***This write-up can also be viewed in the Body of Knowledge -Cougar trunk switch retrofit 95+ CV/GMQ - by Drac*** -d
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first off, i know im not the first person to do this mod, but it seems to be a mod that other people may find interesting, and lead to someone else doing it. being there was no formal write up on it, i figured id make one.

the switch came out of a 1999 mercury cougar. and since the wiring is somewhat confusing, this will hopefully clear up any confusion.

a special thanks to BBereziuk for helping me figure out the wiring, so a lot of the credit goes to him.

The Switch:

physically, the switch housing is the same housing that ford uses for the 2001+ defroster, traction control, and adjustable pedals. therefore placement in an OEM location on a trim panel makes it look OEM- it just snaps in!






the only thing i had to modify for it to fit in the OEM hole from ford (on the lefthand trim piece) was to file off the little nub on the bottom of the switch, as the trim piece doesn't have a cutout for the nub in the location that it is on the trunk switch. so to the dremel i went to remove it!

Nub Removed:



Wiring:

***depending on what year the car is that you got the switch from, you may have a light tan wire and a light tan/red wire opposed to the blue wire and the blue/red wire. these tan wires are the same as the blue wires on the switch in this guide. wiring rules wont change between the 2 switches.

upon initial inspection, the switch looked pretty strait forward to wire, but i learned it was a little more tricky. the switch will come with a black wire coming out of one location and being rerouted into a new location. this is repersented in my picture my the black wires that are wound together. (you have to cut them, and i already did prior to the picture) you also have a black wire lead coming out of the same location as each wire that gets rerouted in addition. the picture will explain this.



in the photo above, the 2 black wires that are wound together are usually connected when you get the switch off the car. the other 2 black wires that are pointing up and down dont reroute into the button. they are just signial wires.

anyways. cut the wire that reroutes into the switch. now you will have a total of 4 black wires coming out of 2 locations. each location, the black wires coming out of it will be stripped and wound together.

in the picture below, the 2 sets of black wires wound together represents these wires being joined. using butt connectors is probably the best method. for both sets of black wires, wind the ends together, and put them into one end of a butt connector and crimp! the other end of the butt connector that isnt used yet will go to wires on your car.



the top set of black wires are the ground. ground these accordingly. the blue wire and the blue/red wire is the illumination signial. tapping into the orange/black wire from the defroster will give the new trunk button an illumination signal, and is probably the most convenient switch to utilize.

*** make sure you send the right wires to ground and the right wires to power. when saying "the top wires" i mean the set of wires on the upward most section of the switch when the switch is being held horizontal with the car logo on the front right side up.

the black/yellow and the other set of black wires are the power to the switch. at this point take the signal wires from your current trunk switch and run one to the black/yellow, and run the other one to the black wires.


i did not attempt to see if the switch would work when the black wire that reroutes into the switch was still in tact. the cougar must have some sort of different wiring that required this. once one set of black wires is now used as a ground, and the other set is being used for in-line power, i thought that having a link between power and ground would cause issues. therefore i cut the black wire that rerouted back into the switch. on the set of black wires that is for in-line power, you can probably get away with using just one of the 2 black wires. i haven't tested this theory yet however.


ultimate install yields a very nice finish. looks factory.

Nice write-up which I can actually add to.
I have a Cougar button as well, the illumination wires are white/red(instead of blue/red). I used the illumnation wire from the traction control(one of the plugs in the back of the trim piece on a CVPI).

I did not cut the wire at first when I put the switch in, I figured ground is ground no matter where you put it. The trunk button didn't work and when I turned the lights on, the wiring started to smoke and melt. Needless to say, the black looping wire is cut and the trunk button works fine.

thanks blackvic or the input! was the switch still usable after what happened with the wires? or did you have to get another switch?

I like the look of that Cougar switch. Does a Cougar have a power fuel door, and if so, what does the switch for that look like?

not quite sure. next time im at the yard ill be sure to look.

Just melted the insulation off the illumination + and ground wires a bit, works fine now.

hey drac didnt we grab both trunk switches, i need a defrost switch for my 05 trim

You guys are confusing, your sigs are nearly identical!
I have an extra '03 defrost button.

You should submit it to the BOK

nice write up Drac! and thanks for noting me, i hope i can take credit for being the first to think of this mod and do it!! thanks guys!!

https://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2153233

theres my really quick thread about it the night i did it thanks again guys

how do i go about doing that?



lol!



much thanks for the wiring help. your the first one that i saw who posted a thread about doing the mod.

hey drac, do you have either a thread or any info on your driving lights ???

BUMP...cool idea....i need dash trim to do this now

bump- for a inside of the switch and understanding it

just wanting to look to see how the switch was wired, to see if there was any reason why there was multiple wires for one pin on the terminal. i have three of these switches, so i thought i would tare one apart just to see how there done. Dallas(drac) was spot on the wiring, and this should explain why there is a wire looped from one pin to another factory for the cougar.


^^^Dallas poser pic FTW^^^

i have numbered them for ease of understanding them on this pic. i got the numbers from inside where the male part of the plug goes into the female. were the pins come out of the switch.

1.Not Used
2.Black/yellow stripe-switch closed(Trunk Opens)
3.Not Used-switch open, always closed unless depressed
4.Black(double strand) Light Ground(LED)(i see another mod coming with those led window switches)
5.Blue/RED(or)White/Red-To(resistor) then to the LED for Light.
6.Not Used
NOTHING(blank fill)
7.Switch Ground/signal to lock-to ground

hope this helps if anyone wanted to know.

still dont know what difference it would make to have the grounds looped together...phantom function?

In the final picture of the write-up, what is that other button? The one with what looks like a foot on a pedal.