Move Window Controls to the door
03-18-2009, 05:30 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: 12-24-2008
Location: N/A
Posts: 717
If you are talking about mimicking the 2009 controls, I would say don't even start. I am trying to figure out my 2009 window controls for another purpose and I'm getting frustrated - there is way too much electronics and wiring involved that the 2008 does not even have. I will persevere and win on my 2009, however! https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/general-hhr-4/auto-power-window-roll-up-22412/
If what you are wishing to do is actually "move" your existing controls located in the console that maybe a lot easier. Of course you would have to do some fabrication of the door panel and extend wires into the drivers door. You could not use the 2009 door window controls.
Take a look at the rubber boot that carries the wiring between the door and body by pulling the boot back from the body. What you will find, if the 2008 & 2009 are alike, is the connector molded into the boot. Very neat, but harder to work with than a clear wiring channel. For my use I have to get one wire to the door this way and I may use an unused contact position.
If what you are wishing to do is actually "move" your existing controls located in the console that maybe a lot easier. Of course you would have to do some fabrication of the door panel and extend wires into the drivers door. You could not use the 2009 door window controls.
Take a look at the rubber boot that carries the wiring between the door and body by pulling the boot back from the body. What you will find, if the 2008 & 2009 are alike, is the connector molded into the boot. Very neat, but harder to work with than a clear wiring channel. For my use I have to get one wire to the door this way and I may use an unused contact position.
03-18-2009, 06:47 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: 10-09-2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 105
actually, if you are really REALLY wanting to make the change, and your vehicle is out of warrenty anyway, you would start by changing the door panels, then you would do research and find the part # for the 09 door wire harness or harnesses if you plan on moding both front doors...
sofar, if you bought all these components from a dealer you would prolly be upwards of 400-500 bucks, THEN you would still need to apply power to the door which would require you to verify that the existing harness on the inside of your vehicle matches the power requirements of the new door such as:
power lock wire locations,
power mirror wire locations,
THEN you would have to map out the wires/circuitry for the OEM console window controls to determine which wires control what functions
tools you would generally need:
ohm/voltage meter
pencil/paper
panel removal tools (or brute force at the risk of breaking something)
screw drivers/socket set
wire harness terminal removal tool/s
wire connector crimping/cutting tools
needle nose pliers
supplies you would generally need:
new/used 2009 door panels
new/used 2009 door panel switches
new/used 2009 door wire harnesses
new/used 2009 door panel switch covers
new/used 2009 door 'anything i cant think of as of yet' parts
4 different colored wires: red black green yellow (for different switch locations)
4-5 different colored rolls of electrical tape: black (for mounting, securing installations, red blue green and yellow for marking purposes)
inline wire crimp connectors (for adding an additional wire to an existing wire without cutting it)
inline butt connectors (for connecting 2 spliced wires together)
split loom wire cover
electrical tape
nylon zip ties
exact matching harness connectors that EXACTLY match that of the OEM door electrical connectors found on the door wire harness (male and female for each wire you plan on adding)
now there are several ways you can attack this mod....
