Good day to all! Today we will talk about such a device as an electric trunk lid or simply a rear door. Here you can call it whatever you like. The essence remains the same.
Many modern cars have a function that allows you to remotely and automatically open the luggage compartment. Everyone imagines what it is like when you don’t have to lift the lid manually. Therefore, many decide to install a similar element on a sedan, hatchback or other car body with a similar device.
The presence of an electric drive will significantly simplify closing and opening the trunk. Now there is a real opportunity to buy a universal set, connect it to your car and use it with pleasure and excellent comfort. I propose to study this issue in more detail and decide whether an electric drive is right for you.
Preparation for installation
We purchase a lock kit. There are a lot of manufacturers of auto parts on the market now, but there are no special differences between the sets. It is important that the device has a warranty card and instructions for use and connection. Also in the box you will find:
- Activator;
- terminal;
- Wires;
- Relay.
Additionally, you need to stock up on a set of standard tools: pliers, screwdriver, screwdrivers, multimeter, drill with carbide drill bit. In addition to the standard accessories, immediately buy additional wires; it is quite possible that the length of those you find in the box will not be enough for you. Black heat-resistant insulating tape, corrugated tubes, and clips for fastening the trim will also be useful, since very often the trim of car elements is attached to disposable ones.
Important! Be sure to check that the warranty card for the purchased device is available and filled out correctly. Regardless of who performed the installation, you or the service, you have the right to free repairs within a year.
Device set
How will we install
Self-installation is within the capabilities of most car enthusiasts; there is nothing difficult about it. The whole action consists of three points, which are described in detail in the electric drive guide.
- Collect all equipment and materials;
- Actually, installing the drive on the door;
- Installation and fastening of the button (if control will be from the passenger compartment).
The installation of the drive itself is quite simple; you will have to tinker with electrics and wires, and it is better to invite a person who only knows about wires. It is clear that we have begun to de-energize the system, that is, remove the terminals from the battery. We connect the electric drive according to the diagram on the guide. If something is not clear, you can get information online or from a familiar electrician.
It is better to do the installation at a car service center
Installation still involves making a couple of small holes on the door to establish a connection with the standard trunk lock. Make sure that the lock closes smoothly and freely. And don’t save time and effort on careful wiring. If we stretch it and it will do, then in the future we may get short circuits and other problems. It should be pulled along standard lines and places. It is better to solder and insulate the joints.
After installation and connection, we restore the power supply to the network and check the operation of the drive
And we pay attention to the power springs so that it doesn’t turn out that the trunk lid is too heavy and the drive doesn’t have enough traction
Equipping a domestic car with an electric trunk drive
If you install an electric drive for opening and closing the trunk on a domestic car (for example, a VAZ), the basic elements of the mechanism alone, which are already far from cheap, will not be enough. You will also need to install a trunk closer. Therefore, this method of improvement is irrational.
For domestic cars, a cheaper and simpler solution is suitable, such as using an electric window drive.
To bring this idea to life, you need to buy two ESP mechanisms (for example, consider products costing about three thousand rubles), a trunk lid control button (type 21100-3710620, cost 50 rubles) and a car window closing module (brand DenUp-RWC702m, price – 500 rubles).
Electric power windows "Forward"
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In our example, power windows are installed in the luggage compartment of the Lada Priora using a simple connection. The rear edge of the ESP rail is connected by a threaded connection to the crossbar at the back of the seat, on which the shelf rests. The front end of the window regulator bracket with a welded nut is screwed to the rear window mounting beam. To do this, a groove is cut in the beam into which an M6 nut would fit.
As a result, the assembled structure works without problems when you press a button specially located in the interior or on the remote control.
Connection diagram
Using one power window is ineffective, since it can hardly cope with its task, and the trunk lid closes askew.
The mechanism of two ESPs is free of these troubles. In some cases, the lock position will need to be adjusted.
Video “System operation in a Kia Optima car”
A description of the operation and connection of the system in a Kia Optima car is shown in the video below (the author of the video is Evgeny Sokolov).
Car enthusiasts know that most modern foreign cars are equipped with an automated trunk opening/closing device using a special button. The mechanism is powered by an electric drive, eliminating the need for the owner to slam the lid every time. Is it possible to retrofit your car with a similar mechanism? Let’s look at it below.
There is no need to “reinvent the wheel” to automatically open the trunk. It will be enough to install ordinary springs, as is common among Lada Granta car owners. To close the luggage compartment using a button, you will already need a mechanism driven by an electric motor. Foreign cars, as a rule, are equipped with two electric drives, a control unit and a button in the cabin.
As an example, let’s look at the principle of operation of the trunk closing mechanism of Volkswagen cars.
The power rear door kit includes two motors located in the trunk lid control units and a soft-close locking hinge.
Main parts for assembly Trunk door diagram Electric motor installation Trunk lid parts
Opening the luggage compartment can be done in several ways:
- by pressing a button on the remote control;
- by pressing the same button built into the driver's door;
- mechanically using an external handle.
