Storage Compartment Lockout

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Nailed it!!!


(For more details, read further. Post #4 tidies this up nicely and is probably the best way to complete this mod. I am just leaving all of the original info just as an FYI and to show the evolution of the mod.)



Well, almost...


The mod has a couple of flaws in it. It kills all power to my radio console and climate controls (not so bad) and to my gauges (maybe not so good). It was not supposed to do this, according to the schematic. But, I have learned that, hmm, they are not always accurate. There should have been a separate wire feed to the gauges. Another issue is that if you switch it on or off with the vehicle running, the radio will sometimes weird out (on but no volume, volume control lags behind you moving the knob, those kinds of things).

So, that said, here goes...

The fuse that controls +12v to the storage is in the left dash side fuse block, labeled IPC, #39 (instrument storage compartment- took me forever to figure out the "real" name for the d@mn thing!). If you just pull the fuse, you lose power to a few other items too, the dash is one. That fuse is also for the HUD and the driver and passenger heating/cooling. No big, pulling the fuse is an easy shortcut, if that's what you want to do. Otherwise, you can just put a switch inline for the storage, like I did.

I was originally going to go with a magnetic reed switch but it had some issues, mostly, going through the plastic panels means that it did not always close the switch contacts. I just put in a hidden pushbutton switch.

First thing is to remove to remove the fuse block, this is the hardest part of the mod (and its not hard at all). It is held in place by two clips, one on the top of it and one to the driver/back of it. Depress the tangs and slide it out. The first time, it will be a it snug.





The red 10amp fuse, in the lowest point shown in the pic, is the fuse we want.
The next pic is a close-up of the tangs that need to be depressed to pull out the fuse block.

 

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Now that you have the fuse block out, you want to look at the back side. See that huge connector? That's where we are going. There is a red-with-gray-stripe (rd/gy) wire that we want to cut and put our switch inline with it.



The bottom pic shows a (blurry) close-up of the wire. Technically, it is in position #35, but really, it is the only rd/gy wire at the lower left of that connector. If you really want to be sure, put your voltmeter on it and pull the fuse. It has +12v supplied at all times, no need to be running the vehicle while you do this.


Cut this wire, wire in your switch and then move on to the second hardest part of this mod, routing the wiring. That's it! You're done!

The usual fine print applies: you do this at your own risk, yada, yada, yada...




(Being an old man, I'm not sure how to add tags to this, so here they are: instrument storage compartment, storage compartment, hidey hole, hidden storage, radio storage, display storage, etc.)

 

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And who never told me about this dandy find???

Remove the rubber bottom thingey from your armrest storage, remove 5 screws and, voila', handy access to under the cupholders and such (without the frustration of breaking clips and things)



I was able to reach all of the way under there, to the power port and usb connectors in the catch-all pocket. I am leaving the screws out of there, for now, never know when I might need I super-secret stash area! Of course, now that pot is legal in Oregon, I'll probably never have to use it...


And, for those of you that are dying to know, you can probably get a good idea of where I might have put my secret switch. (No, not under the panel, but it was great access to where I did put it)

 

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As does usually happen in my life, my OCD got the better of me. I couldn't leave it as it was, with the dash gauges in-op too. Today, I pulled the radio (hey, once you break a few clips and cheap plastic, what's a few more?).

Here is a great video on it...

Once you pull the radio, there is only one plug, with five wires in it, going to the top of the radio assembly. There is also only one rd/gy wire in it. That is the real wire that you want, if you want to do this the OCD way. I cut this wire and moved my switch wires to it. All I can say is "Wow!. This works much better than I could have hoped for yesterday. You can switch it on and off anytime, even with the truck running, with no glitches. It just blanks out the display and radio controls below it, not the climate controls nor gauges. In fact, you can still use the steering wheel controls for the radio. I just about peed my pants (it happens easily at this age- d@mn prostate!).

 

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Now for a rant...

When you go to a dealer, make sure you're happy with them. I had to take mine in a few times, for radio and BCM stuff. What hacks! While doing this mod, I found 3 clips missing, 1 screw missing, stuff crammed where it wasn't supposed to be and several little tears in the leather (?) dash panel coverings. Obviously, the tears are from when they were trying to remove the panels but I think that they were using a crowbar or claw hammer. I can't go back to the dealer now (it's been several months ago) and they'll say "how did find these things?" And then they'll say that I probably did them, just looking for free warranty replacements. Next time, I'm taking it to a dealer with a better reputation but an hour away.

Rant over...

 

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And if you really want to get tricky with this, you could add a relay that was tied into the accessory power. Inline with your switch, this would lock it out anytime the vehicle was off or, if you hit your switch, always off.