Lock Actuators, 2 Wire or 5 Wire?

I'm going to put Door Lock Actuators in my Celica and need to know what the difference and benefits of 2 wire as apposed to 5 wire actuators??? I am going to be adding an alarm that will control the door locks. It will also lock and unlock the doors when the engine is started and stopped. Do I need the 5wire actuators? Or are the 2 wire actuators just fine for my needs?

Thanks, Jeff

I have never seen or heard of a 5 wire actuator, but there are 5 wire harnesses for relays that hook up to 2 wire actuators. You will only need the 2 wire actuator and 2 relays for your application.

Hi Jeff, the 5 wire actuators have built in switches that typically trigger a module with relays to lock and unlock the other doors. These are great if you want to control the other door lock actuators from your driver's door (and/or front passenger door) and do not want to install additional switches. If you only intend to control the actuators via your RKE or alarm as you described, then you'll only need the 2 wire actuators.

the12volt

Thanks for the replies. I had never heard of 5 wire till I actually started looking for actuators. I do want to have a switch on each of the door panels so I may end up going with the five wire actuators. Just out of pure curiosity! Can I have a switch in each the driver and passenger doors controlling the 2 wire actuators as well? Is there more to wiring these than the 5 wire actuators? Would I have to use separate relays for each switch on the driver and passenger side?

I know I ask a lot of questions but when it comes to this sort of stuff I am starting out fresh and have absolutely no knowledge of this at all. I want to do this myself so I have the gratification of knowing I installed it all myself. When I went to buy my Head Unit, the retailer wanted to install it and said the warrantee would not be valid unless (Later found out this was a crock of s***) but I installed it myself anyway. I had to cut a few things and the Metra kit did not fit my car all that well but I installed it and it looks great. I even soldered all the wires from the radio to the Metra Adapter for a much cleaner install. I'm now in the process of making speaker panels for the doors so I can mount a pair of 6.5 speakers and not have to cut into the door to do it. I tried kick panels put the reason they are called KICK panels became very clear all too often so they had to go. I love my little car even though she has been through hell and back and look it. I do however not like the fact that Toyota chose to place oddball sized speakers in all the locations making it absolutely impossible to drop in aftermarket replacements. I really appreciate this forum and hope I can offer help to others in the future.

Thank you, Jeff

Jeff,

Hey, it's always good to ask questions.

With the 2-wire actuators, you're going to need a pair of ordinary automotive relays to control them, unless your alarm has the relays built-in.  You can also buy a product that combines the two relays into one housing, for simpler wiring.  Most 5-wire door lock kits come with the relays; keep that in mind when checking prices.

With the 5-wire actuators, if you lock (or unlock) either front door with your hand, all of the other doors in the car will also lock/unlock at the same time.  This way, you don't have to cut any holes in the door panel to mount aftermarket pushbutton switches.  Also, turning the key in one of the front doors will cause the others to lock/unlock.

If you already plan to mount pushbutton switches in the car, there isn't much need for the 5-wire actuators.

If you don't even care about controlling all the doors with your finger.......if you don't mind letting your alarm be the only device to control the door locks....then get the 2-wire ones and don't install any switches at all.