This is Bofer84's Write-up on how to modify the lockers to be used independently and at any speed or t-case position. I am just posting it for him.


Ok, so here is the long awaited locker mod write up. So far this was a
pretty straight forward mod, I just over thought about it. Thanks to
everyone on this forum that helped me out, I couldn’t have done it without
your help. I tried my best to take pictures throughout the entire
process. So, down to business.

First thing you will want to do is locate the locker relays. These will
be on the passenger side of the jeep, right next to the battery, I believe
one relay is just a little bit higher then the other, and they are mounted
to the side of the body.



They are held in place with a little plastic screw…keep them in for the
moment.
Next you will want to take the battery out. Disconnect the positive and
negative wires first, then using a small ratchet wrench, unscrew the screw
holding the battery in place, its down at the bottom of the battery tub,
in front of the battery. Once removed, take the battery out and set it
aside…now you should be able to see the locker relays much much better
now.
Unscrew the plastic screw holding the locker relays into place, and let
them dangle down (note- you might need to pull the plastic tubing down a
little bit to expose the wires on the underside of the relays) Once this
is done, you will need to locate the locker wire that needs to be
grounded. I started with the front first, so I located the violet and
dark blue wire.



Separate it as best you can from the other wires, and about 3” from the
relay, you will need to use a tap splice, you can by them at Lowe’s or
Home depot for a couple bucks, they are easy and clean.



This point you will need to pick out the color wire you want to use for
your grounding wires, I used BLACK for my Direct Ground, White for my
relay grounds, and RED for my positive feed. So, all you basically have
to do is insert the Black wire in the tap, then push it on the Violet and
Dark Blue wire, and clamp down with some needle nose pliers…(Note- don’t
clamp the plastic holder yet, it makes it ridiculously hard to get off, if
for some reason you needed to, wait till it works before you clamp it)
here is what it should look like- sorry for the hazy picture by the way.




At this point you will need to run your BLACK wire into a relay(NOTE- this
is only if you are using an illuminated switch) The relays I purchased
were simple, I got them are radio shack for 6 bucks model 2VDC/30A SPST
Automotive Relay
Catalog #: 275-226




You are going to want to attach the black wire to the side of the relay
that has the open/close circuit. On this model relay the prongs were
different for the open/close circuit so it made it easy. If yours isn’t
like this, it usually explains things on the back. I ended up using a
Soldering gun to attach it to the relay terminal, but have since realized
that using a Spade terminal connector and heat shrink wrap is much easier.
So, you can buy these at Lowes or Home Depot if you want, it is your
choice. I recommend using the Spade connectors and heat shrink wrap.
Continuing on…once the Black wire is connected the relay, you will then
connect another Black wire (if you’re using different colors then I am, use
the same color wire as you previously used) to the other side of the
relay, (the terminal with the open/close function), and run that wire to
any ground on the vehicle. As you can see below, there are several places
you can ground wires on the passenger side.



Once that is grounded, you will now need to start working with the other
side of the relay (the coil side)
For the rocker switches I highly suggest using COOLTECHS switch mount
plate for the jk, these are high quality switches, and they work great!!
Thanks again Cooltech ?

Next you will need to locate a spot to run
the wires through the firewall, you can drill your own, or find one, I
found one. Its on the drivers side top corner, you can’t miss it.





Anyway, since I used a rocker switch with a light in it, there are 3
terminals on the back, positive, ground, accessory. Using Cooltech
switches you will need to run a wire from the ACC terminal (I used White)
and a wire from the positive terminal (I used RED) from the rocker
switch, under the center floor console, above the brake and gas peddles.
You will need to take off the side of the dash, its really easy, it just
pops off in 2 seconds and prepare to run your wires through the firewall
and grommet. Pull the grommet out of course before running your lines.
The next thing you will need is something to run the wires through there,
I used a metal coat hanger, it worked great. After running the White and
RED wires through the grommet, you will need to drape them across the
engine and over towards where the relay is. Remember, keep things
separated, so you know what wires are for which switches.
Attach your WHITE wire coming from the ACC terminal on the back of the
rocker switch to the terminal on the relay (note, you will be attaching it
to the terminals that have the coil as indicated on the map of the relay,
usually on back of terminal) After attaching it to the terminal, attach
another WHITE wire to the other end of the terminal with the coil, and
from there you will need to ground it. So now you should have 2 wires
grounded as indicated below in the picture and 4 wires coming from the
completed relay as indicated below.





Once this is done, you will need to attach the RED wire coming from you
positive terminal on the back of your rocker switch, to the positive side
of the battery as indicated below.




Last thing to do, is ground the rocker switch. From the terminal on the
back of the rocker switch that says “ground” run a BLACK wire from the
terminal to any ground on the vehicle, I used the one by the drivers foot
well, it worked great, here is a pic.



When you are finished hiding the wires, it should look like this:




You are now done with the first locker, and now its time to move to the
second one, the rear one!
Locate the rear locker, and find the Violet and light green wire,



Using the Tap splices as explained before, tap into the wire just as you
did the first time. (note, everything will be exactly the same from here
throughout the entire process, Nothing changes at all, just repeat the
same steps as before you will be fine.

