magentawave

I just installed/retrofitted electric windows on my formally manual window 82 pickup as well as a 12 volt cigarette lighter plug. I bought the electric window conversion kit off of eBay and watched a few videos on Youtube that show how to install it.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM: When I turn the key to Accessory On or run the engine the windows go up and down like they're supposed to but the wires for the electric windows heat up a lot - and rather quickly. Even both ground wires got hot when the key was turned ON or when the engine was running. The longest I left the key on or the engine running was about two minutes because I was afraid it would start a fire. Seriously. NOTE: Both power wires have an inline fuse.

Here's how I wired this kit and the cig lighter plug...

Since I want the windows to work only when the Accessory is ON or the engine is running, I removed the plastic cover under the steering column so I could access each of the 5 or 6 wires that come from the ignition. Several of those wires were showing around 12 volts with Accessory and engine OFF. However, there was one wire that showed 12 volts with Accessory ON - and that was the wire I connected the electric window and cigarette lighter plug power wires to.

Can anyone please tell me why these wires are getting hot and how I can fix this? Please tell me in total newb language because that's the only way I will understand.

Thanks!

millball

What gauge wire did you use?

Too much current in too small a wire = high resistance= hot wires.

Probably not a good idea to wire the power straight through the ign switch either, same issue== too much current thru the switch.

Best to supply the window motor power thru a 30 or 40 amp relay.

Sounds like you have some 'lectrical learning to do. Youtube is often not the last word.

magentawave

Thanks for replying. I'm not where the truck is right now but I think the wires for the electric windows and the cig lighter are probably 12 gauge or possibly 14 gauge.

4 questions, please:

1) What size wire should I be using?

2) So instead of wiring straight to the ignition, I should put a 30 or 40 amp relay between the same ignition wire and the electric window and cig lighter wires?

3) Is this the kind of relay I should buy? https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/1584213/00701

4) Do I need a relay for the cigarette lighter plug too?

Thanks again!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Do you have a friend that might understand what your trying to do??

If your using 12 or 14 gauge wire something else is wrong if the wires are getting hot .

Were there no directions with these window kits ??

You don`t have the lighter socket wired into the same circuit and are using that??

What circuit protection did you use??

Do you under stand how relays work??

magentawave

To answer your questions...

I don't know anyone that knows how to do this stuff.

The instructions for the electric windows only showed how to install the mechanical stuff and the same goes for the videos on Youtube. There seems to be nothing out there on how to do the wiring.

There is an inline blade fuse for the electric window power wire as well as the cig lighter plug power wire.

I'm watching some Youtube videos right now to see how relays work.

Again, I cut the one wire (out of 5 or 6) in the ignition at the steering wheel that showed 12 volts when the key was turned to Accessory and that was what I connected the wire for the electric window and the cig lighter too. Should I have not connected the wires that way?

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Do you by chance have both windows working at the same time ??

Depending how you have this wired it might be to much load and cause things to heat up.

Just how much do these window motors draw ??

Do you have any idea .

magentawave

There's nothing on the box or in the instructions that says how many amps the motors draw but I just asked at Amazon so hopefully someone will answer. I found out that no relay is needed with this kit. I'm pretty sure tapping directly into the ignition wire was causing the problem. I don't know this stuff but maybe too many amps are being pushed through the wires?? Anyway, I'm going to disconnect at the ignition and connect to the cigarette lighter fuse in the fuse block using a fuse tap like this instead:
Thanks

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

You might not be aware or just need a reminder. Toyota used a switched ground on these. If you are not aware of this and make the necessary changes most generic after market addons are a fire waiting to happen.

magentawave

Please assume that I know nothing or close to nothing. I looked up "switched ground" and don't understand how it applies to my application. Can you tell me in plain language, please?

magentawave

I've been busy with other stuff but I'm back dealing with those after-market electric windows again. Instead of using one of the ignition wires in the steering column, like I did before, today I tapped into the 20 amp windshield wiper fuse using a piggy back "add a circuit" thing like this . I had two 20 amp fuses in the "add a circuit" thing and replaced the 30 amp inline fuse with a 20 amp fuse. I got the window to go down and then up and could feel the wires getting warm again. It didn't have enough time to get as warm as before because it blew one of the 20 amp fuses.

QUESTIONS, PLEASE:

1) Should I try the "add a circuit" thing with a 30 amp fuse this time?

