Power Windows Auto Down

[GilliganLQ]

UPDATED: See post dated 2-17-05.

I love the 'Auto Down' feature on the drivers side window, but feel there is room for improvement. An express up would be nice, as well as an auto control for the other windows. Has anyone done this? As for the passenger window control, could you just get a driver side window switch with the 'Auto Down' control and swap it with the regular switch?

[ej20fan]

DEI sells a piece called the 530t, which will allow you to turn all your windows to one-touch up and down. Furthermore, if connected to an alarm, you can roll down the windows using the remote and program them to roll up with the alarm arming.

To do all windows you will need 2 of these bad boys. The bad news is that they run about $100 a piece.

I work at a stereo shop if you're interested, and we have a very nice UPS account.

[GilliganLQ]

Originally posted by ej20fan
DEI sells a piece called the 530t, which will allow you to turn all your windows to one-touch up and down. Furthermore, if connected to an alarm, you can roll down the windows using the remote and program them to roll up with the alarm arming.

How does it work? Do the switches become express up/down all the time? Sounds a bit pricey, but I'm sure the switches themselves aren't cheap either.

[jdevee1]

From what I hear it is the switch itself that completes the circuit long enough for the window to go all the way down. But I haven't been able to find confirmation of this.

To test this you could pop out the panel where the window switches are (On the driver's side) and possibly unplug the harnesses from the passenger side and driver's side switches. Swap them around. If you now have an auto down passenger side window and a momentary driver's side then we would know whatever electronics needed to make the window auto is contained in the switch itself.

If the plugs for all 4 switches are together you could use some small sections of wire to complete the connections to the passenger side window from the driver's side switch.

Anyway, I also hear that nisssan maxima/altima window switches are identical in shape and connection. With the exception that both have auto up & down switches. So, find a junkyard with a couple of late model maximas/altimas and get the two front window switches from each of them (rear switches are momentary) and put them in place of your 4 driver's side switches.

Viola! you've got all 4 auto up & down switches for the driver.

Like I said this is all stuff that I've heard.

I might be able to confirm the fit of the nissan switches this weekend because I have 2 friends coming over. One with a '96ish Maxima and the other with an '03 Altima.

As far as pulling out the driver's side window controls to check on the switches goes, I’d like to see someone else try it first. My rex is still a baby ('05 w/ 1300 mikes) and my wife wouldn't be to keen on me ripping the door panel off already.

[ej20fan]

The switches become one-touch only if wired to do so. Changing the switch will not turn your window into a one-touch or express up-down. It is just a switch. The motors are voltage sensing, so you need to send a continous signal or trigger for them to work. I don't believe that simply switching the swich will do that for you, as the motor lifting the window may work differently on the Nissan. Definetly something to look into though.

The DEI 530t acts like a relay in this regard. Sending a signal/trigger to the window motor until the window hits the full open/shut position at wich the motor will turn off.

[jdevee1]

Well, I went ahead and removed the switches from the driver's side.

The switches are not individual switches like I thought they might be. It is one unit that contains all of the window controls and the power lock switch.

The funny thing is that the box has a Nissan Logo on it. So, whoever said that the nissan altima/maxima shared the switches was likely correct. I wil verify this tomorrow with my freinds' cars.

The smaller connection in teh bottom is not used, only the 16 pin connector.

[jdevee1]

I disasembled the switch mechanism and there are definitely enough electronics in the box for the express up to be handled totally within the mechanism.

The switches that you see from the top actually just move levers inside the box and engage smaller switches inside.

The express up driver's switch engages a single lever below that can move both forward (up) and backward (down).

The other switches engage two separate levers each, one for up, one for down.

[GilliganLQ]

Well, I guess it's good that the circuitry for the one-touch is built into the switch module. I'd like to see if the Maxima/Altima switch assembly would fit in the WRX and work. Does the Maxima/Altima have auto up and auto down on all four driver switches or just the ones for the two front windows? What about the switches at the three other doors? I think you might have tried to explain this, jdevee1, but I might not be reading it right...

[jdevee1]

Here's what I've been able to gather from digging around on the internet.

The altima for at least '04-'05 has auto up/down for only the front windows. It's standard on the more luxurious models, and optional on the lower models. For '04-'05 it is standard all maximas.

[dark_rex]

great thread. i'm interested in more info here...

