Best way to tap into truck wiring?

[cttitan]

OK all of you seasoned veterans out there. What is your favorite way to tap into the trucks wiring?

I'm installing a remote start and was just going to use "scotch lock" type taps. Is there a better/different way? It seems like it will be tough to get into some of the wires in a bundle.

Tell us your secrets!! Please....

[f00dstamps]

i'll assume that you have a wiring diagram for the titan that shows where the wires are located and their color codes.

all the wires are pretty easy to get to. the only thing that was a minor pain was the lack of slack in the ignition harness.

i highly discourage you from using scotch t-taps. they are the worst invention ever. they give you false security. they make a poor connection at best. they rely on a small piece of metal puncturing a wire through the insulation but not breaking the wire.

if you are familiar with a soldering iron, then you should use it. if you have a buddy that knows how to solder, have him make the electrical connections.
- strip back the wire: i use cutters and cut through the insulation only (not the wire). make your next cut about 1 inch down the wire. i use a sharp blade and slice along the wire between the 2 pts that you just cut through the insulation. peel off the insulation
- poke a pointy object through the copper wire to make a hole.
- poke through the hole with the wire you want to connect to it
- twist the wire around the other
- apply solder
- apply electrical tape
this makes a superior electrical connection that will last for many years to come.


there is one trick that i had to figure out for myself. i connected the lock wire at the door but the results were not consistent. sometimes it would take a few tries before the door would lock even though the alarm was arming. this was occuring because the negative trigger of the alarm was not providing a solid ground. the other option was to use the door lock motor with a door lock relay that would give me a nice solid ground. the problem with this is... when you use the door lock/unlock motors, it does not control the domelight supervision (i.e. when you lock, dome light will not turn off). my solution was to wire up both the lock/unlock trigger at the door as well as the door lock motors. essentially, the door lock motor was making sure the door locked while the door lock trigger (at the door) would turn off the dome light supervision. i did not have to wire up the door unlock motor because the double pulse trigger at the unlock wire (in the door) was sufficient to unlock it every time.

be careful taking off your door panel. use something like a tinting squegee to pop stuff off. if you're reluctant about taking off your door panel, there is a "trick" way to access the door lock/unlock trigger wires inside the truck. it requires taking the wire and inserting it into empty locations of a plug that goes into the BCM. i didn't do it this way so i don't know the exact pin numbers. you may want to do a search.

everything else is relatively easy. holler at me if you need anything else.

[cttitan]

Thanks for the info. I'm tracking down the wires right now, I have the wiring info and the manual to help me. I agree that the ignition harness looks to be a bear to get into.

I think I'll break out the soldering iron and do it that way. I don't want to have to keep jerking around with any loose connections on this project!!