# Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y.



## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

Hello everyone,
Here is a DIY I did for the Garage Door Opener Remote Control. This has been posted before and the inspiration did come from richbking and fuze. Since photos from those posts were lost I decided to take some during my mod so to enlighten people who may be confused.
Enjoy.
(DIY Follows)


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

First off you need to get the hardware which can be found at Radio Shack.
This is what I got:








and some tools I used:


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

Put your car in gear and then proceed to remove the gearbox cover. I used a fake plastic credit card to nudge it out. Just don't go crazy or you will break the tabs or the cover underneath.
















Notice the tabs in the following photo:








and a sideview:








Here you can see the cover (in white). It's fragile so handle with care or it will tear.


















_Modified by yanimac at 12:27 PM 1-27-2009_


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

Remove the 2 Torx screws
















Warning! Be careful not to have the screw drop down the gearbox. You can leave the white cover to avoid it... 








... or use a magnetic tool to secure the screw:


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

Next lift up the top section to reveal the two connectors:
















I popped out the connector on the left and then disconnected it:


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

The connector on the right next:


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

Now that the top section is off we can get to work on placing the switch in its place:
Just pop out one of the free slots.








Here is a closeup:








Now with a little help we will proceed to put the switch from Radio Shack into the empty slot
















But it won't be that simple...


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

I forgot to show you the tabs on the top section for when you remove it. 








and the free slot








Here is how I proceeded:
I secured the empty slot and started to cut it in two. You can use different tools but this worked quite well for me.
























Just get a good blade








and slowly cut through it
















and you are left with this (I know it's raw so you need to file it)


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

Here is a top and bottom view of the severed slot put back in place:
















Now the actual switch and the top part of the slot needs to be filed so it can fit nice and snug
(tools)
























The top slot
























As you file it make sure you don't file too much and test it to see if it will fit


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

Here is a view of the switch placed inside the slot. I actually did not need to use any glue but you may have to.


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

I had an old garage door opener but you can buy one at Home Depot which doesn't use a 9V battery like mine did. 








All it is, is a board connected to the battery.








You now need to solder the 2 contacts from the remote to the switch. This will vary depending on your remote but you get the idea.


























_Modified by yanimac at 1:22 PM 1-27-2009_


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

I then placed the whole contraption under the top cover








The 9V battery was attached with velcro or tape but I'd avoid the 9V battery remotes. The disadvantage is that you have to take the top cover off when the battery dies but usually batteries can last long enough that it didn't bother me.
























You then glue the top that you cut off earlier onto the switch and voila








Last step is to put everything back into place in the reverse order


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## FckShoes (Jun 16, 2007)

nice diy


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## RedDevil (Sep 21, 2001)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

Nice work!!


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## Ice2002 (Jan 3, 2007)

*very clean*

very clean mod, and a complete DIY... gives me some ideas for mine


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## BrandNew (Sep 23, 2008)

how do you change the battery


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## Golfsyncro18T (Feb 15, 2004)

*Re: (BrandNew)*

Looks great! Now I need to see if I can do something similar to my MKIV R32. I would really like to have the opener powered by switched power, then when I leave my car on my driveway no one can easily open my garage by breaking into my car. I never leave a remote in my car for this very reason. Any ideas?


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## burton727 (Sep 22, 2008)

*Re: (Golfsyncro18T)*

thats sick!


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

*Re: (BrandNew)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BrandNew* »_how do you change the battery

To replace the battery requires you to take it apart again. There are ways to get power from your car battery but I wasn't going to go that far in the project. Batteries last long enough that it's not such a big deal, at least for me.


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## TimWhaley_89 (Dec 17, 2008)

*Re: (yanimac)*

sweet DIY, it was nicely broken down into easy steps


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## BrandNew (Sep 23, 2008)

*Re: (yanimac)*


_Quote, originally posted by *yanimac* »_
To replace the battery requires you to take it apart again. There are ways to get power from your car battery but I wasn't going to go that far in the project. Batteries last long enough that it's not such a big deal, at least for me.

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif just wondering
it would be something that would drive _me_ insane
but if it works for you then http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## J377AR1D3R (Feb 26, 2009)

*Re: (BrandNew)*

nicely done... great DIY.


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## stv1der (Feb 3, 2009)

Clean DIY- Will use in future I'm sure- Great Job


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## egibbys (Jul 16, 2008)

Very nice. Clean install.