[tecknophreak]

Why don't they just put automatic up/down switches on all the windows straight out of the factory? Anywho, there's got to be a way to find out from somewhere(subaru) how that switch(board) works and replace it with a different one you program.

I'll def help find a solution for this if we can get some more info. Just happen to work for an electronics company, so this wouldn't be too hard to do.

[jdevee1]

OK, my freind with the '04 altima let me pull his power window module and here's what I found out.

The entire module, with the exception of it having auto up/down, is almost identical in shape look and mounting configuration. It screws right into the place of the "subaru" unit with no problems and looks OEM.

Here are the problems. See that 3 pin connector on the picture (a couple of posts back) on the "subaru" module that I said wan't used in my WRX? The altima has a harness and connector that plugs into that plug.
Next the large 16 pin connector, although at first sight is identical, appears to be intentionally keyed so that neither module will plug into the other vehicle. Using a utility knife you could easily cut the extra interlocking keys and make it snat right in for either vehicle.

Well, I wasn't willing to hack on mine just yet, and I'm sure he wouldn't have appreciated me hacking on his.

So, upon close examination I have formulated the following hypothesis on why nissan seems to have taken extra steps to prevent them from swapping so easily.

My best guess is that the 3 pin harness that is on the altima, but not the WRX is for the safety curcuit that auto reverses the window as it travels up if it is obstructed. The WRX has no need for this circuit since it dosen't have auto up. Therefore nissan didn't want to be held liable if someone was to do what we're trying to do and a kid sticks his arm out as the window travels up and hurts itself.

So I still believe that it would be plug & play, but it might be a little dangerous if you have kids with the lack of the auto-reverse feature.

I haven't seen the wiring diagrams for either the altima or the WRX, so if someone has access to either of those that would help prove or disprove this theory.

Anyway, if I find a cheap enough altima module I'll give it a shot, but finding an '04-'05 altima or maxima at a junk yard might be a little difficult for at least a few more years.

[jdevee1]

Originally posted by tecknophreak
Why don't they just put automatic up/down switches on all the windows straight out of the factory?

I know that a lot of it has to do with the risk of liability in the US. From what I've heard many European domestic market cars manufactured over there have included auto up/ down on all windows for years. It's only been in the past few years that auto up has been available in USDM vehicles. I've never seen or heard of a USDM vehicle with auto up on the rear windows, but some may exist.

The other issue is likely cost. In order to "safey" implement the auto up feaure it requires much more complicated circuitry. It has to monitor the current draw of the motor in order to reverse the window if the load exceeds a pre-specified maximum, usually indicating that the window is obstucted.

Originally posted by tecknophreak
Anywho, there's got to be a way to find out from somewhere(subaru) how that switch(board) works and replace it with a different one you program.

I'll def help find a solution for this if we can get some more info. Just happen to work for an electronics company, so this wouldn't be too hard to do.

It's definitely doable, at least an "un-safe" system without being too complicated. I like to thing that I'd never close my widow on a kid's arm or something, but what if someone else was driving you vehicle? What if you have an obstruction in the window and the motor keeps pusing against it an breaks your glass?

Ideally you should incorporate in the auto-reverse feature which has the potential to complicate it quite a bit. What I'm unsure of is wheter or not our widow motors even have the connections that the altima's do to tap into and replicate the altima's 3 pin connector. If they're the same motors you could just run the necessary wires to them.

[GilliganLQ]

You are awesome, jdevee1! I was actually thinking about going to a junk yard and getting a switch unit to try that. It's good to know that they at least fit the same. I'd like to get a look at the two different wiring diagrams to figure out the difference. Anyone out there able to help with this? Sunday nights at work are usually pretty slow, I'll see if I can find anything on the internet. As for the keying of the connectors, is one keyed and the other not, or are they both keyed, but differently?

[jdevee1]

Originally posted by GilliganLQ
As for the keying of the connectors, is one keyed and the other not, or are they both keyed, but differently?

They're both different, but from what I can see neither "keys" are neccessary for a good fit. The altima's plug (without modification) will not fit in the WRX's module and vise versa.

You'll see what I'm talking about if you find the altima/maxima module. It looks like if you just cut the keys on the short sides of the 16 pin connector (on the module, female side) everything would at least plug in perfectly.