HOW TO: installing a garage door opener into your 80

[Lockd97]

I have the materials needed at home and when I get there this is my evening project!

Great work!

[Flank]

Let me know when you figure out where to install the switch for the bullet proof shield, ejector seat and machine guns, Q. - James Bond.

Nice work, Quartermaster.

This looks like a fun project! Nice work.

[cruiserdan]

Originally Posted by slimbuddha

Pretty sweet... I considered getting one of the "homelink" systems from one of the newer model Toyota's and trying to connect it up, but this seems easier.

Just what I did. In the form of a Scion TC auto-dimming mirror with a three-channel Homelink.

This is really clever tho.

I have used Word and mailing lables to re-label switches.

[NLXTACY]

hey Dan, I read how you did the re-labeling but with this there would be a red tinge due to the existing label. I am thinking about getting some more cheapo switches to experiment with.

For this particular one I may just keep it as is to be more stealth but for my planned use for the second one I would want it to be labeled correctly. That FAQ coming soon as well!

Originally Posted by cruiserdan

Just what I did. In the form of a Scion TC auto-dimming mirror with a three-channel Homelink.

This is really clever tho.

I have used Word and mailing lables to re-label switches.

[tominator]

This is one of the coolest mods I've seen! Way to think outside the box...I put my remote underneath the armrest using velcro for the same reason you mentioned keeping it out of sight...your idea is waaay more stealth...

[Trailbus]

I relabled 2 defroster switches for lockers, an antenna & hazard switch for my winch, and a rear heater switch for my OBA. All you have to do is carefully stick the edge of a razor blade straight into the edge of the existing symbol plate & slowly pry it out.

On the ones I did, the symbol is painted on the back side. I pushed that side against a piece of emery cloth & sanded it down to the clear plastic. Then I had a local sigh shop print new lables I made up out of the stickers they use to make lighted buisness signs (on clear or white sheet), stuck it to the outside of the plastic, trimmed, and used the thin double sticky tape or a dab of RTV to put it back into the switch.

Only problem I have is they are currently white lights, not green. Need some of those green rubbers

[NLXTACY]

Ok small update.

Wife came home today and all of a sudden the remote would only work if you were either inside the garage (to get out) or just outside of it (to get in). I checked the power on the battery, it was under 1.0V. I had thought that maybe the battery cage of the remote was maybe touching metal and thus shorting out and draining the battery. Turns out its not the case. So I tested the second battery that came in the case, 1.3V. Hmm...

So I dig in the trash for the packaging the batteries came in. They had an expire date of April 07. HAHAHAHAHA! So off to get new batteries and all is well again.

I did a little research and I have learned that randomly extending the antenna is a bad idea. Yeah there is the whole FCC thang, but more importantly because the "new" extended antenna will no longer be tuned to the device and thus wont work. Sure you COULD use a SWR meter on it but I would have zero clue how to tune it.

[Ruadhrigh]

Originally Posted by Trailbus

I relabled 2 defroster switches for lockers, an antenna & hazard switch for my winch, and a rear heater switch for my OBA....

wow.

very resourceful. without pics though, I call BS

[peytonkristen]

That is a cool mod! Gonna have to do it!

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Very cool

I was planning on doing sumthin similar using tire pressure swiches I nabbed from Corolla rentals

[sandcruiser]

if you are going to bother to extend the switch wires, why not mount the board & battery into a small project box or tupperware and put it behind the grill, in front of the radiator. That should give you great range.

As for how to power the board w/ 12v... it depends on how particular the board is, but you could just wire in two 3v leds in series for a total voltage drop of about 12v.

[NLXTACY]

Well, this is actually my project for tonight. I got a small plastic box yesterday so I think tonight I will be moving the location to the grill area. Its fine where it is but it could be better. Being as I am going to move it again I am going to just keep the battery in it and no bother with direct wiring it for power.

Originally Posted by sandcruiser

if you are going to bother to extend the switch wires, why not mount the board & battery into a small project box or tupperware and put it behind the grill, in front of the radiator. That should give you great range.

