[City Slicker]

Haha, I think it looks better

Cool mod :smileup:

 

[MightyBlueRam]

I think it makes the truck look faster! I've had mine sitting in the garage for a few weeks but haven't had the time to install it. I'm sure others would like to hear any issues you had or methods you used that maybe made installation easier from what the manual stated.

:rep:

 

[iRESQu]

Very nice George! Passenger door looks great!

 

[BigBlueEdge]

Is this an aftermarket accessory only or do some models come with it as a factory-installed option?

Rob

 

[brad12kx]

Installment 2 - Rip it Apart! -

Note - Some of the pictures and descriptions are stating the obvious, or at least I would think their obvious, but were included....just in case.... :4-dontknow:

Note 2 - Although not all of the tailgate related pictures show the direction of the front of the vehicle, but trust me. I was standing behind the truck when I took them, and never had the camera up side down.

Tools used for Mod -

Tailgate....Open -

The 8 screws that hold the inspection cover on - T30 driver - Note the plastic washers.....don't loose these or the screws will scratch the paint when put back in -

Tailgate with inspection cover removed -

Closeup of area where you will be working, c/w information on where the front of the truck is -

Unclip the rods and move out of the way. Remove the 2 nuts that hold the tailgate handle in place and the mechanism to the back of it. Careful to hang on to the handle so it doesn't drop and scratch your paint. You will need an 8mm socket for this.
NOTE - I unplugged the backup camera cable, but later discovered that this was not necessary -

Lift out the mechanism, then remove the 2 bolts that hold the key lock in place and lift it out as well. This what you should have -

.... To be continued ....

 

[brad12kx]

Is this an aftermarket accessory only or do some models come with it as a factory-installed option?

Rob

After market only.....
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this was going to be a factory option in the near future....possibly 2011 !?!?

 

[brad12kx]

Installment 3 - Use the parts from the bag -


Drill the holes in the arm as described in the instruction sheet. 5/32" is the drill size. Here is a simple jig I used for the drilling operation -

After drilling -

Now pop rivet the triangular piece on. Note the angle of the rivets !!!
I drilled the holes exactly as shown in the instruction sheet. As it turned out, that angle of the rivets did not have a negative affect -

Now mount the electric actuator on the bracket. Note the actuator sits on top of the bumps -

Now for the part that was the biggest pain in this whole process....putting the mechanism back in the tailgate with the extra pieces. After completing this process, I think I know why this item is not available factory installed :wow:

First install the mechanism piece you originally took out, and put the nut loosely on the left stud to hold the stuff in place -

Now slid in the bracket with the electric actuator, but have it turned 90deg clockwise from it's final mounting position so that you can 'pop' the actuator nose through the slotted hole in the triangular piece you pop riveted to the mechanism arm -

Now with some difficulty, and a calm demeanor, rotate the new bracket into position. While rotating the bracket, slip the lock under and through the braket, ensuring the tail of the lock sticks through the big hole in the mechanism arm. The small arm on the left of it, sits 'on top' of the original mechanism over the mounting stud. The bracket should end up on top of the key lock, with the keylock properly positioned in it's hole -

At this point you can install the nut on the right hand mounting stud. Keep both nuts slightly loose to make it easier to install the lock bolts -

Now for the best part - bolting the lock back in....Now would be a good time to take a break, have smoke or a beer or anything that calms you. This is the part that makes me wonder how they could ever offer this as factory installed, because it quite simply.....takes time. If you drop the screws multiple time during installation....that's normal. The angle is bad, and everything is in the way. Here the tool of choice is a 1/4" drive ratchet and an 8mm deep socket -

Next up - Wiring

.... To be continued ....

 

[RansRAM]

:smileup: Great addition and very nice picture writeup.

 

[brad12kx]

SPECIAL NOTE - Forgot to mention in the previous installment, when putting the new bracket with electric actuator in place, it should be above the cable for the rear view camera....Sorry about the omission! :shy:

Installment 4 - Wiring and what does my truck look like underneath? -

Not that I haven't already deviated a bit from the installation instructions that came with the kit, but here I made a few deviations that I believe are very much worth the little extra effort. The final outcome gives a close to factory look without ripping apart factory harnesses to run the line inside them.

