Installed Physical Tailgate Release Button + Power Liftgate Close Button

[BCMatt]

My key fob has a button to open the hatch. Have to press it twice, but quicker than installing a physical button.

I created the thread to consolidate in one spot the previous good work of the other members who, through various iterations, developed these modifications and to offer further refinements to those who may do this mod in the future.

Many things of value require effort. I (and probably the others who have done this mod) was not looking for necessarily looking for quick or easy. I also have never carried the fob since taking ownership of my car so the ease of using it to open the tailgate is moot anyway.

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[Blue PonyE]

You did a great write-up with photo documentation of critical steps. Clearly, your problem solving skills are way more advanced than my pocket solution is.

 

[mkhuffman]

You did a great write-up with photo documentation of critical steps. Clearly, your problem solving skills are way more advanced than my pocket solution is.

I am a PaaK guy. Even so, when exiting the car my fob would be in my pocket which requires extra time and effort to fish out. The button is right there next to the door. One press when exiting is all that is needed.

But glad your solution works for your use case.

 

[HarryD]

Great solution, thanks for the tip.

 

[shoe]

Wanted to share my version of this mod, inspired by the other folks on this thred. I had originally planned on going with the Bronco button swap method, but I'm probably the only MME owner who actually uses the max defrost button on a semi-regular basis, and I also wanted to add a 0.5 second delay to avoid accidentally opening the liftgate by bumping the button... so here's how I did it.

I wanted something that, when I was done with it, would look OEM enough not to cause problems at lease return time. I found this knockoff Audi-style button on Amazon:

It blends in well enough, but the backlight is red, which doesn't match the ice blue on all the other buttons in the cabin. No matter since I'm going to replace the guts anyways.

To achieve the 0.5 second delay, I designed and built a new circuit board to replace the one that came with the switch:

Original button on the bottom, new button on the top. For any microelectronics nerds reading, it's based around a comparator with an open-drain output and an internal 400mV reference. Pushing the button discharges an RC circuit until the voltage on the cap drops below the reference voltage and it pulls the output (in this case the liftgate button) to ground.

I also used a different LED that matches the Ford-standard ice blue lights. This one should blend in much better:

To hook it up, I need access to the PWM cluster illumination circuit from the BCM (the violet/gray wire). Most modules control their own illumination from the CAN bus. I ended up splicing into the harness for the start button. This also gave me access to a 12V circuit (fuse 11 on the blue-red wire), and a ground (black-blue wire):

For the actual liftgate release, instead of snaking another wire through the headliner, I just spliced into the harness next to the BCM (brown wire off of the top connector C2280F). Coroplast tape and zip ties to keep everything connected and secure.

The biggest issue was figuring out where to put the button. My first thought was to put it right below the headlamp switch, but there isn't enough room behind the trim for the depth of the button. I thought about putting it at the bottom of that trim panel next to the frunk release, but I ended up settling on the panel right above the front USB ports in the centre console. This way my passenger has access to the switch too.

End result:

And lit up:

Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the rest of the batch of circuit boards...

 

[Neopifex]

Wanted to share my version of this mod, inspired by the other folks on this thred.
...
Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the rest of the batch of circuit boards...

This is really impressive! Makes me want to learn how to make one myself, but I have too many hobbies as it is.

 

[shoe]

This is really impressive! Makes me want to learn how to make one myself, but I have too many hobbies as it is.

I got into microelectronics during the pandemic, mostly for home automation stuff. Let me tell you, that rabbit hole runs deep.

 

[mkhuffman]

Wanted to share my version of this mod, inspired by the other folks on this thred. I had originally planned on going with the Bronco button swap method, but I'm probably the only MME owner who actually uses the max defrost button on a semi-regular basis, and I also wanted to add a 0.5 second delay to avoid accidentally opening the liftgate by bumping the button... so here's how I did it.

I wanted something that, when I was done with it, would look OEM enough not to cause problems at lease return time. I found this knockoff Audi-style button on Amazon:

It blends in well enough, but the backlight is red, which doesn't match the ice blue on all the other buttons in the cabin. No matter since I'm going to replace the guts anyways.