After finishing all wiring, you will need to go back over everything and
make sure it is connected right…after you feel it is connected right, put
the battery back in, and the locker relays….just lay your new relays in
the engine bay to make sure everything works first. Once you have your
battery connect, take it for a test drive and make sure it works. The
locker lights on the dash should be blinking when you flip the switch, and
it should lock. Flip the switch off, and they should go off (note, it
might take a second, and you might have to turn the vehicle slightly to
fully get the locker to disengage. This is normal and don’t be
worried. Once everything is working now you will want to clip the
blue tap splices shut and get some liquid splice compound, basically
liquid rubber. I put a couple coats on the tap splices on the locker
relays, to keep moisture out and seal it. It also put it on the relays,
where I had soldered, but as stated before have since used spade terminals
and heat shrink wrapping for a better seal. Here is a picture of the old
job of soldering and a picture of the rubber compound on the soldering.



If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, i can help assist you
through it if need be.

 

Here is the pic of Bofer84's Cooltech switchplate. You can only put 15 photos in a post, so I'm having to add it here:



Here is where Bofer84 mounted his relays in the engine compartment:



Bofer84 with cleaned up wiring, running inside loom:

 

Here are a couple wiring diagrams I compiled (stole/borrowed from other people - aka Don-A-Vee) and one little drawing I made in paint to help with the wiring.

Location of underhood relays:



Diagram of locker relay wiring and which wires to tap into:





Here is how all the wiring connects together. You will need to do this twice - one for front and one for rear:

 

Awesome! Can't wait to try it. This is gonna come in handy in the sand... Not being able to do something like this was one of the few things I didn't like about the JK vs. TJ. Thanks for the hard work and the pix!

Is the swaybar disco next?

 

Thanks so much Mike, i really appreciate it. Hope this helps everyone!

 

you are correct, if your not using the illuminated switches, you dont need a relay at all, just tap into the locker wires, run into a rocker switch and then to a ground, and your set!

The relay is to illuminate the switch...because the switch is a "power switch" meaning its meant to have power running through it, like an offroad light, and naturally when you provide power through the switch, it illuminates the light when its on...since the switch for the lockers is a ground switch only, meaning your not wanting any power to flow through the switch, only grounding it, you need to some how get the power to the switch without allowing it to flow through the swtich and into the factory locker relays. The relay i installed allows me to have power flowing through the rocker switch to illuminate the light, but not allow power to flow through the switch and screw up what im grounding. Does that make sense

 

i would say try to attempt it, i am the worst at electrical stuff, but if you take your time and follow the diagram you really cant screw things up. Like i said, i am horrible with wiring and if i ever had any questions i just asked and i got an answer from someone on here.

As far as the switches, i encourage you to go with an illuminated switch, just for safety. Cooltechs switches are nice because its integrated into the dash

 

Here is just a little I have to add from my own locker mod setup.

Bo had six wires running through the firewall - from the engine bay to the interior of the vehicle.
I did a couple things differently that allowed me to only have to run two wires through the firewall - the two that go from the relays (#87 post) to the locker control wires. I ran these two both at the same time and I recommend using two different color wires so you know which is which. I used Red for Rear Locker and Black for Front Locker. These were my only two wires that ran through the firewall.

To cut down on the wiring, I mounted my relays under the dash, behind the glove box:



Like Bo mentioned, it is quite a bit easier to use female connectors to connect wires to the relays, which is what I did here.






The other main thing I did differently, is that since the switches were so close to the Cigarette lighter, I tapped into that for my power supply - keeping the wires only about 8 inches long, instead of having to run them all the way to the battery (this is also a switched power supply - turning off with the ignition).




The backside of the panel where I put the switches. I kept all my wires labeled with a piece of masking tape, so I would know what wire went where:




I also put an inline fuse between my power supply coming out of the switch into the relay. This is probably not required due to the low draw of the relay, but may be prudent to do this anyway, just in case.

Where I have my switches mounted - not as cool as Bo's, but I don't need that many switches right now. Since I connected my wires to the switches with female connectors, I can always easily re-wire them if I need to go with something like the Cooltech switchplate later:





These rocker switches came from Advance Auto Parts, but i've seen the same ones at Wal-Mart, Auto Zone, and O'Reilly's. I used a third one of these for my driving lights, so they all match. I mounted the switch for the driving lights to the left of the steering wheel. I think these switches almost look like they could have come from the factory this way:




I ran all my ground wires (from the switches and from the relays) to two points on the passenger side kickpanel. The positions are the same as what Bo used on the driverside kickpanel except on the passenger side. I ran all six ground wires, then twisted them together in pairs and crimped on a ring terminals. Here you can see three pairs of wires grounded:




Here is a pic of the oem locker relays under the hood before them are removed. Also see the diagram of their location in one of my previous posts:

 

Hey Bo, would you post some pics from different angles of your Cooltech switch plate, please?
Does it kinda stick out at the bottom, or do you just not have it seated fully in that pic? What does it look like from the sides?

 

I'm going to do this, but I really want to use a covered illuminated switch. Can anyone recommend one?