Adding keyless entry to 1993 Silverado

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

AK49BWL

GMT400 Forever!
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Messages
1,787
Reaction score
2,787
Location
Longview, TX
Can't hurt to try it, but I will say it didn't work on my Blazer lol. That one has factory RKE tho.


Generally, antennas are sized according to the radio frequency of the system, and changing the antenna length will actually hinder performance. So just don't make your mod permanent right away in case it doesn't work ;)
 

Kkortman112

I'm Awesome
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
130
Reaction score
221
Location
Indiana
Can't hurt to try it, but I will say it didn't work on my Blazer lol. That one has factory RKE tho.


Generally, antennas are sized according to the radio frequency of the system, and changing the antenna length will actually hinder performance. So just don't make your mod permanent right away in case it doesn't work ;)


Thanks for the reply, it was just a thought. I have about 80 million other things I need to do first lol!
 

Kkortman112

I'm Awesome
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
130
Reaction score
221
Location
Indiana
Well had a little problem today. Passenger door wouldn't unlock. It was cycling from the power switch but would only unlock by using the key from outside, which told me the rod must have come off inside the door back by the latch where it is so easy to get to lol! So not sure if the rod keeper broke or I didn't get it fully latched together when I swapped the door guts over to being power. Luckily I was smart enough to keep all the parts, so I found a spare rod keeper in my stash of small parts and made sure everything was latched together. All fixed up and working right again lol!
 

Kkortman112

I'm Awesome
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
130
Reaction score
221
Location
Indiana
I was looking at other things in my 1993 service manual and came across this picture of the convenience center and thought it would be a good addition to this post to go along with my breakdown of what terminals go where in one of my previous posts above.

You must be registered for see images attach
 

cplanubis

I'm Awesome
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
111
Reaction score
35
Perfect.

Heh. So the 95+ are a tiny bit different, but it'll still work if you're willing to put in a bit of effort lol. This is what'll be in your truck. 95+ without RKE is actually very similar.

You must be registered for see images attach


This is the RKE setup from a 95+ truck.

You must be registered for see images attach


Yeah I know I cut off the top.. Here's a full view if you need it: https://www.ak49bwl.com/other/wires/1997K1500/PowerLocks-KeylessEntry.pdf

Notice how the lock switches run in series on no-RKE models vs the switches wired in parallel on RKE models. Also the motors are wired together without RKE, and run all over the place with RKE. You're going to be making some wiring changes to the doors if you decide to put this in.

To wire in the RKE module, connect the orange wire(s) from RKE Pins E and F and relay module Pin C to the orange/black wire going to your door switches - that'll put the RKE system on the same circuit as the locks themselves. Black wires from both modules are obviously going to be ground (RKE Pin N, relays Pin D).

If you want, you can wire your dome lights to the RKE module as well - it'll turn your lights on when you unlock with the fob, then shut em off again in about 30s. If you do that, you'll want to splice the pink wire (Pin J) to an ignition (hot in run) source - or the lights won't turn off when you turn the key on until the timer runs out lol. Run the WHITE WIRE that is next to the LIGHT BLUE wire of the RKE module (Pin S) to the white wire of one of your door pin switches or the white wire on the courtesy light knob next to the headlight switch.

Now, the way my 97 works, tapping the unlock button on the fob once unlocks only the driver door; a second tap unlocks the rest. Since your door lock actuators are wired together, that's not going to work the same way. You have to separate the two motor signals, unless you're just not worried about having separate unlock signals. However, you ARE going to need access to the door lock switch on both sides to change wires around.

If you want to separate them, cut the tan** wire coming from the driver door. **THERE ARE TWO TAN WIRES coming from the driver door to the passenger door!! Make sure you get the correct one (continuity test!) or you're going to be missing your passenger window down signal lol. Wire the driver door side of the tan wire you just cut to Pin A of the RKE module, and the passenger side of the tan wire to Pin H AND relay pack Pin B. Splice the GRAY wire from the doors to the relay module's Pin E.

If you don't care about separating the motors, just don't cut the tan wire, and simply splice it to Pin A of the RKE module.

That takes care of the motors... Now we need to change the switches a bit. In the driver door, REMOVE the black wires from the door lock switch and get rid of them. They're no longer needed. Note the black wire with the RED STRIPE - leave it alone, it's needed to stay where it is. In the passenger door at the lock switch, you will need to REMOVE the GRAY wire from the connector (and cover it and/or cut it off, as it will not be reused), and REPLACE its position with the LIGHT BLUE wire. I don't have access to these style switches but I would assume it's possible to de-pin and re-pin the connector.... The light blue wire needs to go where the gray wire was at any rate. The same needs to happen with the TAN and BLACK/RED wire - get rid of the tan, replace it with the black/red. Congrats, your door switches are now wired in parallel. Don't try to completely rip out the gray and tan wires, as they do go to your lock actuator in the door.

Now you need to find those same light blue and black/red wires coming out of the door. Splice the light blue wire to RKE Pin B AND relay module Pin A. Splice the black/red wire to RKE Pin R AND relay module Pin F.


LAST THING. The Black/White Striped wire coming from Pin L of the RKE module needs to be accessible in order to be able to program fobs! This wire must be GROUNDED during programming ONLY - leave it with no connection at all other times. To program fobs, GROUND this wire, the door locks will cycle. HOLD the lock and unlock buttons on the fob until the locks cycle again. Repeat that step with any additional fobs. When done, disconnect the wire. You're done. Test and enjoy remote keyless entry!



Final note: Having not actually done all of the above myself, I cannot vouch 100% that it will absolutely work - Only that it definitely should, with one possible small caveat: The motors appear reversed in the wiring diagrams between 88-94 and 95+. So if your lock switch unlocks your doors and vice versa, all you have to do is swap the two wires at the connectors to the lock actuators - those connectors can be easily re-pinned.

Hmm, interesting. The RKE module of a 93-94 S10 Blazer isn't very different, and I CAN access a wiring diagram for them. Plus they have a third unlock output for if you wanted to hook something else up to it :D but, no dome light control with that one. It would get you the older-styled remote tho, rather than the rounded one of the 95+.
Even further research shows that the 95-97 S10 RKE modules are VERY much like my 97 Sierra's RKE module (actually it could be a 95-99, I don't remember what I swapped it out of lol), in fact the wiring pin-out is identical save for one wire. This is quite intriguing.


I'm doing a 2nd power door conversion this time i'm going with the 95+ because of the window lock (kids wont quit playing with the windows).
my question is what dose the dome lamp off connect to
I'm installing this in a 92cc
 

AK49BWL

GMT400 Forever!
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Messages
1,787
Reaction score
2,787
Location
Longview, TX
I assume you're talking about the dome lamp defeat switch? Of course I'm also assuming you're doing a dash swap as well to the 95+ dash..? Either way, it depends on whether you have the keyless entry system or not. However, on both models, one side of the switch is connected to your door jamb switches, which connect to ground. The other end goes to one of those two modules in the diagram. You'll know whether you have keyless entry by the modules attached to the wiring - keyless entry has two modules attached, one's the main RKE unit and the other is a small dual relay pack. The non-keyless system will only have a single smaller module for the dome lights. As for hooking this all up to a 92s wiring...

Well. Let's at least be clear before I go jumping into all this, what all are you planning to do?
 

cplanubis

I'm Awesome
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
111
Reaction score
35
no i'm not swapping dashes
i have everything else hooked up
 
Top