeWalt 90 degree flex shaft driver as an impulse buy. I've used it a couple of times on the truck already and while it's not a go to tool for automotive work, in the right situation it is invaluable. And this was another of those situations. Worked perfectly and was all tightened up in less than 5 minutes.

It's the small things in life, right?

[Gary Lewis]

That's really COOL!  I've never seen one of those.  Yes, the right tool at the right time is invaluable!

[Bruce moose4x4]

My son got me something like that for Christmas couple years back. Still in the package. I'll have to remember this application.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I use something similar (a Skewdriver) to tighten heater hose clamps up against the firewall and under the cowl overhang.

They're really handy if you need them!  

[kramttocs]

If it wasn't for this and needing to drill the brake support under the dash mine would still be I'm the package also
For a tool one likely won't use more than a handful of times, it's well worth it (esp if a gift!)

Jim- had to google that tool (and learn something about a band I'd never heard of). That's a pretty slick tool also.

[grumpin]

I searched too. Interesting that the first Amazon hit was for around $102, a search on the Amazon site had it for $56.

Crutchfield has it for $39.99!

Cool tool!

[ArdWrknTrk]

I had no idea they're that expensive!
My Pro kit is decades old and I mostly use it for attaching drawer runners in cabinets where there is a full partition at the top and bottom.

I think I paid around $20-25.
Milwaukee had a duplicate tool that was either sourced or copied from the grey boxed one I own.
The multi-position thumb lever handle can be fiddly at times you need it.

I like the fact it comes with a set of allen bits and shallow sockets.
You can also use a long hex extension to drive it from outside the box, while your other hand holds the head in place.

I also keep a stubby I made from a broken screwdriver handle in the box.
It's 1/4 in-hex and concave on top, so you can easily center it with a fingertip.




And the other half