you could leave the OEM console controls and merely run additional wires from the console to the door harness that connects the inside harness to the outside harness which would require the usage of the inline connectors and the OEM harness terminal connectors, and also mapping out the NEW 2009 wire harness keeping track of where each wire goes, does in terms of door function and connect each one accordingly
another way would be to map out each switch individually, running a single wire at a time, installing it where it needs to go, and repeating this untill each switch is completely mapped out and installed, removing the original switch plate and making some form of custom cover to fill the void
the different colored wires and electrical tape would be used in both instances to help you keep track of what wire does what function.... example would be, the ground wires would always be BLACK but say there is a separate ground wire for each window (i dont really know im just using this for sake of example), you would use and document say "blue tape on black wire= front driver door" or "red tape on black wire = front passenger door" and you could repeat this for each one of the doors using say yellow and green tape for 'driver rear' and 'passenger rear' BUT more than likely, the ground would be a common ground where as there might only be 1 ground wire and say 8 positive wires (positive to go up, positive to go down) OR the switch might be nothing more than a simple red and black wire where as the mechanical function of the switch itself reverses the polarity thus making the motor spin in oposite directions
the only problem with that is on the 09 model i know for sure, the driver door window has a single touch "all the way down" function as well as holding the switch down to lower the window. from my understanding of electronics and the sounds that these things make, there is a relay inside the door that tells the window to stop when a pre-set limit is reached... i dont know if this is an electrical sensor or a mechanical limit switch (have not torn my door panel apart just yet) but on my girlfriends 2000 pontiac GTP, the driver side door switch panel contains not just switches but a complete circuit board that the window switches are controlled through
modifying this type of window switch connection would require some electrical circuitry knowledge and a lot of patience in trying to figure out what GM did to make the circuit work as some of the funcitons may be incorporated into the anti theft devices, remote lock functions, and who knows what else they threw in there for giggles
i think at this point im rambling on and on, but you get the picture, with these newer vehicles, there is no "down and dirty, quick and easy" modifications when pertaining to electrical systems ~_~... 15-20 years ago this kind of mod would be as easy as just re-routing wires and crimping them together, but now who knows what your in for untill you either get an exploded diagram of what youre working on with a complete parts list, or you brute force your way into it and read the part # labels on the inside of the parts
either way... GOOD LUCK hope i helped :)
sofar, if you bought all these components from a dealer you would prolly be upwards of 400-500 bucks, THEN you would still need to apply power to the door which would require you to verify that the existing harness on the inside of your vehicle matches the power requirements of the new door such as:
power lock wire locations,
power mirror wire locations,
THEN you would have to map out the wires/circuitry for the OEM console window controls to determine which wires control what functions
tools you would generally need:
ohm/voltage meter
pencil/paper
panel removal tools (or brute force at the risk of breaking something)
screw drivers/socket set
wire harness terminal removal tool/s
wire connector crimping/cutting tools
needle nose pliers
supplies you would generally need:
new/used 2009 door panels
new/used 2009 door panel switches
new/used 2009 door wire harnesses
new/used 2009 door panel switch covers
new/used 2009 door 'anything i cant think of as of yet' parts
4 different colored wires: red black green yellow (for different switch locations)
4-5 different colored rolls of electrical tape: black (for mounting, securing installations, red blue green and yellow for marking purposes)
inline wire crimp connectors (for adding an additional wire to an existing wire without cutting it)
inline butt connectors (for connecting 2 spliced wires together)
split loom wire cover
electrical tape
nylon zip ties
exact matching harness connectors that EXACTLY match that of the OEM door electrical connectors found on the door wire harness (male and female for each wire you plan on adding)
now there are several ways you can attack this mod....
you could leave the OEM console controls and merely run additional wires from the console to the door harness that connects the inside harness to the outside harness which would require the usage of the inline connectors and the OEM harness terminal connectors, and also mapping out the NEW 2009 wire harness keeping track of where each wire goes, does in terms of door function and connect each one accordingly
another way would be to map out each switch individually, running a single wire at a time, installing it where it needs to go, and repeating this untill each switch is completely mapped out and installed, removing the original switch plate and making some form of custom cover to fill the void
