Miata Mailing List: August 1998, Message #79

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With all the talk about hiding the garage door openers, I thought I would
add my two cents.

Nearly 6 years ago, just after purchasing my Miata, I hid the garage door
remote and did so without any drilling or any permanent modifications to
the car.

1) Attached a 1/8" mini jack to the remote, wiring it in parallel with the
opener switch.

2) Fashioned a short length of wire with a 1/8" mini plug at one end and a
momentary contact (normally open) push button switch (Radio Shack part
#275-1566) at the other.

3) Attached the remote opener under the dash with velcro fastener.  I
located mine directly above the T-handle pull for the hood release.
(There's a little flat spot there.)

4) There are several screws that secure the two halves of the steering
column shroud together.  The lower half of the shroud has some deep
recessed holes for these screws.  I used the lower (closest to the
firewall) left screw hole to "mount" the switch. I wrapped the push button
switch (the threaded part) with just enough layers of electrical tape to
"thicken" it and make a snug fit when the switch body was pushed (button
end down) up into the recessed screw hole.  (Of course, I insulated the
connector ends of the switch with electrical tape as well.)

5) Connected the mini-plug to the mini-jack on the opener and all done.

To open the door, I simply stick a finger up into the recessed hole and
push the (completely hidden) button.   It's worked perfectly for all these
years.


Mark Booth
1992 "B" Classic Red
Team Voodoo
Membership Dude
San Diego Miata Club
[http://www.SanDiegoMiataClub.org]