[Cliff M]

We use our 2008 CE for camping and have found it's a bit inconvenient to adjust the windows when in the back sleeping. We have to grab the key, squeeze up front to turn the ignition on, then adjust windows, and then shut the ignition off. I was thinking about tapping into the window fuse and adding a SPDT switch so that I can toggle power to that circuit between the normal ignition circuit and direct to battery power. According to the manual it's fuse #47 under the dash (25 A) and the also feeds the power rear view. Has anyone done this? It seems like it should work but I'm a little concerned the could be a current drain when the windows are not being adjusted. If this is the case then I would need to mount the switch where we can switch it from the back.
Thanks, Cliff

 

[BillG]

Someone did exactly this (added a SPDT to allow the sliding door windows to be opened/closed when the van is off), quite a while back, and posted it in the Mods section.

 

[floridanative]

Check my Micro Camper thread, posts 42-45. Posts 82 and 83 may also be of interest.

Sienna Micro Camper

Very well done Mike !

www.siennachat.com

-Mike

 

[Cliff M]

Check my Micro Camper thread, posts 42-45. Posts 82 and 83 may also be of interest.

Sienna Micro Camper

Very well done Mike !

www.siennachat.com

-Mike

Mike, thanks a lot for the info. I enjoyed going through this thread both for the window wiring and all the other work you've done. One of these days I'm going to take some pictures of my platform and wiring. For the windows I had planned on tapping into the fuses for this and already have one of these one order. They're a little different than the typical fuse taps in that it has both source and load wires.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CTRNYR1/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My thought was to bring in unswitched power, either through another tap on the block (maybe pin 5 of the unused fog lamp socket) or directly from the battery and route it through a heavy duty 2 position SPDT switch. One position for camping mode on one reverts back to normal. But your solution using this relay socket might be better. Did you retain the original PWR relay and if so, where did you find a socket for it? In a way it would be nice to put this switch on the coil side (pin 1). This way the power would not flow through the switch and it could be smaller and mounted anywhere with light gauge wire. But this would add some drain if you left the switch on all night.
Thanks again, Cliff

 

[floridanative]

Yeah, either way would work. You could switch pin 1 of the PWR relay. Just make sure to fuse any line you have coming from the battery. The drain would be very minimal, I doubt you would ever notice it.

The socket is a leftover I had from another project. It fits a Bosch/Tyco mini relay.

I love this mod and we still use it even when we’re not camping in it. Love the overhead lights switch mod, too, for camping.

-Mike

 

[Cliff M]

I thought I would follow up on this. Mike, I should have taken your approach to begin with. It turns out that the 25A mini fuse the manual lists for power windows (and the fuse cover shows "P/W"), is not only unswitched but seems to have nothing to do with the power windows. I don't know what it powers but the driver door window went up and down just fine with it pulled. Anyway, I used your approach with the relay except that I just pulled power from pin 5 of this relay and used 1 contact of the switch to jump this over to pin 3. Pictures are below and I did wrap the switch terminals and relay pins with a generous amount of electrical tape. I used a 20A inline fuse with it quite close to where it plugs into pin 5. The one tip I would have for others is to see if you can find smaller spade terminals for pins 1 & 2 (coil) of the relay. I had to nip a little of the sides of the male ones so they would fit in the socket. Next step is to pop the cables off the sliding door mechanism that prevent the door from latching open when the windows are down.

 

[floridanative]

Looks good!

Yeah, the mini-relays use two different sized spade connectors… roughly 1/4” and 3/16”. You can get 3/16 connectors from most auto parts stores, but they are harder to find than 1/4, which are everywhere.

My 3/16 male connectors were loose in the relay socket, so I gave the flat end just a little bit of twist with two pairs of needle nose pliers to make them fit snugly.

-Mike

 

[Cliff M]

Looks good!

Yeah, the mini-relays use two different sized spade connectors… roughly 1/4” and 3/16”. You can get 3/16 connectors from most auto parts stores, but they are harder to find than 1/4, which are everywhere.

My 3/16 male connectors were loose in the relay socket, so I gave the flat end just a little bit of twist with two pairs of needle nose pliers to make them fit snugly.

-Mike

Thanks!, good to know.