The kit wiring contains 2 harnesses. A short on to go from the electric actuator to the tailgate/truck box seam, and the other to continue the run to the engine compartment...and most specifically, the TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module)

After connecting the short harness to the electric actuator, route it through the same opening as the rear view camera cable. It's a little finiky, but you can get through the tailgate and out the bottom beside the camera cable. I had to reach in the bottom hole and lift the 'easy lift' tension rods out of the way to get the connector through -

I then unwrapped the tape holding the camera cable to the box insert -

Attached the electric cable to the insert cap and re-taped both cables in place. I aligned the 2 connectors to make for easy insertion in the box -

Untied the electric lock cable from the attachment clip, and re-tied at a new location so the electric lock cable would be the same length as the camera cable. Tie wrapped the electric lock cable to the factory camera cable, pushing the extra cable length into the tailgate (~8" of slack) -

Slipped the connector from the long cable from the kit through the hole with the camera cable, connected both connectors and snapped the cable insert cover into the box. This ended up looking near factory, and both connections are assessable the same way -

SPECIAL NOTE - Now is a really good time to open the hood, and remove the negative cable from the battery!

Then under the back of the truck, I routed the new cable with the factory camera cable, leaving the same amount of slack so that if I ever remove the tailgate, both cables will react the same -

Just another picture of the same -

At this point, as I'm adjusting the creeper to make it easier to navigate under the truck......IT STARTED!!!! :SHOCKED: :SHOCKED: :SHOCKED:
I guess I rolled onto the remote a couple of times....specifically on the remote start button..... :doh:
I did not have to slide out from under the truck. during the adrenaline rush, it appears I rolled rapidly out from under the truck, and was now situated about 15 from it....:wow:....Yah.....:SHOCKED:

I then followed the factory harness...exactly.....down the entire frame, with all it's bends and jogs, placing a tie wrap about every 12". They give you 22 in the kit, so yo have lots! When I got to the back of the drivers wheel well, I discovered a 'channel' behind the fender liner with a harness in it that lead right up to the back side of the battery. I was able to route the cable behind the battery inside the fender (factory cables there) and came out at the TIPM. I removed the TIPM using the information supplied in the kit. This picture is actually an 'After' picture, but does show the the cable entering the TIPM area -

Next - TIPM wiring connecions

.... To be continued ....

 

[brad12kx]

Installment 5 - Final connections, at the TIPM -

***** 2011/12 Update*****
EDIT - If you have a 2011/12, there is updated wiring information starting at post 47 and details at post 51. Thank you Bikenut and Asur for contributing and updating this thread with new truck information. :smileup:
***********************

:hah: I apologize for the blurriness of some of the pix. I thought I was being so smart by using an older camera with smaller picture sizes, only to discover that I didn't see the poor macro quality in the camera's massive 1" display.

Once the TIPM was lifted out of it's holder, I disconnected both Connector E & G as their harnesses are tied together, and disconnecting G made it easier to work on E. Notice how the TIPM sits nicely on top of the battery -

As I wanted to give this a close to 'factory' look, I wanted to make my connections inside the connector shell. The shell easily removes from the back of the connector (Sorry, no pix). Just 4 small tabs that are real easy to see and manipulate. As I also did NOT want to cut any wires, the only way I could do the splice and heat shrink it on completion would be to remove the wire and connector from the connector housing. This meant removing the connector locking piece (lime green)....which turned out to be a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. Just slip the blade of a small screwdriver in the divot on each end of the connector and gently pry it up. Once up a bit, you can pull it off this your fingers. You DO NOT have to worry about the wires falling out of the connector. This green lock thing, only disables access to the pin locks, and makes them virtually vibration proof -

Cut the electric lock cable harness to length...make sure you route it into position before cutting. (See the last pic in this installment for a recommended route/fit.)
To remove the wires from the connector housing, use a small pointy thing to gently pry back the tiny plastic clip that locks the wire connector in the connector housing, while gently pulling of the wire. They come out very easy....if not, make sure the tab you are releasing is the same as the wire you are pulling. The 2 wires of choice are Tan/Light Blue (TN/LB) in cavity 18 and Tan/Dark Blue (TN/DB) in cavity 22. (( Misc info - These 2 wires are actually connected to the passenger rear door power lock)) If you think the 2 wires are the same color, which is exactly how them looked to me (but can see the difference in the photos), you can use a Sharpie or similar marker to add a mark to one of them (I chose the cavity 22 one) so that you have a better chance of getting them back in the right hole later -