The electric motors of the trunk opening/closing mechanism are equipped with a force limiter, due to which they stop if there is an obstacle in the path of the lid movement. As a result, the opening process is interrupted. The limiter works in a similar way when the lid is closed, interrupting the movement of the mechanism and shifting its position slightly back.
If a breakdown occurs in the electrical circuits of the trunk drive, the motors do not turn off, that is, they remain mechanically connected to the lid. Therefore, opening or closing the door in this case will require a lot of force.
The principle of operation of the trunk opening and closing mechanism
How does the power rear door lift work? The electric trunk lock drive must open when the corresponding button is pressed by unwinding, thereby increasing the traction force and transmitting it to the rod. When voltage is applied to the unit, the system relay automatically repels the rod, which helps open the door. It must be taken into account that the electric tailgate drive cannot operate under load for a long time, as it may break due to overheating.
Designation of structural elements
First installation option
In order to implement the design, you can use two methods. And the very first is the purchase of standard products designed for electric trunk drive. It's best to take extra. The components of the system must be reinforced, the materials used for their manufacture must be of only high quality. Of course, the cost of such a set will be rather high, but you will be sure that it will serve you for many years and will not break at the most inopportune moment. The presence of an inertial mechanism is welcome, since it is with its help that the drive will be turned off if there is an obstacle in the path of the trunk lid movement.
Kit selection
Installation will not be possible if you do not have at your disposal a set of equipment necessary for installation. Buying it is not difficult, but you need to think about which specific option is best for you.
In total, 2 solutions to the current situation are being considered. Namely.
- Factory set. Purchased from trusted and reputable manufacturers. The kit contains almost everything you need, so you don’t have to assemble different elements. But the price is naturally higher;
- Amateur kit. Here we are talking about independently preparing all the necessary components. The motorist is faced with the question of where exactly to get them and how to choose a set so that everything fits. It is difficult to do this without relevant experience and certain knowledge. But you can save a lot of money financially.
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I don’t know what exactly you will choose, but I want to give one piece of advice. Buy an electric drive equipped with an inertia mechanism. This will allow you to turn off the drive when an obstacle appears in the path of the luggage compartment lid. Roughly speaking, the drive will not pinch your hand or head when you poke around in the trunk.
So the inertial mechanism is a very useful thing.
If we talk about assembling a homemade kit, then it is important to collect several basic elements. These include:
- power window module 2 pieces;
- 2 mechanisms for lifting glass;
- wires;
- diodes;
- electromagnetic relay;
- five-pin relays;
- four-pin relays;
- Relay connection block;
- springs for the lid lock;
- power tools;
- wiring;
- nuts, bolts;
- Bulgarian, etc.
As you can see, the set is quite impressive. Therefore, consider whether it is worth trying to assemble the kit yourself. Sometimes it is much easier and even more economical to purchase a ready-made factory kit with a guarantee and all the associated benefits. Price does not always play a key role.
Device Features
To open the trunk remotely, automakers use two main methods. The first involves installing an electric drive in the cover, and the second involves the use of pneumatic drives. The latter option is considered more reliable, but also more expensive.
The lid can also be controlled using an electric drive in various ways. This can involve buttons on the dashboard, buttons on the doors, handles on the trunk itself, and remote controls. Each option, in principle, looks attractive and potentially convenient. Therefore, the motorist needs to decide for himself what kind of result he wants to get. It is important to understand that the remote control is convenient, but it can be easily lost. Plus, the installation involves a very complex set of works. Because of this, the most optimal option is to locate the button inside the car interior.
The electric drive device includes several main components. The drive with an electric motor is quite practical, reliable, durable and hardy under active conditions. Less commonly, you can find drives that use magnetic plates. The design is more complex and can create a number of additional problems. It's better not to use them.
The undeniable advantage of the device is that it is quite possible to install it yourself, and on almost any car. If you read various forums, study the work of various craftsmen, of which Moscow alone includes several hundred, as well as the whole of Ukraine, you can see clear examples of the implementation of electric drives on a wide range of car models and brands.
For clarity, I will give several examples where such a system is available from the factory or can be installed on your own:
- Audi Q5;
- Kia Optima;
- Mercedes W211;
- Volkswagen Touareg;
- Chevrolet Niva;
- VAZ 2170 (Priora sedan);
- Lada Vesta SV;
- Ford Kuga 2nd generation;
- VAZ 2114;
- VAZ 2115;
- VAZ 2104;
- Lada Granta;
- Skoda Superb, etc.
There really are a lot of options. It is almost impossible to list everything. That is, you understand that you can install an electric trunk lid on any car.
Installation of a standard electric drive on a Lada
Frets of the “tenth” family of recent years of production are equipped with an electric drive for opening/closing the trunk directly at the factory. Earlier series of cars do not have such equipment, so owners will have to install the electric trunk drive themselves.
Our example involves the operation of the electric trunk drive through a separate button in the cabin. Some alarm systems have an additional ability - to open the luggage compartment, so it is to this system that we will connect the electric drive. For installation you will need the mechanism itself and a mounting plate.
