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Using the car key's 'Unlock' button to power other electrical items.

Driv3r

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I have an '03 Calais, and when I press the 'Unlock' button on my key to unlock my doors, the headlights and some interior lights will automatically light up.

This is really handy is certain situations, especially when camping... which got me wondering..,
Is it possible to wire other electronic objects to work when the 'Unlock' button is pressed?

I would like to set up a few extra lights to switch on automatically as well, but can anyone think of other electrical items that would be handy to turn on with your key?
 

mr calais 5.0

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The more you wire up the chances of a flat battery will grow..
 

Driv3r

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Yea true.
I'm guessing I could leave my headlights on for 30 mins or so without doing any harm to my battery.., but I could be (probably am) wrong.
Do you know much about this?

Thanks.
 

Jinxer

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if you are doing this for camping reasons I would suggest a secondary battery. the same setup they use in 4wd's. that way one battery can be used solely to start your car and the other for your accessories and what not... just a suggestion
 

Nut Kracker

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Yea true.
I'm guessing I could leave my headlights on for 30 mins or so without doing any harm to my battery.., but I could be (probably am) wrong.
Do you know much about this?

Thanks.

Leaving the headlights on for any extended time without the engine running is not good for the battery, especially if it's done on a regular basis.

You could add additional low wattage LED lights as I have done. They don't put an excessive strain on the battery, electronic components (BCM) or the circuit.

Adding higher power components, such as halogen lights and radios, especially when operating with the door remote, may put excessive strain on the BCM and will add a higher current draw to the circuit, which can be over come by operating said component(s) with a relay. The signal from the BCM is used to fire the relay only, while the power comes from the battery to operate the components.
This is handy if you want to positively switch a component from a negative signal from the BCM. Such as something which is grounded by mounting it to the car's body.
 

Not_An_Abba_Fan

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I have an '03 Calais, and when I press the 'Unlock' button on my key to unlock my doors, the headlights and some interior lights will automatically light up.

This is really handy is certain situations, especially when camping...

Not really helpful, but when I started reading this I immediately thought "not another super informative thread by harry3"....

You could have a digital recording done to trigger as well, saying something like "Hi "insert name", welcome back to your car!!! May I offer up my super comfy leather seat for your driving pleasure!!"
 
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