Here’s a method for a third way to unlock your DII.

This and other forums have more than a few threads about owners being locked out of their trucks. I’ve never been locked out, but unlocking with the key in the door has failed twice, in two different ways. And although I have never had the keyless entry system fail I am aware that it can fail.

The second time the door lock failed the truck was 3+ hours away, with my son who was still in college at the time. He was able to use the keyless entry handset to lock and unlock the truck, but my concern about it possibly failing and leaving him stranded got me thinking about a third way to unlock the truck.

I realized that two things happen when the key is turned in the door lock to unlock the truck. First, the key physically unlocks the driver’s door. Second, it closes an electrical switch that signals the BCU to unlock the door or doors electrically with the door lock motors.

I went looking in the RAVE Workshop Manual and found this in the BCU section.The reference to the BCU being signaled when a circuit is "earthed” (i.e. grounded) gave me the idea I was looking for. Why not tap into the wire connected to the BCU that signals it to unlock the doors and provide an alternative path to earth?

I reviewed the RAVE Electrical Circuits diagrams and found that the wire I was looking for was the US wire leading from the door lock. (According to the RAVE Electrical Library, a US wire is blue with a slate (gray) stripe.)

I removed the kick panel in the driver footwell and located the US wire running from the door switch. I ran a length of 18-gauge primary wire from that location through the boot in the firewall, along the left inner fender alongside the refrigerant line and then down and across in front of the radiator to a location behind the bumper.

I next used a quick splice from Advance Auto to connect the new 18-gauge wire to the US wire. I’m certain there are other brands with the same design. I was able to unlock the doors by simply grounding the other end of the wire to the bumper or any other location on the body or frame. Works like a charm.

And if anyone were to be looking carefully and find a stray wire apparently not connected to anything they likely wouldn’t think to try to ground it.

I have since installed a marine-grade, momentary contact push button switch in a hidden location. It’s kind of fun to be able to walk up to my locked truck, push a hidden button, and unlock it. And more importantly, in the unlikely event the door lock and the keyless entry handset stop working simultaneously I won’t be locked out of the truck.

 

Good info. Thanks