The truck build has been on a short hiatus while I'm waiting on parts.
I've been doing some less glamorous work in the meantime. I produced drawings of all the panels needed to construct the storage units. These have all gone to be converted to CAM files so that the panels can be cut on a CNC router and then linexed. As we customize this build to different trucks and bed lengths we'll be able to modify the CAD and CAM files.
The other job I've done is working on the door locks. I don't know if this is just plan boring or useful. I'm sure you'll let me know :sombrero:
Ford trucks have an issue with their automatic door locks. At some point they fail and need replacing. The actuator for the lock is attached to the door latch itself. To get to it the door panel has to be removed, all the rods removed from the latch, and the latch and actuator removed from the door. It's one of those jobs you need super small bend hands and arms. Removing the latch takes about an hour the first time, by the time you are on the fourth door you can get it down to 30 minutes.
There is a well covered repair for the actuators, the actuator is taken apart and the heat sink in the motor wrapped in tin foil and replaced. I did that repair on the actuators about 6 months ago and they worked fine until the tiny electric motors burnt out.
The issue with this repair is it's a pain to have to remove the latches, take the actuators apart, and replace them, only to ultimately have the motor burn out, plus any fire hazard.
Not wanting to go through this again I bought some 2 wire 12 volt actuators as replacements. The fitment process is a lot simpler. Remove the door panel, attach the new actuator to the inside of the door panel, check it clears the window when fully down, and tap into the 12 volt supply for the factory actuator. I then used the supplied hardware to attach to one of the rods so that when activated it will open or close the lock. It's about a 30 minute job for each door.
I'd hesitated doing the job as a two wire actuator will either push or pull depending on the polarity that it's wired up to. I understood how it would work for the release on a hood or truck where all you wanted was it to open, but how would it work when you wanted it to open and close??
I love challenges like this, where I know something is possible but I don't have a clue how to achieve it. I found my answers
here and I thought it was a neat solution. The system works by changing the polarity of the electric current, for example opening the locks is -/+ and closing the locks is +/- the polarity change is achieved through a relay system in the automatic door lock system.
I now have 4 doors that open using the central door lock system and the remote. The total time for the work was 2 hours, and the cost $50.00