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## dirtymanpon (Jul 22, 2008)

*Re: (egibbys)*

Great mod. Thanks for breaking it down for us dummies.


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## Danielo_bolo (Oct 12, 2007)

*Re: (dirtymanpon)*

excellent writeup


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## f1daniel (Oct 29, 2004)

The end result is very clean, nice write up. 
The process looks quite work intensive though. Here is what I did:
My MKIV Jetta has a sunroof. There is a panel to cover up the inner workings of the sunroof right in front of it. I got a little switch from Radio Shack like you, but I just drilled a hole into that panel that can be removed by just popping it out (no tools) and inserted the button. On the inside of the panel, I attached the garage door opener and wired it to the button. Done. Battery change would be super quick, even though it's been fine for 3 years now. For those that want to, they can grab the power from the sun roof and never have to worry about batteries. 
Just another idea for some of you looking to integrate an opener.


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## GTImeister (Oct 12, 2005)

Nice job on the DIY. Mine turned out perfect!


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## Gotsol (Jan 25, 2007)

*Re: (GTImeister)*

sorry for the old bump but couldn't you just tap power from the ESP button or the power socket?


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## stevies3 (Sep 2, 2009)

How did you determine how low to set the switch into the housing so that the cap cover was flush with the other caps? Excellent work !


_Modified by stevies3 at 4:33 PM 12-16-2009_


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## tesh0boy (Dec 7, 2009)

*Re:*

Very creative, I'll be trying this sometime soon


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## jon102034050 (Sep 21, 2008)

Just giving you a heads up, you probably want to blur those credit card numbers out....
Great write up, I will probably try this out soon


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## DeMarco (Jan 28, 2007)

*Re: (jon102034050)*

He mentioned using a fake credit card, as demonstrated in the images. I think it says "Your Name Here" on the card.


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## iPinch (Oct 25, 2008)

*Re: (FckShoes)*

Thats amazing!


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## GodHarri (Oct 6, 2009)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (yanimac)*

So does this disable the ESP button?


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## 77kafer (Jul 29, 2004)

*Re: Garage Door Opener Remote Control Switch D.I.Y. (GodHarri)*


_Quote, originally posted by *GodHarri* »_So does this disable the ESP button?


He just disconnected the ESP button to get everything out of the way to do the install. Inserted the remote garage door opener button in the next slot over and reinstalled the ESP button. Nothing is disabled.


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## yanimac (May 29, 2008)

Hey everyone,
just to answer some of your questions.
1. Yes it's a fake credit card
2. I didn't use the ESP button but one empty slot next to it. So I didn't disable it or use it's power.
3. To answer Stevies3 you can make it flush because you can adjust the switch (it can wiggle down or up before you finalize the project)


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## themark4u (Feb 14, 2010)

*Re: (yanimac)*

Excellent D.Y.I. The home depot sells garage door openers that use the small 12v batteries, you could tap into the cars power using those openers. But they use a Normally Closed Switch.


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## BETOGLI (Jul 15, 2010)

Pretty nice DIY... Thanks for sharing this!

Have a good one,

Beto


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## olletsocmit (Nov 9, 2010)

Amazing man. THere really needs to be a DIY section on here. perfect!


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## srogner (Dec 18, 2012)

*Thanks*

Just followed your instructions and modified an unused slot to add a door opener in my wife's Eos. Works perfectly. Awesome. Thanks for sharing.


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## radlynx (Jan 4, 2007)

i like your idea better. less work, same result.



f1daniel said:


> The end result is very clean, nice write up.
> The process looks quite work intensive though. Here is what I did:
> My MKIV Jetta has a sunroof. There is a panel to cover up the inner workings of the sunroof right in front of it. I got a little switch from Radio Shack like you, but I just drilled a hole into that panel that can be removed by just popping it out (no tools) and inserted the button. On the inside of the panel, I attached the garage door opener and wired it to the button. Done. Battery change would be super quick, even though it's been fine for 3 years now. For those that want to, they can grab the power from the sun roof and never have to worry about batteries.
> Just another idea for some of you looking to integrate an opener.


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## Mandi_MKVI (Aug 2, 2012)

used this DIY last night to wire my train horns through the false buttons  great write up and photos :thumbup:


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## Richterat83 (Feb 28, 2016)

Very nice and detailed DIY! Thanks! I'll be attempting this!!!


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## BETOGLI (Jul 15, 2010)

:thumbup: :thumbup:


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