Interesting.... ummm...

 

I've thought about doing the same for quite a while, but it's always been pretty low on the priority list. You need to find a solenoid that doesn't require power to stay at one extreme or another, but instead only requires a pulse. Typical solenoids will only move while power is activated, then return to their original position once power is removed...you'd either have a glove box that stayed locked except for a half second while the button is pressed, or a glove box that was hardly ever locked.

 

This would be a great mod. One that I've never even thought of, and ingenious. (BTW, those two things are typically mutually exclusive ) One thought might be, for those who have alarm systems, could the solenoid only to be actuated when the alarm is put in valet mode? Come to think of it, that is the only time I really take the time to lock my glove box. Kind of an electronic version of the beautiful grey valet key.

 

 

I too have wanted to do this forever but always had another project that I thought was more important.

Door lock actuators would work, they are not solenoids but usually small motors geared down to provide useable push-pull forces, and they stay in either position without power. And wiring would be simple - just parallel it with the driver's door lock.

It would probably be easier to add a separate locking mechanism and leave the existing latch alone, the tricky part is mounting the actuator without taking up all the glove box space.

.

 

Yep, the actuators from aftermarket door kits would work perfectly, but they're usually pretty huge...

Ideally, we should find a vehicle that has a remote locking glove box and pirate some parts, as they're likely to be much smaller.

 

 

keep updates going please. I am very interested to see this done!

 

Still pondering if I want to do anything on this project...not sure if the market size warrants anything custom.

Probably pick up a latching solenoid or two from here and dink around at some point...

http://www.solenoidcity.com/