Adding power door locks

[bjorkmae]

Adding power door locks. Got a new 4 door kit on ebay for $30 shipped. Includes the harness, 4 actuators, controller and 2 remotes. The driver side actuator has 5 wires and acts like a lock unlock switch when you use the stock unlock/lock knob or the key on the door. I could add a switch but why I think the stock lock/unlock knob, key, or one of the remotes will be enough. I added power locks to a 96 neon years ago and I bought everything at a stereo store and it cost about $250 in parts and I had to make my own harness. This setup is all plug and play for the wiring except the power supply to the controller. Anybody else add power locks to their aveo?

[thehunterooo]

I dont think anyone has, though people from time to time have wanted to add power windows. It will be cool to see if you can get it to work.

[redrob]

Defenitly needs to be put in the university (DIY) section if you do it. I soooooooooo want to have an alarm to lock/unlock my doors because I have had it on all my past cars. I miss it!

[paulsaveo]

I bought a universal power lock kit about 2 years ago and attempted to install in my 04 hatch. I ended up giving the kit to someone else. the actuators were too big to properly mount in the doors anywhere, the only way I would have been able to properly install the actuators would have been to cut rectangles out of the inner door sheet metal or cut holes in the door panels. In my opinion, it was not worth cutting the door skins.

[bjorkmae]

Well I will take some pics then.

[bjorkmae]

Ok no pics, too lazy and involved in the project to stop and get the camera. But I got the power locks installed. Work great too. Took about 5 hours. I was able to use the factory power lock fuse too, I thought that was neat. Anyway, definately not for people who aren't very mechanically inclined, but it wasn't too bad. First two doors took the most time and the last two where done in under an hour and a half. I can no unlock and lock all the doors with either remote, the key in the drivers door, or by raising and lowering the drivers lock knob. The range is pretty good too, about 300 feet, but probably not really helpful for finding the car like an alarm is since it doesn't chirp. You can't tell that the car has power locks added just by looking inside.

[daug1502]

A link to the kit you used would be useful. Would you be so kind as to take the door panel off, and snap a pic of the completed project, so that we have something to work from?

[bjorkmae]

Heres a link to the kit:
4 DOOR REMOTE POWER DOOR LOCK SOLENOIDS PROCESSOR KIT | eBay
I would have to pull the plastic back off as well as the door panel to get pics. I had to use duct tape to get the plastic sheeting back in place after cutting it. So probably won't take any pics at this point.

[redrob]

A little bit down the road I will be adding power door locks to my 08 hatch and then a while later power windows to the two front only and I will take pics and do a proper how-to.

[rodo]

Heres a link to the kit:
4 DOOR REMOTE POWER DOOR LOCK SOLENOIDS PROCESSOR KIT | eBay
I would have to pull the plastic back off as well as the door panel to get pics. I had to use duct tape to get the plastic sheeting back in place after cutting it. So probably won't take any pics at this point.

Probably same or similar to this $30 ebay gun-style actuator kit I installed last week, so here are some pics:


No complaints other than the relatively short rods didn't allow positioning the rod connecting blocks at openings in the front door sheet metal; made it a bit harder to install and adjust. The seller said the control unit would support a 5th actuator and the Aveo hatch has a great layout for mounting one, but didn't have time to solve the wire routing problem. The harness is configured for placing the control unit somewhere under the dash on the driver's side. The 5-wire actuator for the driver's door enables the other actuators to be manipulated by the driver's door key or lock knob in addition to the remotes. Only comments are 1) the harness fits well, but there is not much slack - so pays to check the routing before tying the wires down, 2) the cheap insulators on the bullet connectors were loose enough that it was necessary to secure them with electrical tape, and 3) loosely wrapping the long wire runs with electrical tape is not necessary, but made it easier to handle and mount the wires.


The bullet connectors are pre-installed, so the front door wires must be cut to run them through the door "molex" connector. There's a great resource about dealing with these here: How to wire through a door molex. One lesson learned is to reattach the boot to the connector BEFORE reseating it into the A-pillar - it is almost impossible to fit once the connector is back in place.


There are not many places to install the gun-type actuators that don't block panel attachment holes, avoid the window mechanisms, and permit the needed orientation. The main requirement is that the actuator movement be kept parallel to the movement of the lock rod; they supposedly wear out prematurely if forced to operate at a significant angle. Here are the two locations I used showing how the actuator rods were bent to maintain parallel movement:


The rear door actuators were technically mounted "upside down", so was necessary to reverse the wires for the correct lock/unlock action. After dealing with the "molex" connecters, the rest of the wiring was pretty typical. The weather barrier sheet does not have to be removed, but peeled back on two or three sides. Here's the route I used on the front doors to keep the wires away from moving parts and sharp edges:


Wires to the rear doors were routed through the B-pillar using the MOPAR looms as shown here:


The control unit was tie-wrapped to a bracket between the steering wheel and fuse box. A small patch of foam sheeting was attached to the case with weatherstrip adhesive to prevent any noise from movement against the bracket. Attached the ground lead to a body bolt and power to the orange door lock line off the back of the fuse box. I used a "U"-type connector sized for 18-14 gauge wire as I didn't know wire size being tapped. Had to use the Dorman "weatherproof" connector because the new "interior" type is only good for 16-14 gauge. Some don't like or trust these connectors, but I've never had any trouble with ones installed in autos for over a decade.

Did this in conjunction with a seat-out detail of the car, so don't have a pure time estimate. However, it was enough hours that I'd jump at the $30 per door professional install quoted here by someone else... and even consider the $70 per door also mentioned before doing it again on an Aveo.

Here's a summary of the additional supplies used in the install:

• Electrical tape
• Thread locking fluid - used to secure the screws in the rod connecting block.
• Solder/heatshrink tubing, crimp connectors, or other means of reconnecting wires cut for the door "Molex" feed.
• Wire looms/conduit for rear doors if not already equipped.
• Tube of yellow weatherstrip adhesive for reattaching the weather/moisture barrier to the doors. Only needed if they have been removed in the past, should be able to peel back and reattach with the original adhesive at least a couple times.
• Tie wraps - small ones for tying down wires and larger ones for mounting the control unit.
• "U" connector or other means of tapping into a constant 12V circuit for power.
• Round toothpicks - used to release the fender side of the "Molex" connector where other tools wouldn't fit. Benefit is that they can be broken to whatever length works best for your size hands.
• Foam or other sound deadening/anti-rattle material as needed.