To achieve the 0.5 second delay, I designed and built a new circuit board to replace the one that came with the switch:

Original button on the bottom, new button on the top. For any microelectronics nerds reading, it's based around a comparator with an open-drain output and an internal 400mV reference. Pushing the button discharges an RC circuit until the voltage on the cap drops below the reference voltage and it pulls the output (in this case the liftgate button) to ground.

I also used a different LED that matches the Ford-standard ice blue lights. This one should blend in much better:

To hook it up, I need access to the PWM cluster illumination circuit from the BCM (the violet/gray wire). Most modules control their own illumination from the CAN bus. I ended up splicing into the harness for the start button. This also gave me access to a 12V circuit (fuse 11 on the blue-red wire), and a ground (black-blue wire):

For the actual liftgate release, instead of snaking another wire through the headliner, I just spliced into the harness next to the BCM (brown wire off of the top connector C2280F). Coroplast tape and zip ties to keep everything connected and secure.

The biggest issue was figuring out where to put the button. My first thought was to put it right below the headlamp switch, but there isn't enough room behind the trim for the depth of the button. I thought about putting it at the bottom of that trim panel next to the frunk release, but I ended up settling on the panel right above the front USB ports in the centre console. This way my passenger has access to the switch too.

End result:

And lit up:

Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the rest of the batch of circuit boards...

Dude! This is epic! It really deserves its own thread it is so amazing. I bet Mark will take those boards off your hands and upgrade 100 more MMEs, with your help. LOL. (Just kidding, Mark!)

 

[mkhuffman]

I got into microelectronics during the pandemic, mostly for home automation stuff. Let me tell you, that rabbit hole runs deep.

By the way, I would not worry too much about returning a modified leased vehicle. My MME was not leased, but it was heavily modified and I worried me what would happen when trading in since the value of the trade was based on a stock MME. They didn't even look at it. They loaded it up, and shipped if off.

And it found a new owner in Chicago within a month or so after I traded it in. I hope they appreciate all I did to it! (I did take the hatch button out when I replaced the switch assembly with the new revised model that doesn't have the software bug. I didn't want to redo the mod on the new switch assembly just to trade it in.)

 

[markboris]

Dude! This is epic! It really deserves its own thread it is so amazing. I bet Mark will take those boards off your hands and upgrade 100 more MMEs, with your help. LOL. (Just kidding, Mark!)

I agree Mike, shoe's switch mod is very cool! However I've been installing a very small, hidden momentary switch on the back side of the gear shift pod in most every Mach-E' I've worked on. It's very easy to get to without even looking and can't be pushed accidentally. They are $2 each and takes me less than 20 min to do the entire install. For those that want a more prominent button to activate the liftgate, I repurpose the Park Assist button.

 

[markboris]

By the way, I would not worry too much about returning a modified leased vehicle. My Mach-E was not leased, but it was heavily modified and I worried me what would happen when trading in since the value of the trade was based on a stock Mach-E. They didn't even look at it. They loaded it up, and shipped if off.

And it found a new owner in Chicago within a month or so after I traded it in. I hope they appreciate all I did to it! (I did take the hatch button out when I replaced the switch assembly with the new revised model that doesn't have the software bug. I didn't want to redo the mod on the new switch assembly just to trade it in.)

And my '21 WAS a lease and I also returned it heavily modified. Lowered, sway bars, no Mach-E emblems, gloss black wrapped liftgate trim, tinted reflectors and tail lights, tinted front windows, custom steering wheel and console armrest, carbon fiber dash and door trim, LED accent lighting on doors and dash, rear ambient lighting. I can go on and on. Like you they took the car in without even looking at it.

 

[shoe]

...I've been installing a very small, hidden momentary switch on the back side of the gear shift pod...

I was looking for a place on the console as well, but mine is a 2025 and the shifter has moved to the steering column. I toyed with putting it right behind the cupholder (there's a PWM LED wire near there for the parking/hazard switches), but I figured it would just take one good coffee spill to gum it up.

 

[markboris]

I understand. For that large button/switch you are using, not practical to install on the gear shift pod. I know your gear shift is now on the steering column but the pod is still the same and easy to take apart. I have installed my little push-button switch there on '25's.

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