just got a cal from the shop where my truck is getting the rear window fixed. (won't go up or down). i told the mechanic to stop when he told me that he's gonna have to replace the window switch ($78.50), lock switch ($78.50), and the window relay/motor or the "brain" at $250.!!!. these prices are all Toyota Factory prices and that does not include the labor. my question is, has anyone ever hotwired/jerry rigged these rear windows to keep them working with out paying such a high cost in parts? what other options do i have besides just keeping the top off forever, which i don't want to do. i'm not financialy interested to fork over $400, plus for that dam window!!
HELP!!

 

I have twin 89 runners and if the window electrics go I'm going to hotwire it. My thoughts are that its an electric component and there are bound to be other options than insanely priced parts. The switch you could just replace with a universal 3 way momentary switch which would have it act just like the switch does now. The relay or brain I'm not sure what would work to replace it but there has to be something. Basically break it down to a normal electric system like it is and figure out what the motor needs for power then figure out how to supply it that power

 

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...arWindow.shtml

that has lots of info. my rear window would work without the lock switch, i just had to open it from inside the cab. you should be able to find a used relay for ~$75, that's what I paid from a yard last year. If you pull the cover off the inside of the gate you can just cut the wires to the motor and rig a switch up to a 12v source - put the wires in one orientation to get it up and the other to put it down. i did this for 6 months before I sold my runner

 

Hey, sounds to me like you need a better mechanic. Are you saying he can't diagnose or isolate the problem? Seems to me he's clueless and figures he should replace all components and hopefully one will work. Ask him if he knows what a circuit tester is. You don't need a window, that's for sure.

Are you fairly mechanicle yourself?

 

I highly doubt that all three of those componets need to be replaced at the same time.

That being said...DONT let the mechanic buy the parts. Buy them from Strap22, and save big $$$ I completely rebuilt my rear gate, with new seals, glass rail, switch, etc for $250 total. I think that rear window switch can be had for under $50, and unless the key does not turn in either direction, there is no reason to replace the lock cylinder. You can also find that gray "brain" on here, or local wreking yards for under $50 methinks.

IMHO, DONT hotwire it. It just makes an unneccary mess of the wiring, and its more work that just fixing the factory system.

 

Sounds kind of like they are just throwing parts at it to me. You can't tell me all that stuff went bad at exactly the same time.

My drivers side window quit on me and it turned out that the switch contacts were dirty with carbon buildup. I cleaned the contacts and put it back together and its been working fine for the last 2-3 years.

 

make sure that mechanic doesn't touch anything because as been said I really doubt he has any clue what he's doing. I'm sure that you could fix it your self with a little bit of time.

 

Strap22?? is there a website?

 

he is a member here on the borads ....toyota of dallas

 

Not to hijack, but I'm picking up my new 89 this evening and the key doesn't work in the tailgate. Works in the iginition and both doors, though. Is it possible to buy a new lock cylinder for the tailgate and have it keyed for my current keys, or is it better to buy all new lock cylinders (ign, tailgate, and both doors)?

Do 1st gens have the feature where if you turn the key one way it rolls the window down?

 

I will keep a eye out at the U pull here if they get a 1st gen I will pull the switches.
as of 4 days ago there where no 4 runners only a 88 pickup that had seen better days and the people who sold it to the scrap yard busted up all of the sought after parts.

 

The rear lock cylinder is supposed to roll the window up, and down. Its not actually to lock the gate. Thats done inside. It is possible to buy a new lock cylinder from toyota (or used, but those are hard to find) and get it rekeyed. If the key to the ignition is the key that originally came with the truck, you can call Toyota with the VIN# and they will get you a lock cylinder for the rear keyed to fit your key.

 

Good info, thanks a lot. I'm gonna wait till I get the truck to figure out the whole rear window thing. I'll post pics

 

much appreciated. i'm goin thru all the "rear window headache" posts too.

 

One thing you might try is to get a new key cut from the VIN number. My rear window seems to be more sensitive to to warn old copies-of-copies than the doors and ignition.

