davegus

Here's a write up of how I did my garage door opener mod. Goal was to mount a switch that is wired into the hidden remote, but add a relay in the mix so that when the jeep is off, the switch is inactive. This security aspect means nobody can unzip the windows and hit the switch to open the garage doors. This is also a 3 position switch (left, open, right) so that I can open 2 different doors.

The idea is to wire in the relay to the left cigarette lighter which is active only when the Jeep ignition is on. When the Jeep is off, the coil in the relay has no current, so the switched circuit in the relay is open (no connection). Having this switched circuit in between the garage door remote common and the common of the 3 position momentary switch means the switch is completely inactive when the relay is open.

Here's a picture of the final install



Parts:
3 position momentary switch ordered online for about $4 plus shipping
12V 20Amp Relay (SPST NO) from auto parts store for $6
A few feet of 18AWG wire
Wire terminators, Butt Connectors, Velcro, Wire Taps

Step 1.

This is the hard part. I took apart the garage door opener and guessed at which contact points needed to be shorted to activate the opener button. Looking at the back of the circuit board, it looked like the top row was the common, so one of the two points below was the other contact point. My neighbor and I took a small piece of wire and tested through trial and error to find which pair activated which button. Once we figured out the wire contacts, he had someone at his work solder a few inches of wire onto these contact points. 1 for the common, 1 for the left button, and one for the right button.







Step 2.

Remove the panel below the steering wheel. It's just clipped in, so carefully pop it out from the top. I used a dremel tool to cut a rectangular hole to fit the switch. Pop the switch in and connect the outer switch connectors to the two wires to the remote buttons. The middle (common) terminal gets wired to the relay, so leave that one alone for now.





Step 3.

Take the center console panel off. Pop the top cover off starting with the rear sides, then the top will slide forward and up. Remove the 2 screws now exposed above the radio. Pop the bottom panel off down below the switches (hazard, ESP OFF, etc), and remove the 2 screws exposed there. Then the rest of the console will pop out.

I picked up a generic 12V 20A relay switch (SPST - 4 terminals) at an auto parts store and tapped the cigarette lighter wires to the relay. See the Red and Black wires and the blue wire taps connecting to the LEFT cigarette lighter wires.



These Red and Black wires then connect to the Relay coil terminals



The Green and White wires on the Relay Switched circuit then connect to the momentary switch and the common in the remote control.

This picture shows where the Green and White wires go. The Green and White wires go behind the left side of the console through a cavity to the space underneath the steering wheel. The Green wire is connected to the common terminal of the momentary switch, and the white wire is butt-connected to the common wire coming from the garage door remote.



I just put the remote in some of the space below the steering wheel, which will be hidden by the panel when reinstalled. I planned to velcro it, but right now it's just sitting there as I didn't leave myself enough wire to let it reach a decent spot to velcro it.

Then put some velcro against the wall on the left of the center console and on the relay and just mount it there:



And here's the finished look:



Hope this makes sense - feel free to offer suggestions for improvement or ask questions for clarifications.

-goose

blackthunder92

That's awesome! I will definitely be trying this one soon.

Phantasm

Interesting idea, What happens if you inadvertently leave the switch on while driving? Does it hold the opener on? or does the opener have a timeout feature?

Also, Keep in mind that the electrics work with non computer chip keys. So if you had a glovebox only key, a thief could activate the system.

How's the range? Improved with the full time voltage?

davegus

Good questions - let me try to explain a little more.

The switch is a "momentary" switch, which means it doesn't stay in an "On" position. It's like a push button that comes back up once you let go - just like the garage door opener itself, not like a light switch that stays in the position you put it in.

Yes, any key that can turn the ignition on will activate the switch.

Range is about the same, but keep in mind the garage door opener isn't getting power from the jeep. It's still using the internal battery to send the signal. The power from the jeep only activates the relay, which closes the contact for the common wire, enabling a complete circuit inside the garage door opener (using its own battery). Relays keep the 2 circuits (opener with battery and current from the cig lighter) electrically independent.

Thanks for the questions.

NH-JK

Wow... That's intense! Good job!

Jim1227

Nice write up....I'll have to try that.

mjolnir

Good Work

I know it's tough to solder wire to circuit boards. If those solder joints break, the blue wire one looks a little dicey no offence, I'd suggest trying to find some 20-22awg stranded wire. You'll have an easier time getting a good joint.

If I had a garage door with an opener on it I would consider doing this, I still have to lift mine manually

JK084

Wow. Very nice job!

rich1340

I did something similar. I included it with the rest of my stuff in my switch box. It also controls my winch, rock lights, and turns off my abs/esp. I'm getting ready to redo it and go wireless with all of it.

davegus

I didn't personally do the soldering, so no offense taken hopefully since the remote itself is fairly static with no tension on the wires, it won't decide to break free any time soon.