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Help with Electrical Diagram

Joined
Aug 29, 2001
Messages
3,239
Location
Norcross, Georgia, United Stat
Corvette
2017 Arctic White Grand Sport
I purchased the electric door locks from JC Whitney, which I don't recommend by the way. It's not that it's not a good system. IMO it's just to big. The actuators were a tight fit as are the switches.

And that brings me to my problem. I'm trying to wire the system without the switches because of their size and have no ability to read electrical diagrams and modify the circuit to have it work without the switches. I have had it hooked into my keyless alarm with relays by a professional shop and that works great. However as currently wired it requires the switches to be in line. I could just put the switches inside the door but I want a cleaner install. Can anyone interpret this wiring diagram and tell me how to connect the wires so that it will work without the switches?

Bob
 
It would depend on how the keyless lock system is wired in, I think. I can't imagine any wiring of the keyless lock system that would "require" the switches.

Basically, you need to connect the wires on each lock actuator, to the similar wires on their counterpart. In other words, if you look at the diagram, starting at the bottom, you'll notice that the red wire connects across both actuators, and so does the grey wire.

Those are the wires you need. At the point where they normally connect to the right-hand (on the diagram) switch, you need to supply power to actuate them. Supplying positive voltage to one wire, and ground to the other, will move them one way. Switch it over and supply positive to the wire that you previously grounded, and ground to the other, and they will actuate the other way.

What your switches do, is reverse the voltage like that, depending on which way they are pushed. They are what's called "DPDT" switches, which can be wired to do just that.

Your keyless lock system should have a DPDT relay in it, wired up to reverse voltage like that. At least, that's what makes sense to me. Like I said, I can't imagine how the keyless lock could be wired so that it would require the switches. You should just be able to connect the keyless lock to the red and grey wires, in place of that conector that goes to the right-hand switch, and toss the rest of the switch harness.

Joe
 
Joe,

They did put a relay in line, I'm not sure of which wire, and I suspect that based on what you are telling me it is either the red or gray wire or perhaps both.

If I read what you are saying correctly, I will pull the switches and connect the red and gray directly to each other on both sides. The keyless relay should then supply the power to actuate the locks rather than the blue wire going through the switches.

Sounds simple but we will see.

Thanks for the help.

Bob
 
Almost.

The red wire will go from the left side actuator to the right side actuator - just like it does right now (if you look at the diagram, there is a "Y" connection made at the right-side switch connector, to connect down to the right-side actuator. The same thing happens with the grey wire, on the left side. Basically, you will have two parallel wires. One will connect from the red wire's connector on the right-side actuator, to the red wire's connector on the left-side actuator. The other will connect from the grey wire's connector on the right-side actuator, to the grey wire's connector on the left-side actuator.

Somewhere in between, you will have a tap into each of them, which will go to the remote lock reciever.

I've attached a diagram. The small black squares represent connectors. You may need to add more, within the system, to make installation easier. If possible, use two-terminal connectors at each point, rather than two separate connectors, to keep things cleaner.

Joe
 
Joe,

Thanks for the diagram. The remote actuators are already in line. Probably powered by the black and blue lines that powered the switches. I'm not sure where they tap in but will take a look under the dash.

Your diagram looks very similiar to the one that was included with the kit for a single switch configuration with the black and blue wires going into the switch for power and ground and the red and gray wires running between the switches. I assume that when you activiate the switch, the power is supplied from the blue wire going into the switch to the actuators.

Thanks for all your help.

Bob
 
I pulled the blue power line off both switches and they locked and unlocked with the remote actuators but not the switches, which was expected as the power for those switches was removed.

I tried connecting the red and grey wire directly together at the right hand switch, which then wouldn't let the system work. I also pulled the black ground off the left hand switch, which also wouldn't let the system work. I was surprised by this as the first just closed the circuit and the second should have gotten ground from the remote actuators.

I looked under the dash to try and see what the installer did with the relays but can't really tell without pulling them out as he has done a nice job of tying the wires together. For the $25 that he will charge me it wasn't worth all the headaches of getting under the dash.

Any ideas with the wiring directly at the switches?
 
Remember that the actuators don't just need power and ground. They need power and ground, in the correct direction. Connect red to power and grey to ground, and they will cycle one way. Connect grey to power and red to ground, and they will cycle the other way.

So, connecting grey and red to each other, shouldn't do anything.

Without knowing exactly how your installer did the remote control system, I can't suggest why it won't work without the switches in place. I would suggest asking him what he did, and how to do what you want.

Joe
 
Hey Bob,

do you have any other wiring diagram on the switches, or is that first one the only one?

If I had to figure it out, I would take a pair of wires and temporarily attach them to my battery terminals (one hot, one neutral). Then touch them briefly to the separate terminals on the actuator and see what happens. (Hopefully it would actuate) Then reverse the wiring to see if it does the opposite.

But actually, what is the task you are trying to do? Do you want to eliminate the switches? Does the system work perfectly right now?

-Vic
 
Vic,

System works fine now. My problem is that the switches are big and don't look very attractive so I want to remove the completely but can't figure out how to do it.

Bob
 
Will the door locks still function if you simply unplug the switches?
 
No. I can unplug the power wires from the switches and use the keyless relay to open the door. If I unplug any, or all, of the other wires it won't work.
 
It could be that one of them is used as a ground from the actuator (depending on the way the actuator functions).

At any rate, without being able to personally troubleshoot/test the wiring, it is best to let the guy that wired it sort it out.

I'm sketching out a wiring diagram that utilizes 2 DPDT (double pole/doube throw) relays. One relay is for the 'unlock' command, the other for the 'lock' command. I do not know how your alarm system works, but I'm going to guess that it can emit a 12v volt signal to unlock the doors, and another 12v signal to lock the doors. If not, please tell me how the interface works.

...stay tuned for a sketch within the hour...

-Vic
 
Vic,

The technician put two powered relays in line when he connected it to the keyless. I'm assuming that they go to the red/grey wires and supply the necessary power when the alarm is activated/deactivated.

I have those wires all running across the car un under the dash. I'm trying to get around the switches without having to rewire everything and that may be my problem.

Bob
 
Check it out Bob,

if your alarm system has outputs like I think it does, then this should work for you. I am not sure of the polarity of the red and gray wire, so in my sketch, those may have to be reversed. (example:if by pressing 'unlock' the doors lock, or vice versa)

I know that it looks like a lot of wires, but it is not too bad.

If you are skeptical about it, you could always show him the sketch, and ask for his opinion.

If you have any more wiring diagrams or info. I could get more precise for you, but right now, I'm leaning heavily on this sketch as the proper way to do it. (I do electrical wiring for a living)

-Vic
 
Got it too work. I started looking at the passenger side switch with 5 wires. I knew that the power was coming from the blue wire and that wasn't needed because power would come from the keyless relay. I had already tried hooking the grey and red with no luck. So I jumpered the red and yellow and it still worked. So I then jumpered the grey and green and it still worked. One switch down.

I went to the driver's side. This one only had three wires plus the power. Uh oh. I knew the grey and red jumpered together wouldn't do it so I added the ground. Both powers were disconnected so nothing happened, just as I expected. The moment of truth was when I hit the keyless switch. Either the fuse was going to blow or the door was going to lock. Lady luck must be with me because the door locked.

Thanks for all the help.

Bob
 
That's what I was afraid of. In fact Steve told me that I needed to bring all the pieces to the next get together and the four of us would get it together. Talk about motivation.
 

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