Hatch release from inside/rear of van

[intothewild]

Anybody mounted a switch inside the rear of the van to pop the hatch? I use the van for camping etc, and would like to be able to open the hatch from the inside while hanging out/sleeping in the back. I have keyless entry, I could just keep a keyfob nearby, but where's the fun in that?

Anyone have pictures of where they mounted a button on the inside rear? My thought is to actually pickup another hatch release button that you would find up front on the dash, out of a JY and mount that somewhere in the rear to make it look factory.

Thoughts? Yes, I'm bored, and this is no less than a bored on a Sunday afternoon project to put on the list of many others.

[Drummernaut]

The best I can do for you is my lock fix thread:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=9031

This is for a 1999 so I am not sure how close the circuit and the wire colors are. On mine if you short the orange and purple wires the hatch with open if unlocked.

[intothewild]

Stopped by the local JY earlier, and pulled out a hatch release switch..Had a bit of free time on my lunch break, so I figured out where I wanted to mount it, cut the hole, and got it mounted. Maybe I will have a little extra time during lunch another day this week and will be able to get it wired up. The back end of the switch is fairly long, so that had to be accounted for in where I mounted it.

[doyoulikeithere]

Thats a great idea !!
Just curious, how often do you remove that panel to access your jack and tire wrench?
Now that removable panel is tied by wires to the van, so , when you do remove it, you cant just take it out of the way.
Personally, I would consider mounting it on a more stationary panel that does not get removed occasionally, like the inside rear door panel.

[intothewild]

That is a good point! However, the hole is cut already so for now that's where it will stay! I don't remove that panel often at all, and it is a two part plug on the rear side, so I can always disconnect it without having to cut wires etc. if need be.

[doyoulikeithere]

You will like it, sure is handy.
I've got a mechanical opener and lock in my old van.
Dutch door up at night would be sweet for sleeping in the summer.

[intothewild]

Finally got around to completing this today..Here is a quick write-up I did on the other astro/safari site.

I will post the actual write-up on here tomorrow.

http://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=35930