Notice:
This is a do-it-yourself project. I neither manufacture nor sell this part. Thus I do not take over any liability for whatever consequences when copying the project. You should however find all the information necessary on this page to be able to copy it safely.
Context:
The hood of a Wrangler can be opened by anyone from outside the car even if it is locked. You will find mechanical hood locks but the cylinder will be visible in the grille. Besides this solution is hardly compatible with a racing grill. That's why I wanted to build an invisible hood locking that's in addition connected to the central locking system.
Presentation:
I've mounted a central locking actuator on a 2mm alu sheet. You should easily find such an actuator
online or at your automotive parts dealer. I decided for this
model on eBay. You can also take the 2-wire version as the position switch is not needed for this project.
Originally this actuator seems to be from Waeco and runs under the name "WAECO MagicLock ML11".
I've connected the actuator over a protective resistor in parallel to the actuator of the drivers door.
The resistor is necessary in order to reduce the force of the actuator.
On locking or unlocking of the car the actuator gets a short electrical impulse of ~380ms leading to a linear pushing respectively pulling motion. After the impulse the actuator will be forceless. The linear motion acts over the slotted screw on the brass disk which is thereby rotating. The disk prevents the lifting of the hood by locking the hood hook.
Here you can see the installed project. I've painted the front side in black to make it less visible through the grille.
A glimpse under the hood reveals the function.
In order not to unnecessarily cover the cooler behind the plate I perforated the mounting plate with big holes. The brass disk is imposed over a bushing leading to a very smooth motion.
Technical drawings:
Here you can find the technical drawings of the parts needed. All dimensions are in millimeters.
Wiring:
The actuator of my hood locking system is connected over a protective resistor in parallel to the actuator of the drivers door. As mentioned before this is meant to reduce the force of the actuator. You can find wiring information and unmounting instructions of the door panel here.
The cable is passing from the motor compartment to the passenger cell through the dedicated cable feedthrough next to the brake booster. Your will have to pierce the diaphragm the first time you want to pass. [Shame to him who evil thinks. ;-)]
Theoretically you could connect the actuator directly to the motor controler in the motor compartment but the cable harness is so compact that this solution seemed impossible to me. The access to the door connector is also modest so that I decided to connect the cable to the door's actuator into the driver's door. To assure that the door still can be remove easily I added an inverse-polarity safe connector. This is also where I placed the resistor.
Alternatives:
My project doesn't offer a 100% "anti-theft protection". With an appropriated tool you could probably push the hook to the right allowing to lift the hood even if the disk is in the locked position. This can be avoided by mounting another bracket on the mounting plate on the other side of the hook. In that case you should connect a closing switch, i.e. Hella 6ZF 003 549-021, in series to the actuator in order to avoid that the hood can be locked when it is open. Otherwise you will risk damaging the installed locking system as the hook won't be able anymore to slide below the disk if it is in the locked position.
Improvments:
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have suggestions of improvement. I will post your feedback here.
Longterm results::
After 3 months in use during winter, the salt had done its job and oxidated some washers which
led to a blockage of the disk.
With new stainless steel washers and a little bit more clearance everything is working fine again since.
Disclaimer:
I do not take over any warranty or responsability for any damage that might occur when following my instructions. You do this at your own risk.