As for how to power the board w/ 12v... it depends on how particular the board is, but you could just wire in two 3v leds in series for a total voltage drop of about 12v.

[86 Bronco]

this is probably the coolest and easiest mod I have seen. I already went to Home Depot and bought a spare opener and a momentary on switch that fits perfectly in the spare hole right below my key....tested it out...and just need to solder it and mount it.

[ToyotaDon]

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

Now you have the two wires that are there for the light. I really want to get the light to work with the dash lights. So I am assuming that just one wire to ground and the other tied into the dash light switch should suffice. Anyone else have a better idea?

Okay, even though you bought that 60 out from underneath me, I'll help you out.

Don't wire it the way you talked about above. Here's an excert from the EWD:


It should be fairly straightforward. You can use Scotchlocks or strip, solder, & heat shrink, that's been discussed elsewhere.

[NLXTACY]

Haha sorry about that. As soon as 450DUDE put the listing up I had already emailed and spoke to Zach. Its going to a good home, I promise!

Originally Posted by ToyotaDon

Okay, even though you bought that 60 out from underneath me, I'll help you out.

[NLXTACY]

So I am just connecting the T and L pins on the rheostat? Looks easy enough. And yes, it's literally right next to it.

[ToyotaDon]

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

Haha sorry about that. As soon as 450DUDE put the listing up I had already emailed and spoke to Zach. Its going to a good home, I promise!

You must have got to him first and seemed a sure thing, 'cause he never replied to me. I'll keep looking for another deal like that.

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

So I am just connecting the T and L pins on the rheostat? Looks easy enough. And yes, it's literally right next to it.

All other lights in that circuit are wired that way, with power from the "tail" fuse and ground controlled by the rheostat.

[NLXTACY]

Sooo, I started messing around with this thing some more because I was really unhappy with the decreased range AND it was intermittently cutting out and only giving a 10ft range. Basically meaning I had to be next to the door before it would open.

Because as it takes literally 3 minutes to remove the plastic trim, I decided to take the switch out and perhaps change its location. I thought about moving it above the rearview mirror but I really didn't want to deal with the headliner.

So instead I bought a really cheap project box my local electronics store. I did NOT want to use the opener case it came in because I didn't want it recognized.

So I took the first switch I made and took it back apart. This time running two 18 gauge wires to the front grill of the truck. I used Molex connectors on the switch to make it easily removable. I then soldered the two wires to the board again. It doesn't matter which wire goes where, all you are doing is completing the circuit.

Once it was soldered I used double-sided foam tape to stick the opener to the inside of the project box. I then used an alcohol pad and clean off the side of the driver's side headlight housing (it was flat) and used double stick tape to attack the project box to the headlight housing. I decided to use double-sided tape because I would be replacing a battery only once every year or so. But you can come up with your own attachment solution.

[NLXTACY]

Once that was fine and tested, I then decided that it really didn't matter that there was a house icon on the switch because the truck is always garaged AND the remote is hidden. I just did up a quick "HOW TO" for relabeling the switches:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...-switches.html

Sorry about the crappy photos.

[Flank]

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

Once that was dine and tested, I then decided that it really didnt matter that there was a house icon on the switch because the truck is always garaged AND the remote is hidden. I will do up a quick HOW TO for relabeling the switches and stick the link here.

Sorry about the crappy photos.

OK, now the pic of the house switch is seriously cool. That clinches it. I am selling my house and getting one with a garage to open via the switch I will fab, label and relocate.

This LC fetish is getting expensive...

[blinkinlights]

What a coincidence as I installed the homelink option from a 2000 LX470 into my 1998 LC100 just yesterday. It took me a screwdriver, a wire stripper, some black tape and about 15 minutes and it looks like it came that way from the factory. Since there is no power molex connector as it was never an option in 1998, i just tapped into the overhead light switches which have constant power. Works like a charm and it's hooked right into the car battery so it never goes dead.

Greg

[NLXTACY]

I guess I should clarify, I ordered 2pin and 4pin Molex connectors off the internet to use for such jobs.