I carefully stripped about 1/2" of insulation, about 1" from the connector pin. Using the wire splice metal clips that came in the kit, I crimped the black wire to the TN/DB and the red to the TN/LB -

Once crimped, I soldered the connections -

I then took 1 piece of the heat shrink tubing from the kit and cut it in half. The connection and space in the connector is too small for the full size tubes supplied. Slide 1 piece on each wire over the splice and heated until the heat shrink sealed on the wires.
The heat shrink supplied has a sealant inside it. When heating/shrinking it, make sure the sealant shows at the ends....but only heat until it shows. There is no benefit in 'over shrinking this type of heat shrink, and it won't provide the proper protection, unless it's heated enough, so look for the sealant to start 'leaking' from the ends -

Now slide the connectors back into the connector housing -

Re-install the green pin lock (It will go either way) -

Clip the cover back (shell) on the connector and plug the connectors back into the TIPM -

Put the TIPM back into its holder, re-connect the power cable to it, re-connect the battery cable, and ENJOY your new MOD!!!

The tailgate will function like a passenger door. It's operation will follow whatever programming you have for the passenger doors. In my case, I am 1 unlock to unlock the drivers door, and a second unlock to unlock the passenger doors/tailgate. One hit of the lock button locks all doors and tailgate.

Added note - The 'key' hidden in your key fob will lock and unlock the tailgate manually, but with this device installed, it will feel 'heavier' than you are used to.

Alarm note - If you have a factory alarm system, you are probably aware that manually (with hidden key) unlocking the door WILL set off the alarm.
This is NOT THE CASE with the tailgate, as the tailgate does not have a sensor to tell the truck whether or not it is open or closed.

Hope this information is useful to someone.
If you have any questions, or particular picture requests, just ask! :smiley_thumbs_up:

 

[CajunDodge]

Very nice writeup and pics brad, I'm sure a lot of folks will appreciate the time and effort you put into it, and you even told it with a sense of humor! :smileup:

- Cajun

 

[CustomShirts]

Wow Brad... This was Awesome!!! I have to check if the Laramie comes with the electric tailgaite... if not I will be visiting this post a lot and probably sendyou a few PMs for your assistance in installing mine.

Great job!!

Appreciate the photos and details to help with the install.

Tim

 

[RansRAM]

Great final writeup which I'm sure will help alot of members who want to do this mod. I was just talking about the tailgate lock with my son today. My leer 700 has the keyless on it however the tailgate is manual. It would be cool to have them both keyless. Just curious, how much did this kit cost you ? Thanks

 

[brad12kx]

Great final writeup which I'm sure will help alot of members who want to do this mod. I was just talking about the tailgate lock with my son today. My leer 700 has the keyless on it however the tailgate is manual. It would be cool to have them both keyless. Just curious, how much did this kit cost you ? Thanks

I'd have to go to my office to find the exact price, but $140 comes to mind. I noticed it was a bit more expensive the the Pop-N-Lock that I used on my last 2 Rams, but figured I'd go this route anyways. Sure am glad I did. Not that there's anything wrong with the PNL, but the PNL doesn't fit right with the cam, so modification is required, and the PNL locks the handle, not the mechanism, so the manual lock is useless with the PNL, but fully functional with the Mopar one. One thing I noticed right away, is how quiet the Mopar lock is. It doesn't have that mechanical clank that I'm used to with the PNL.
All in all, I highly recommend the Mopar electric tailgate lock for anyone with a Gen4 Ram.

 

[GolfSIX]

Cool write up and great pictures. Can you tell me where I can buy that actuator kit and approx how many hours total it took you to complete the install?
Thnx
G6

 

[brad12kx]

You can get it from any Dodge dealer parts department. The part number is 82211668AB.

Installation took about 5 hours, but that included stopping to take pictures, figuring out the best place to run the wiring for that 'factory' look, and pondering on whether or not to pull the TIPM and possibly damage something in the process. If I was to do it again, and armed with all the info....about 1.5 hrs to do a real nice job......about 35mins to slap it in ******* style. :3-smash:

 

[GolfSIX]

Great, thanks for the info! Although I'm partial to the ******* way of doing things I'd probably take my time with something like this, especially like you noted worrying about possibly damaging the TIPM. Again great write up the pictures will definately come in handy later.
G6

 

[jaynuke]

Great write up. Thanks
James

 

[Thrasher]

Well, your writeup has sealed it for me. Definitely will have the dealer install mine. Thanks for the info!