2) If you say "no" to my first question then where can I get 30 amp power? If you look at my fuse box (SEE IMAGE BELOW) you will see that the biggest fuse is 20 amps.

3) Any ideas why the wires get warm?

Thanks!

RAD4Runner

Relay or no relay wires getting hot means there is too much current going through the wires. Meaning something's wrong with the circuit or the motor.

It's a matter of personal choice but the beauty of the older trucks is they depend less on electricity to function. I prefer a manually-operated window over a burnt modernized vehicle.

old87yota

Here is a good video on the differences between power and ground side switching. It will help to know how your aftermarket kit is wired.


Do any 1982 Toyota trucks have power windows from the factory? I have not seen any. I would normally suggest hooking up power windows the way the factory did originally but I don't think you have that option.

I am generally not a fan of the "add a circuit" connectors because it is easy to overload the factory wiring if you don't know what you are doing.

Do you have a link to the power window kit you bought? I want to figure out how the kit is set up so you can correctly hook up the wires without causing a fire.

If I were installing a kit like this myself, I would run a separate fused power and ground for the power windows (separate from the factory wiring), and run a relay between that circuit and the "accessory" power wire from the ignition switch. BUT, we can get to that later.

The ignition switch was not designed to carry the current of power windows on top of the power the switch is already supplying to the factory accessories.

RAD4Runner does have a point. There is a good chance the motors are drawing too much power for the wiring or drawing more power than it is supposed to. I would not rule out the possibility that your kit is defective, however, this can be hard to determine over the internet just typing on a keyboard.....

irab88

iTrader: (4)

It sounds like the "auto-up" feature is keeping the window regulators activated after they're up. There isn't much current going to the windows, and they should never need to be activated for more than a few seconds at a time (up-down).

I went from manual to power windows using a VERY simple circuit that uses 2 relays per window. It has 16AWG wire, and 10A fuses. The lines never get hot, and the windows work like stock. There's no "auto-up" feature, but I don't need it.





And my professional wiring diagram:

magentawave

EDIT: The eBay merchant just replied and said it does NOT have an auto-up function, they have never had this problem of hot wires before, and they are sending me a new package with no return required. (Gotta love eBays feedback rating system!)

To answer some of the questions you guys asked me...

- Hmm, that's a really good point about auto-up possibly being stuck. I didn't notice in the brief time I tested this if this even has an auto-up function. (The instructions are terrible and there's nothing said about that feature.)

- This system is not supposed to require relays.

- I don't care about power windows on the drivers side but I plan on doing a lot of traveling in this (it's a Toyota motorhome) and don't have AC so I wanted it to be easy to open the passenger window.

- I emailed the merchant on eBay and they said there is probably something wrong with the motor(s) and they offered to send me a replacement.

- The setup I bought is just like this:

magentawave

I will watch that video. Thank you.

I originally tapped into the accessory wire and that was where the wires reeeeeally heated up but didn't blow the 30 amp inline fuse. But again, the problem could be a defective motor with auto-up stuck, etc. I read in the questions asked section for one of the listings on Amazon that sells this system where people asked it if requires a relay and apparently it doesn't. So, if no relay is required, and since it comes with an inline 30 amp fuse, would you just connect it to accessory and be done with it?

irab88

iTrader: (4)

So, knowing the kit:

There are no relays or control boards. It's a simple circuit, even simpler than mine above. There is a short somewhere that is powering the window/s all the time, so this could be a defective switch, swapped wires, or a combination of things. Since you're getting a replacement, try hooking everything up, but without attaching the regulators to the windows. Then test all the functions. For this system: If a switch is pressed, the motor should move. If it is pressed the other way, it should reverse. If no switch is pressed, there should be no movement at all. Anything different and there's an issue.

Can you take a picture of the switches? Specifically the back side with connections.

RAD4Runner

This^^^

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

I have never seen factory power windows in an 82 (or 83) or earlier truck that had not been added by someone.

I am curious to see how the 2nd kit works out.

83trekker

iTrader: (2)

I am also very curious on this and how it works out, would love to add power windows to my Trekker I am building. Or if anybody else has any other kits they have used and had success would love to hear from you, thanks.

magentawave

I finally got the replacement power window kit yesterday so I'll report back later today or tomorrow how it went. (It took 11 days to get the kit! So much for my theory that eBays feedback system guarantees great customer support.)