Was going to wait until I installed these, but I need some tech help...
I have a small list of upgrades to the Lightning that Ford should have put in it from the begining. Here's what I've got going on, and what I need to figure out before I go any further:
1) Power pedals - Done
2) Power rear slider - Done
3) Power tailgate - Almost done - sending parts back to manufacture to be recalibrated.
4) Rear facing camera - Purchased an electric flip down license plate frame. Will mount the camera behind the plate so it will only be seen when I am using the camera.
5) Automatic folding side mirrors - Need to purchase mirrors
6) Climate Control from a Navigator - Done.
7) Factory navigation from Blackwood/Navigator - Looking for parts now.
Thanks!
Last edited by qurtrn10; 10-08-2011 at 05:21 PM..
Vehicle: 03 Lightning #739 of 4270
HP: 416
TQ: 497
Cool ideas you got there, I'd like to see it in action too when you get it all buttoned up; keep us posted!
BTW - I think I've seen a rearview camera installed before, but I believe the guy placed the camera around the tag or on the rear bumper somewhere, i like the idea of the old key lock position though
BT
Last edited by BT2001SVT; 04-07-2010 at 01:12 PM..
Making slight headway on #2. I traced the wires from the factory plug across the dash, and down under the passenger side door sill plate. It splits off from the passenger rear speaker wires, and shoots off to the center of the floor, behind the seats. I would pull up the back of the carpet to find the plug where it ends, but it's almost 1am, and I don't have a Torx bit bigger than a 50. Time to take a nap, and hit the parts store in the morning.
Wayne, that looks great! I'll have to keep that idea in mind when I get to that point soon.
Made a little more headway on the slider. I found where the wires from the factory switch plug ends. It actually ends inside the passenger side kickplate, and does not run under the passenger side sill plate like i initially thought. The wires end in a factory female plug, and on the male side, the wires for the slider are not there, so in essence, it dead ends there.
I know I could use a splice connector here, but I really want to take the extra time to make this look factory. How can I run new wires into the male end of the plug to continue the wires the way Ford would have originally?
Here's a few pics to show what I'm working with:
(Where the wires start - at the switch):
(Where the wires dead end - in the passenger side kick panel):
(The female side of said connector with wires going into the plug):
(The male side without the wires, where I'd like to run my wires into):
(The inside of the male side of the plug):
I know that the red insert comes out, and that the wires can be pulled out afterward. I've never added wires to a connectionj like this though. Where would I find the blade part to mate to the female connector?
Well, I goofed up the electrical for sure. Not only does the slider not operate, but I cranked up the truck to pull it out of the garage. When I turned it off, and took the key out, the trunk was still running until I opened the door. :mad:
and it's messed up. Since the truck runs when I pull the key out until I open a door, I'm assuming the Lt Blu / Blk wire is where I goofed up, but I don't know which side I goofed up on it with. Should I change to a different wire at the switch, or a different fuse in the fuse panel?
Argh!
(P.S. - while I'm waiting to figure that part out, I did physically install the window):
I'm not going to secure the interior panels in until I know the wiring is done. I'm also picking up a Lightning storage box so the motor will be hidden inside that. When finished, it ought to look like Ford put it there in the first place.
Got everything done! The problem (for anyone else who wants to try this later using a factory switch) was that the switch already had power and ground from the factory, so I didn't need to use two of the wires that came in the kit. It's working perfectly, and I'll try to get pics up tomorrow. I'll also have to make a How To for it.
I've planned for about a week to do the power tailgate install today, and paid extra for express shipping to get it here today, but it looks so far that it's not going to arrive today. Just wanted to vent. ARGH!
For the wiring, I'm going to setup an extra window switch in my factory door panel toraise the tailgate up and lower it down. The guys that designed the tailgate think it's almost impossible to have it hardwired and run a wireless remote too. I want to prove them wrong. I'll keep posting updates as I go.
Keep your fingers' crossed that it somehow makes it in today.
Update - Wow, those fingers' crossed work pretty quickly. It got here about 10 minutes after posting this. Off to the garage!
I've got my control module secured inside my storage bin:
Running the power and ground wires shouldn't be an issue - it'll just be a matter of taking out the interior trim, hidding the wires beneath, and then securing the wires under the kickpanel and dash.
I have a question about the wires going back to the tailgate. Where does the factory wiring harness crossover from the cab to the bed? I'd like to ziptie the wires with that factory wiring if possible.
Power tailgate done! (Until I decide to add a hardwired switch at least). The droptail works great. If it wasn't for me running out to the hardware store to get some extra wire to lengthen some wires, and then again later to buy a 1/4 drill bit (how did Inot already have one?), it truly would have been a few hour project.
Tailgate up:
Tailgate down (this was before I hid the wiring):
All works by the push of a button on a key fob.
I was wondering how tight the tailgate would close, and it's just about as perfect as it could get:
Driver's side (perfect): :
Passenger's side (within a millimeter or two of perfect):
____________________________________ 2002 L2 Lightning #2996 (1 of 1130)
born Wed 27Mar02 Yes, it's still STOCK
"...sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand."
It looks like I'm not going to install my camera in the tailgate lock hole. I think later in the year, I'm going to shave the handle assembly completelywhile doing some other small body mods. I liked the idea of mounting the camera in the spare tire rod hole, but instead, I'm going to install an electric flip down license plate frame. The camera will be concealed behind the license plate, making it completely hidden. When I want to use it, I'll hit a button and since I want to mount the frame upside down, it will flip up (shielding the camera from rain somewhat), revealing the camera. I hope to order the parts this weekend and start on that this coming week!
For the electrical, I'm going to order one of these panels in black:
I'll have two extra up/down switches - one for my power tailgate, and one for the license plate frame. Since I'm buying switches, instead of buying two regular ones, I'll buy one auto-down and one regular. I'll make the new auto down switch my passenger window switch, and use the other two (regular switches) for my two new accessories. I also need to make sure I have more blue leds lying around so I have the colors match.
I'll still need to try to match the factory lettering, as I want them to be labeled, but i can tackle that another time.
I am abut a third of the way through my climate control (EATC) install. I've not found anyone yet who's done this to a Lightning, so I didn't want to wait and become the second person ever to do it.
Just about everything is different, so I'm replacing just about everything. I have already swapped out the AC box under the dash, and at the same time putting in a new heater core and evaporator. I have the climate control module and wiring harness out of a '99 Expedition. I have the sun load sensor, in cab temp sensor, new dash bubble, radio surround, and new surf board from a HD F150 on order now, which should arrive in about a week to week and a half. Then I can continue assembling the system.
The climate control system uses an outside ambient air temp sensor, just like the one we use in the Lightning for the overhead temp sensor. Does anyone know on a HD F150, do they only have 1 sensor that feeds both systems, or do they have to have 2 separate sensors?
I might end up needing an odd or an end here or there, but the main parts I needed came in today. Now it's off to the garage for the night (or until I can't figure something out).
Got my new surfboard:
New radio surround (which I didn't realize the HD's don't have the airbag key - I'll have to try to swap that into the new surround):
And my new dash bubble:
which I bought just for these cutouts:
Picked up a sunload sensor, but ended up not needing it - the new surfboard came with the sensor already installed.
And lastly (of the EATC stuff) my interior temp sensor. It's not pretty, so it doesn't get a pic posted.
:
Linear Mode
