** ANTMAN MOD#10
Outside light switch install (Antman Porchlight)
After checking out Jango's super-fast moving build thread with all his switches (I lost count at 10...) I got to thinking about some stuff.
There are lots of times when I'm camping, or launching my boat at night when I use the lights on my Gobi rack. Sometimes unlocking the doors and reaching over to the center console switches is a PITA.
Enter the outside light switch. With a single switch I can power the 4 front, or 1 rear Hella rack lights at any time from outside the 4Runner.
I had a few requirements for the switch. Had to be waterproof, totally concealed yet easily accessible.
I thought I had found the perfect spot, drilled the hole and installed the switch. Luckily, I realized before I buttoned everything up that the switch was in the direct path of the sliding rear window.:shrug: Had to start over.
In fact, the window is the sole reason this MOD is time consuming and required a lot of thought. Wire routing out of the window's path is critical. The wiring path is...circuitous, but along the same path that Toyota deemed safe.
Here's the MOD!
Gotta take the hatch panel off. Start by prying here.
Leave the panel attached at the window channel and reach in there to unplug the lights
Now pull the panel off and here's what you see.
I decided to hide the switch in the recess of the hatch handle. To see what I'm talking about you must remove the rear garnish. Pull the clear plastic covering off of the hole. You can press it back into place if you are careful!
Before you remove the garnish, rig your tailgate so it won't latch shut. Yeah, I had it latch shut on me...twice.
Unplug these electrical connectors first. Note- the small plug is for the camera and doesn't need to be removed to pull the garnish off. However, when you drill the hole for the switch it will be in the way and you do not want to drill into the wires!
There are 6 10mm nuts to take the garnish off (2 of the nuts hold the lock tumbler/switch).
This is the back of the garnish.
For my application I need a single pole double throw switch. The rubber cover will make it waterproof.
This is where I mounted the switch. Drilling a 1/2" hole in sheetmetal can be tricky! You don't want to "rip" the metal. Start with a punch and work up to progressively larger bits. Any bare metal was painted to prevent rust.
The garnish was dremeled a bit to allow access to the switch.
Time to wire. The center of the switch will go to +12V power ( I tapped into the red wire for the hatch lights). One outside terminal will go to the front light relay trigger, the other to the rear light relay trigger.
Like I said- routing is critical here. The window fills the void when it's down. Follow the factory path, even though it's a PITA. I got a little pissed and forgot to take all the pictures!
Word of advice- remove both speakers, and the plastic pull handle on the drivers side to make things easier.
After you follow the factory wiring across the inside of the hatch, it travels through a grommet to the outside of the hatch, back across and through another grommet to the inside again. Fish the wire up the hatch to the rubber plug that leads into the truck. Lots of patience and swearing here. Any other routing method is asking for trouble later.
You need to wireloom these!
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How to properly loom wires:
Bundle your wires and tightly wrap (stretch the tape) a few times with electrical tape.
Pull tape straight and slide the slot in the split loom over the tape. Then continue wrapping the end of the split loom with the tape. This method prevents the loom from coming apart and sliding off the wires.
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CONTINUED
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