Finding Circuits for Installing Pop and Lock Tailgate Lock

Question

Question:

Using this product with a 2012 Pro-4X king cab. Wiring in-cab is the question: Have to go to the front of the passenger door. No pillar/wiring for rear door on the king cab. The two connectors shown below appear to come from the door. entering connectors shown from the left side of the photo. Top group of wires seem larger gaugelikely to carry solenoid currents. I am worried about which wires to tap, and physically separating the wires to connect to. Car-repair yoga to reach the wires does not make the job any easier... Any tips which wires/wire colors to connect to and how to best make the physical connection? There is a purple no visible gray. There is dark green w/ yellow stripand others. Thinking Ill pop off the door panel and try to see which wires are actually connected to the lock actuator in the door. Not sure if that will help or work. Any tips you have would help. Also: There are no wires near the tailgate handle. In fact, no wires entering tailgate along hinge end. Planning to drill+grommet the wire through gate.

asked by: William M

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Wiring Harness
(click to enlarge)

Expert Reply:

Hey William, if you are unsure of the wire functions/colors I would recommend using a test light like our part # PTW2993 which comes with a hook and probe you can use to verify the functions easily without damaging anything. This will allow you to for sure know what circuits you are testing. Then for making the connections quick splice scotch locks aren't a bad choice as long as you get the appropriate gauge connectors for the wire gauge.

We have quick splices too like the part # SWC502885-1 which is for between 18 and 22 gauge wire.

expert reply by: Jameson C

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Jameson C.

1/19/2026

Hey William, how did things go with wiring the Pop & Lock tailgate lock on your Pro-4X? Did the test light and quick splices make it easier to find and connect the right wires? Your update could make it easier for others tackling the same wiring setup.

William M.

1/19/2026

@JamesonC Thank you for asking: Your reply was not particularly helpful. Spoiler alert: the final answer for my 2012 Frontier King Cab PRO-4X is at the bottom of this too-long reply. Much helpful information (outside of exact wire colors) was available on YouTube: 1) the examples showed the bigger Frontier cab and connected to the wiring in the rear door pillar--a wiring location that might have had fewer wires and better access. 2) After removing a s@%$! ton of rear seats, seat belts and plastic trip panels, I found the "easy" filled hole to route the wire through, and found it easy to route the popAndLock wire to the front door wiring connection. I was very grateful that the popAndLock wires were long enough! Also glad I purchased a grommet set to protect the wire from the metal edges of the holes I routed the wire through. (I had to drill a hole in the bottom of the tailgate.) 3) By removing the panels and looking and poking VERY carefully, I was able to identify a group of wires coming from the passenger front door that contained a purple and two green (with different stripes) wires along with some other colors. There was at least one other bundle of wires that was coming from the door. The instructions from the pop & lock identified a purple and green wire to to connect. Trouble was: 1) popAndLock instructions inspired little confidence and some youTubers reported different wire colors 2) there were two green wires--one with white stripe, one with yellow stripe. The popAndLock instructions did not indicate this possibility. Eventually I picked one of the green wires. 50% chance between the green wires? And I was wrong. Fortunately, the lock worked in one direction--don't remember whether it locked or unlocked. I surmised that I had one wire correct and not the other. My problem at this point, was to determine which of the two wires already connected was the correct one. I didn't really want to go connecting too randomly as it seemed likely that I could damage a fuse or electronics elsewhere if it was wrong. (I lucked out that my initial wrong connection caused no serious issues.) To determine which wire was (most likely) correct, I needed a polarity tester that would show me which wire went positive when the popAndLock activated. Unfortunately, the locking system only gave a short pulse, so my (high end) dmm was much to slow to be helpful. An analog multimeter could have been useful, but 1) I didn't have one and 2) there is a significant risk of bending the meter's needle if was connected backwards on the first attempt. The test light you suggested would not have provided polarity--don't know if it would have been fast enough for the pulse. And the connectors you suggested were large enough to make the connections more difficult. I ended up purchasing "T" style connectors from a different source. And I fashioned my own polarity checker from LEDs. My logic: I would be able to "gauge" the correct electrical pulse by sight--one flash being bright when hooked up to the wire that worked, and the incorrect wire flash to be dim or non-existent when activated. (Logic: it takes a fair amount of power to move a solenoid.) In hindsight, I might have been able to make the same judgement by connecting your test light between one of the wires and truck ground and comparing brightness, but I didn't have the test light or think of this at the time. I did happen to have a couple LEDs and a resistor. Ultimately, my scheme worked--turned out the purple wire was correct one of the two. So I achieved success by connecting the pop & lock to the purple wire, and the green-with-yellow-stripe wire without tapping another extra wires. Thus the answer that I hoped you might provide: Use PURPLE wire + GREEN+YELLOW STRIPE wire for a 2012 Frontier King Cab PRO-4X.

Jameson C.

1/19/2026

@WilliamM I am really sorry we weren't able to get you the exact wire color you were looking for which I am glad you were able to find. Thank you for passing it along to us though as it will be helpful! I wish they were more consistent with the wire colors between years as that would make this a lot easier.

Finding Circuits for Installing Pop and Lock Tailgate Lock

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