If you have an electric drive in a universal configuration, you will need to make the mounting brackets yourself.
In addition, you will need four meters of electrical wire and a switch button.
Before installing the electric drive, be sure to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. Then we attach the lock drive and remove the protective casing, first removing the fastening clips. Using pliers, we straighten the rear end of the electric drive, unscrew the screw securing the rod, but not completely. The lock drive rod has been disassembled. Now the compartment cannot be opened from the outside, since the lock unlocking mechanism is disconnected from the lock cylinder.
Next, on the trunk lid amplifier, you should mark the locations for drilling the mounting holes for the electric drive attached to the lock. Using an electric drill, we drill holes with a diameter of 3 mm according to the marks. Then it is necessary to bend the rod and make a U-shaped bracket from 4 mm steel wire of such a width that its edges fit effortlessly into the exit points of the drive shell bosses.
An M4 thread should be pre-cut at each end of the bracket. Finally, we fix the electric drive using the prepared bracket and connect the traction lock to it.
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Through the green wire on the electric drive, current flows to the button due to the retraction of the rod. This wire is laid next to the original cable harness. We connect ground to the blue wire, which is negative. You can get power from any exposed area of the car body. The interior button is installed on the dashboard in the left corner of the mounting block.
The operating voltage will be connected to it from block Ш1 (pin 2). After assembly, you can check the functionality of the system by pressing the interior button. Everything should work smoothly.
Luxury or necessity
The automatic trunk opening feature is found in many new cars. Drivers like this feature, because you quickly get used to good things. To open the luggage compartment in a car, just press a button in the cabin. The lock comes into operation as a result of the operation of the electric drive.
This feature may seem like a small thing and an insignificant addition until the cold weather arrives. In cold weather, the lock on the trunk often freezes, making opening the compartment a difficult task. You have to spend time defrosting the mechanism. In the case of an electric drive, such problems will not arise. Also, such a mechanism makes car hacking more difficult, which is also an important advantage.
Mostly imported cars are equipped with this function, and not all of them. Domestic manufacturers have only recently begun to equip their models with such functionality. Every car owner can equip his car with an electric drive for the trunk. This will not be difficult to do, but you will still have to tinker.
Criteria for choosing an electric lock
When buying an electric trunk lid, you need to take the choice seriously. Our market offers customers many different devices in different price categories, but it is better to immediately exclude cheap options. Such a unit will not be able to work for a long time, because the low price, as a rule, is due to the same quality of production of the device. Therefore, immediately exclude Chinese options - in this case it is better to give preference to Russian or imported devices.
When purchasing a device, immediately consider how it will be controlled. For example, if it opens with a button, then you can purchase a regular device, which you can install with your own hands without any problems. But if you want the device to work from an alarm key fob, then it is recommended to take a more complex electrical device, and the connection procedure must be carried out by a qualified electrician.
Today you can find several models of devices on sale, by type they are:
- Standard. Such systems are equipped with side clamps and are cheaper.
- Reinforced. Their cost is higher, but their quality is higher. In addition, such devices will be more reliable in terms of operation.
Experts recommend giving preference to devices with an inertial mechanism. Thanks to this, a lower load will be placed on the electric motor, since when the rod hits an obstacle, it will simply turn off (video author - Sergei).
How to make it yourself
The preparatory stage is completed. It's time to move on to installation work. However, we will start with something simpler - installing an electric drive on the trunk lid lock. After all, this option is suitable even for Russian “classics”.
In this case, you need to act according to the following scheme:
remove the terminals from the battery; open the trunk; unscrew the screws and carefully unclip (very flimsy material and fastenings) the plastic protection from the lid; we dismantle the lock and modify it so that it opens with one click; we find a suitable place on the cover for the drive and fix the motor using a mounting rail (you may have to drill holes on protruding structural elements, so you need to act extremely carefully and it is advisable to treat new holes with a protective compound); we connect the lock and the drive using a rod or cable; We are looking for a place to install a connector for a 4-pin relay; we drag the wiring through the thresholds to the driver's seat; install the button in a convenient place inside the car; We connect all the elements of the electrical circuit to the on-board network (one wire to ground, and the other to the corresponding relay connector; using the same scheme, we connect a fuse, which is best located in an easily accessible place in the vehicle interior; we carefully insulate all wire connections; we connect the battery and carry out tests.
Advice!!! In order for the trunk to open completely after the lock drive is activated, you need to change the springs in the drive. In this case, the elements of the mechanism from the VAZ “ten” are ideal.
Connecting the electric trunk lock to a button on the remote control will not be difficult if the alarm system installed on the vehicle has such an option. In all other cases, it will require the purchase, installation and configuration of additional expensive equipment, which makes the process impractical.
The second option - installing a full-fledged device for remotely opening and closing the trunk - will be much more difficult. Only experienced service station employees or craftsmen with extensive experience in electrical installation and plumbing work can cope with such work.
The example given is only a recommendation, since the installation scheme for a standard electric trunk drive depends on the design of the car, and when using a device assembled by yourself, you will have to look for your own solutions.
