DIY Camping Mod- rear hatch unlock, lighting, rear window up down (5th gen)

This project was primarily to open the rear hatch (for camping) since the 4Runners’ have no factory button inside the vehicle. It builds on some work by others, but hopefully provides some clarity so you can undertake the project yourself (DIY). You do not need to buy a kit. Since other signals were readily available, I did 4 remote controls as follows, however if you just want the primary Door Lock Release, you can stop there:

CHANNEL A: DOOR LOCK RELEASE

CHANNEL B: REAR DOOR HATCH LIGHTS (connects to Door Open switch)

CHANNEL C: WINDOW UP

CHANNEL D: WINDOW DOWN

This project was finished up and is working great. You will need:

A multimeter, a needle, a wireless controller from Amazon, wiring connectors ($11), some wire (I used a spare Cat 5/6 cable). If you have the other items, you may only need to buy the controller ($20).

It is important to understand these main points:

1- The pins may change from year to year or model to model. So do not rely on the diagrams, but they are helpful reference. Please see attached. I’m showing the pinout diagram – Note you will NOT get this diagram anywhere in any Toyota manuals or any vehicle maintenance software.

2- With a little patience, you can find these signals with your multimeter. They all come from one wiring harness that in my model year (MY) carried 26 pins (not all had wires). (For reference, I have a 2022 Gen 5 4Runner Trail Edition). The signals are negative logic, meaning when the condition exists (i.e. back door open), you will see the Ohms/resistance drop from open circuit (infinite resistance) to a low value (0-5 ohms).

3- The signals are all momentary (during button press). There is a built-in safety on the remote-controlled latch release- in that you have to hold the remote button AND push the door open. The light is momentary until you can turn one of the lights on to HAND/ON in the rear hatch or doom lights above.

Test procedure: Its relatively easy to remove the back panel, there are plenty of Youtube videos on this. To connect the multimeter, stick a needle in the back of pin. The harness must be plugged in during testing. Set multimeter to Ohms, connect negative end of probe to a bolt in the rear door. Note that some bolts have an insulator, but there are at least 2 that directly screw to the metal panel and are solidly grounded. (The controller GND/NEG will be attached to one of these with a spade connector. The +12V for the controller comes from a large black wire on the adjacent harness. It will always have +12VDC on it. I did not wire in an ON/OFF switch for the controller because it is such low power and the factory rear panel would have to be cut to make it accessible. ) Note that the Window signals (UP/DOWN) are normally high (+12VDC) until the button press. Check for that with the Ohmeter.

Remember to test all signals by connecting a wire from the needle to ground to witness proper operation of each signal PRIOR to connecting wires to the harness. The controller's NO (Normally Open) contacts Common will be connected to the same ground as the controller (jumped - see photo). The other side of the NO connects to the signal pin.

I like the POSI-TAP style wire connectors, very easy to work with.

Controller:

$20 DieseRC DC 12V 24V 4CH Wireless Remote Control Switch DC 6-30V 10A 4-Channels 433Mhz Radio Frequency Relay Receiver with 2 RF Transmitters for Lights Garage Door Motor Awning

DieseRC DC 12V 24V 4CH Wireless Remote Control Switch DC 6-30V 10A 4-Channels 433Mhz Radio Frequency Relay Receiver with 2 RF Transmitters for Lights Garage Door Motor Awning: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

Wire connectors:

$12 Lockitt POSI-TAP 6 pack wire connectors 20-22 awg

Amazon.com: Lockitt POSI-TAP 6 pack wire connectors 20-22 awg : Industrial & Scientific

Upgraded camping lights (rear hatch) are NOT required for this project, but are a nice camping mod: Meso Customs Ultimate Dual Color Hatch Lights For 4Runner (2010-2024) — 4Runner Lifestyle

Hope this helps save you the time I spent researching and troubleshooting until arriving at this solution.

There are some additional photos and helpful information from others and myself on this topic and got me headed in the right direction: 2021 4runner Camping Mod Instructions (Liftgate/Window) | Toyota 4Runner Forum [4Runners.com]

This is posted with a disclaimer- your MY may be wired different than above and Toyota may change their wiring scheme in the future. But if you see the signals as described above, you can expect the same results.

 

That's a great write up. Barely see these kind of diy projects posted on here. Thanks!