the different colored wires and electrical tape would be used in both instances to help you keep track of what wire does what function.... example would be, the ground wires would always be BLACK but say there is a separate ground wire for each window (i dont really know im just using this for sake of example), you would use and document say "blue tape on black wire= front driver door" or "red tape on black wire = front passenger door" and you could repeat this for each one of the doors using say yellow and green tape for 'driver rear' and 'passenger rear' BUT more than likely, the ground would be a common ground where as there might only be 1 ground wire and say 8 positive wires (positive to go up, positive to go down) OR the switch might be nothing more than a simple red and black wire where as the mechanical function of the switch itself reverses the polarity thus making the motor spin in oposite directions
the only problem with that is on the 09 model i know for sure, the driver door window has a single touch "all the way down" function as well as holding the switch down to lower the window. from my understanding of electronics and the sounds that these things make, there is a relay inside the door that tells the window to stop when a pre-set limit is reached... i dont know if this is an electrical sensor or a mechanical limit switch (have not torn my door panel apart just yet) but on my girlfriends 2000 pontiac GTP, the driver side door switch panel contains not just switches but a complete circuit board that the window switches are controlled through
modifying this type of window switch connection would require some electrical circuitry knowledge and a lot of patience in trying to figure out what GM did to make the circuit work as some of the funcitons may be incorporated into the anti theft devices, remote lock functions, and who knows what else they threw in there for giggles
i think at this point im rambling on and on, but you get the picture, with these newer vehicles, there is no "down and dirty, quick and easy" modifications when pertaining to electrical systems ~_~... 15-20 years ago this kind of mod would be as easy as just re-routing wires and crimping them together, but now who knows what your in for untill you either get an exploded diagram of what youre working on with a complete parts list, or you brute force your way into it and read the part # labels on the inside of the parts
either way... GOOD LUCK hope i helped :)
03-18-2009, 07:11 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: 12-24-2008
Location: N/A
Posts: 717
Catdaddy, Are you wishing to move your existing controls or mimic the 2009 controls? Moving two controls only in the 2008, Panel or not, is a little bit easier as there is less wire to feed to the drivers door, but I believe that would be the only difference.
The window electronics in the 2009 is so very much different from the very simple 2008 and prior basic switches as pointed out in the post by MindDrive above.
Just to clear up an inaccuracy in MindDrive’s post:
There is no window wiring harness in the 2009, the window control wiring is built into the main harness. This would mean the door harnesses would need changing too. As well as reengineering the vehicle electrical for all vehicle functions.
This mod is just too much work!
The window electronics in the 2009 is so very much different from the very simple 2008 and prior basic switches as pointed out in the post by MindDrive above.
Just to clear up an inaccuracy in MindDrive’s post:
There is no window wiring harness in the 2009, the window control wiring is built into the main harness. This would mean the door harnesses would need changing too. As well as reengineering the vehicle electrical for all vehicle functions.
This mod is just too much work!
03-18-2009, 10:18 PM
#6
Banned
Join Date: 10-24-2006
Location: The Show-Me State
Posts: 1,761
I wonder if one could simply extend the wiring from the console switches to new switches in the doors. You could replace the power door lock switch on the passenger side with a window switch for the rear doors and avoid having to buy a new door panel for that side.
You could also go aftermarket and just bypass the whole factory window system with new switches installed on the door panel. Power windows are a common aftermarket accessory.
You could also go aftermarket and just bypass the whole factory window system with new switches installed on the door panel. Power windows are a common aftermarket accessory.
03-18-2009, 10:38 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: 07-13-2006
Location: Geneva, FL.
Posts: 1,567
This is a very big OPT. IMHO power windows are not a add on anymore, there are part off the whole elect. system in the car. Can it be done! Yes , easy ??? NO $$$$$ can do alot. I think that if I did this on my 06 at my age it would take me over a yr. to stop going for the switch down under. Hell it took me over 6 m to stop pushing on my mirror switch.....
03-20-2009, 08:45 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: 10-09-2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 105
thats what i thought when i bought an 09 half panel and bought panel rear doors, the harnesses mounted up, but theres nothing there in terms of wires to engage the remote open feature that panel vehicles have, nor is the harness or relay under the hood for either the remote or the on dash buttons... to make it possible would take almost $900 in harnesses... that is unless i run my own wires and hide them in the existing harnesses.
for the HHR's different models and trim styles there are a few dozen harnesses for the same stretch of wire ~_~ found this out the hard way when i tried reprograming a new panel key fob for my vehicle and started looking for solutions at the dealership's part counter-- too many harnesses to make it worth the effort of trying to figure out which one is the right one-- figure out what needs to be done and DIY i spose would be the best course of attack
