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Some installation notesOne of the first things that has to be done is cut a hole for the keypad. I was elected as I have more experience with the Dremel tool. For this I used the "heavy duty cutting wheels" which are thicker and more durable than the standard wheels. Basically, these wheels are a composite of fiberglass mesh and cutting grits. The reason for masking so MUCH of the truck is that the cutting throws off hot sparks which would melt into and pit the clearcoat paint. So this is recommended masking for cutting. Most of the sparks will go to the left, but I still recommend overkill on this.This is what the opening looks like after you've cut it and filed it. The filing serves two purposes: it smooths the edges, and it's how you make the slightly wider opening required to the left.Here's some shots of Carl working on splicing the keypad in. Normally, the module is far away from the keypad with 8 wires that have to go through the door to the body of the truck. But by mounting it in the door, we end up with just a short run and it's MUCH easier. On the kits, this operation will already be done and the keypad will just need to be plugged in. To the right is the result after the keypad connector has been spliced into the module. The module is mounted vertically behind the lower left portion of the door in this shot. Yes, it clears the window when it's rolled down! Finally, here's the place where the 5 wires tap into the door's harness using simple tap connectors. No cutting required. There are 5 connections shown together, and though you can see another one down and to the left, it's not part of this mod. It's part of the "auto up" option we put in Carl's truck. On his both windows roll down AND up with single tap of the button.Technical ConsiderationsThis mod requires that you have power locks, obviously. It can work with aftermarket systems and I can modify a box to suit any interconnect. It can only work with an alarm system if the alarm can accept an input signal to turn off the alarm.Since originally the box directly drove the lock actuators, that's why it has to be modified. However, I found that I can play some tricks also. My unit now has a 7 digit entry code instead of the standard 5. I can also set it up for 6.The Ranger has a security module with a nice feature that can make this mod difficult. If you lock the doors with your keyless remote (keyfob remote), a couple of minutes later the door unlock buttons in the cab are disabled. This is nice if you like to leave your windows cracked on a hot day -- no one can put a coathanger through and hit your unlock button and get in.However, this causes fits for the kind of interfacing I'm doing here. If you were to lock your door with the fob, and somehow need to get back in with the keypad -- you couldn't! Not good.The solution is to "wake" the system up and make it think it should pay attention to the button again. The ONLY way to do this is to either turn the key OR to open the door.I originally wired this up so that as soon as you hit a keypad button, both the keypad lit up, and the dome light went on. This wakes up the security module. However, the problem is that now any jerk can look around in your truck at night just by touching the keypad. In addition, the unlock buttons are now functional making it easier to break in.Soooo...I set it up this way instead. The keypad light still comes on as soon as you press a key. But for seven digit combinations, the dome light stays off until you hit the 6th digit correctly. On the seventh the door opens. For 6 digit combinations, the light comes on at 5 and opens at 6. Although this gives a "clue" and makes the last digit less effective, it does mean they need at least 5 or 6 digits just to get a look inside and arm the unlock buttons. I like it better.Wiring and box modification notesFirst, here's the connector pinout with wire color and functional description as used in the STOCK configuration, before modification.Connector 1 - control and power (stock)1 - RED/ORG Drivers door unlock drive (12 volt pulse)2 - LT GRN/YEL Constant 12 volt power3 - PNK/ORG Other doors unlock drive (12 volt pulse)4 - PNK/ORG Other doors unlock drive (same as above)5 - BLK Ground6 - BLK Ground7 - VIO/YEL Trunk open solenoid drive (12 volt pulse)8 - PNK/BLK All doors lock drive (12 volt pulse)9 - PNK/BLK All doors lock drive (same as above)10 - PNK/YEL Door lock input (ground input to trigger)11 - PNK/LT GRN Door unlock input (ground input to trigger)12 - BLK/LT BLU Courtesy lamp drive (12 volts out when lamps on)13 - BLK/WHT - Relay power input (constant 12 volts)14 - BLK/WHT - (same as pin 13)Connector 2 - keypad (stock)1 - LT BLU Keypad lamp2 - BLK Ground3 - LT BLU/YEL 1/2 switch input (all keypad inputs ground trigger)4 - LT GRN/RED 3/4 switch input5 - YEL/BLK 5/6 switch input6 - YEL 7/8 switch input7 - RED 9/0 switch input8 - VIO/ORG Ignition power (12 volts when key on)9 - WHT Seat switch input (drivers seat)10 - BLK/PNK Back up light input11 - WHT/LT BLU Door handle switches12 - BRN Common for keypad (effectively ground)13 - LT GRN/YEL Constant 12 volt power14 - BLK/ORG - Door ajar switch inputAFTER box modification, here's what you need (I removed all unused wires)Connector 1 - control and power (modified)1 - Unused2 - LT GRN/YEL Constant 12 volt power3 - PNK/ORG All doors unlock (ground pulse, open circuit when off)4 - Unused5 - BLK Ground6 - Unused7 - VIO/YEL Dome light control (ground when on)8 - PNK/BLK All doors lock (ground pulse, open circuit when off)9 - Unused10 - Unused11 - Unused12 - Unused13 - BLK/WHT - Relay power (constant 12 volts, join with pin 2)14 - UnusedConnector 2 - keypad (modified)1 - LT BLU Keypad lamp2 - BLK Ground3 - LT BLU/YEL 1/2 switch input (all keypad inputs ground trigger)4 - LT GRN/RED 3/4 switch input5 - YEL/BLK 5/6 switch input6 - YEL 7/8 switch input7 - RED 9/0 switch input8 - Unused9 - Unused10 - Unused11 - Unused12 - BRN Common for keypad (effectively ground)13 - LT GRN/YEL Constant 12 volt power (connect to pin 2, conn 1)14 - UnusedThis should give you some "hints" as to how I modified the box, if your inclined to do it yourself. All these wiring pin outs are for the older boxes with two connectors. The newer ones have 3 connectors and the color code is the same, though they have other functions and obviously the connectors are different, like the one below."Cracking" the codeThere is a huge potential pool of useable boxes for this mod, but they have a problem. They are missing the code required to unlock them! Some have had the stickers removed, and on some newer ones, the sticker was elsewhere on the vehicle and has either been removed or rendered unreadable. So how do you figure out the 5 digit code? Simple -- you automate!This is the "Cracker". Basically, it's a specialized control computer called a PLC (programmable logic controller) that has been taught to try 5 digits, wait for a response, and then try another code. It waits until the dome light control signal drops before trying the next code to allow the box to reset. The PLC is the large box to the right. The small black cube with all the wires coming out of it to the left is the control box being tested. This is one Carl found from a later model Taurus and it's in fine shape, but had no code. And yes, I know my workbench is messy! I wish I could tell you that it's unusual for it to be "layered" like that -- but it's not!Anyway, the PLC has a main control processor, power supply and some slots to plug in I/O cards. I was able to dig up some 12 volt compatible cards so all I had to do was hook up the wires from the board. This is an old unit I use for testing purposes and I brought it home to crack some box codes. I was going to use a little single board C-programmable controller I had, but I was going to have to wire up interface relays and all and I just didn't have the time. PLC's are very quick to program for real-time stuff, so I took the easy way out since I had the equipment available.It can try one code combination about every 30 seconds, and can crack a box within a little over 24 hours. The one in the picture is being cracked as I write this.Update: The box in the picture has been cracked. I also have the cycle time down to about 25 seconds so I can crack a box in slightly LESS than a day now.So, this expands the pool of available units for doing this mod, and will allow later units with built in alarms to be used. I would like to have an alarm, so I'll be looking to redo my mod later. 
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