Garage Door Button into Multivan

[The_Hawk]

Following on from this thread, I was inspired to actually do this. This guide will work for any vehicle, you just need to find an appropriate plate to mount the switch.
Integrated garage remote switch modification

For the moment I've gone with the generic option. One day I might swap it out for an OEM button to clean up the look, for now this is functional and $4.95. Note my warning about the size of this one later.
IP67 Rated Dome Pushbutton Switch Red | Jaycar Electronics


There is going to be a lot of pictures here, so brace yourself.


The Multivan Dash. I'm going to add the button to the top right spare button under the vent:



To get to it you pop the trim piece off above the radio, there is no screws needed for this, you should just be able to pull it off. Mine has been off a bunch of times so it might be a little looser than a stock one. A trim removal tool will help you would if needed.



You can just make out on the left of the photo above there are two T25 screws that will release the front facia part of trim. Gently remove this starting at the top being careful of any connectors. In my case there are two, brown and white, for the parking sensors and traction control.



Pop out your desired blanking plate to mount the button:



The button I have is a 12mm shaft. While I have a 12mm drill bit and was able to continue, most drill bit kits only go to 10mm so unless you have the right size bit or a round file you might want to opt for a slightly smaller button.



Mark the centre of your button:



Secure the blank and start drilling. I stepped up from 2mm to 5mm to 10mm and then 12mm. Even then that 12mm want to grab and twist the piece as it cut in. Watch our for your hands.



Next I soldered two wires to the legs on the button taking care to heat shrink them as well. You may notice it later photos, I also sent back and added in a large heatshrink over both wires to bind them together to help with keeping it all together while screing the switch into place.



Issue #1. On inserting the switch I discovered there was ZERO clearance inside the back of the blank to allow the retaining nut to fit in. I considered simply using hot glue or sikaflex to hold it in place, after all there is no "pulling" on the switch to make it come out in normal use. Instead I opted to take out the dremel and route out the inside back of the blank and cut a notch to slide the retaining nut in. I held this in place and screwed the switch in place. It was a bastard to line up for my fat hands but it came together without issue in the end. It's not the neatest job, but you will never see this anyway.

[The_Hawk]

My Remote


Open:
Note you can't see any of the contacts on the back of this one:


Inside:
You want to carefully remove the board and flip it over. On this side you can see the contacts on either side of the switches (arrows on switch one).


Then solder your wires in place. My soldering isn't great at this size, but it works



I like retaining the original remote buttons and case as much as possible so I *could* remove it and keep using it one day if I ever need to. So I dremeled out a couple of small notches for the wires from the front of the remote casing:


I also removed a couple of small plastic pins that were in the back of the housing:



And here are the finished pieces:



In this photo you can see I have removed the AC vent as well in order to get better access to run the wires. This just pulls forward (again gently).


Issue #2. It's about now I realised I couldn't pass the remote through the tiny blank button hole so had to go back and put in a couple of blade connectors. When I did this in my Golf I added these upfront because it was more necessary since the remote is mounted half way across the car from the button. In the van I figured it would be so close it wouldn't be needed... I was wrong



A bit of 3M velcro tape on the remote and the top of the radio housing and I have somewhere to secure the more so it wont rattle. It's also accessible (without any screws) under that top trim tray when the battery needs replacing.



Reconnecting everything you can see the wires in there (the red one in the back is a USB cable for the phone mount on the A pillar):



An finally done:

[The_Hawk]

One thing I am a little tempted to do is go back and extend the little LED wire from the original remote and put in a small LED so you can see it light up when you press the button. It would be cool, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

We will have to see how it performs sitting where it is, but it *should* be fine there since there is not metal above it...