Maybe slightly tangential but time for a bit of a rant:

[rant]

On every vehicle I've ever owned that's had them the freakin' "power" crap has always been the Achilles heel. Power windows, power mirrors, power sunroof......the mechanical stuff tends to hold together and is cheap to fix - and usually something I can tackle myself. But the dang power stuff always breaks down, is difficult to do myself (I dunno - I just don't get along with the things) and is outrageously expensive to fix. In the 4.5 years I've had my 4Runner I've had three problems: the A/C ran out of refrigerant, tailgate power window broke down and just recently a power window stopped working. Now the A/C was a whopping $250 to fix the leaks and convert over to R134 (after everyone told me how insanely expensive the conversion is) but the dang tailgate window cost me $600 to fix using junkyard parts - the dealership wanted $1500 to fix it!

Now I see the big thing with new cars that everyone wants and goes crazy for and oohs and ahs about is all the power crap. Headlights that turn themselves on, doors that pull themselves shut, tailgates that open and close themselves, seats that power themselves into position (in 20 seconds vs. the two it would take manually ), doors that lock you in or out automatically, etc., etc.. The other day I saw some sort of American "luxury" behemoth that folded it's mirrors in automatically when it was turned off. Ya gotta be freakin' kidding me! What are people thinking demanding this crap? I understand that most people have been roped in by the auto industry into thinking that a car that is 3 years old with 30k miles is "high mileage", but I can just see these things leading to a perfectly good vehicle being "totaled" because all the toys broke down. Are people really so freakin' lazy that they want to have an unreliable vehicle that shuts it's own doors rather than a reliable one where you have to slam the door shut behind you?!?

[/rant]

Whew - thanks for your time.

 

This already happens. the majority of vehicle "totals" are not due to structural damage, its because high dollar items like airbags and sonar speed sensors and cameras get damaged in the accident. Then it becomes too expensive to fix the vehicle, since insurance companies force the repair shops to use new parts instead of used. Take for example a 1990 Celica. The steering wheel airbag is over $600 just for the bag, not to mention the clock screw, computer, and sensors. One light bump and the car is totaled.

 

i didn't have time to read all the posts so sorry if any of my post is redundant.

i had the same issue and just drag wires to the battery and would raise/lower the window that way.

i then took it to an auto electric (when i could not figure out how to hot wire it) and paid him $70 for an hour of time and told him to forget all the crap in the system and just hard wire it in to the oem switch or put in a new generic switch if that one was bad.

find an auto electric and just tell him to hard wire a switch in for you. should cost $70.

 

I just recently went through the rear window wiper "what's up with this" routine after going topless for 3 years. Before I had the top off, I had numerous rear window/wiper problems and I spent some time on here and 4crawler's site to figure out what happened.

My experience with my 89 and my previous 84 is that its usually one of the built in "safety" features causing the problems. If its not going down at all, from either the switch or the key, then I would check:
1) cover top bolt: If its engaging, you will hear that click sound coming from it, but if not, then its the bolt that pushes down a pin switch and tells the computer that the top is on. Its on the driver's side, 2nd or 3rd bolt from the back. Take out the plastic panel and its a little black box that the bolt pushes down. Check the contacts on the switch too.

2) Open up the wiper assembly panel from inside the vehicle. Reach up and move the wiper arm and see how it affects the "levers" on the other side. Do you see that little white switch that the "lever" is supposed to cover up when the wiper arm is seated? It could be that they are not making contact anymore. Manually push the pin in and have a friend try and work the top with the key and/or switch. If this makes it work, you are almost done. You can rig it up to hold it down with a rubber band which worked for me for awhile, or just bend the "lever" tip so that it contacts the switch. That worked for me this time and is a more permanent solution.

3) Make sure that you have the rear door locked and that the window lock button up front is not depressed. If you don't have the window lock button connected, you can't put the window down at all. I just found that out yesterday.

There is also a safety feature for the tailgate being shut, but I have not had to mess with that one as of yet so I have no info to add.

If these mechanical safeties are all working, then start thinking relay, switch, or motor. some wd 40 on the switch might make it work. Sorry for the long reply, but I just went through this and had to fix the wiper safety and the cover top bolt so the info was fresh on my mind.

 

there is one other piece of the puzzle, in the left rear corner, there is a connector that should be checked to ensure it is properly seated. if it is loose, it can prevent window & wiper operation as well.

lee