found this on the net and looks like a great mod for a ranger or any vehicle for that matter, who has a GDO Garage Door Opener for my 2005 Nissan Xterra For this mod, I used a Radio Shack switch P/N 275-644, $2.39. The blank switch button was removed from the dash, drilled, and the switch was mounted. It's a nice size and is discreet. To gain access to the removable switch blanks, you'll need to remove at least this one screw. The lower portion of the dash can be lifted, and swung out. If you find you need more room, pop the door jam trim free to expose the other screw. Disconnect the power mirror switch harness, and the entire panel is freed. On the top and the bottom of the switch blank is a tab that must be GENTLY lifted to release the blank. I got a little carried away and snapped one. Consequently, my blank had to be re-installed with a little epoxy. If I had taken the time to remove the panel, it wouldn't have been an issue, and I wouldn't have scratched up my hand! I wanted my garage remote control to be easily removed from my vehicle. So I opted to add a quick disconnect. This was soldered directly to the button connections on the circuit board. An ohmmeter verified that I was on the correct contacts. The printed circuit board was snapped back in place, and I used a tie wrap to provide some strain relief in case the cable got pulled. In order to attach it to the back of the dash panel, I used Velcro tabs. I cleaned the remote and the panel with alcohol to remove any oils. The finished remote. I added wires to the new dash switch, and a mating connector. The finished product. The inexpensive Radio Shack switch mounted in the stock button blank. Looks like it belongs, eh? A couple of bucks, an hours work, and you'll never need to fumble in the glovebox for the remote. Security tip. Never leave your remote exposed when parked in your driveway. It's very common for criminals to break into a vehicle, push the remote, and gain entry to the house. Once in your garage, they shut the door, then get serious. This button looks stock, and doesn't appear to have anything to do with with an opener. The black switch on the black blank also makes it hard to spot. If you want the upgraded mod, remove the battery from your remote, and connect it to a power source that's only hot when the ignition is on. This way, without a key, pushing the button does nothing. If this was a Sears brand opener, like at my previous house, it would have a 12V battery, making this mod very easy. Instead, this brand uses a 3V button battery. Now I'll have to buy a 3V regulator and do this next step later. Until then, it works great. This mod, of course, will work on your other vehicles as well.
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that's one of the dumb thing's i like about my mother's isuzu trooper, it has about 30 switch blanks, lol. any time i need to pull the dash apart i start thinking about what i could use 'em for.
if i was gonna do this for the ranger i think i'd hide the button in the glove box or something. but my buick occupies the garage, so no room, lol. that and we disconnected our opener years ago, because some peoples cell phones would open it randomly.
