auto-up drivers window how-to
03-04-2004, 06:41 PM
#1
auto-up drivers window how-to
I saw someone (jepht20 - good job finding the altima info too) post something about this early this week in the general forum. Apparantely altimas have done this before so I checked it out and it works for our cars.
Just like the auto-down feature, you can have auto-up (drivers window only)
how-to is on my page of course (www.geocities.com/craigbrace)
direct link http://www.geocities.com/cbmaxima/ma...up/autoup.html
here's the text of it (only a few pictures on the site anyway)....
Auto-Up Driver's Window Mod
On the 3rd gen maxima, there is a switch on the driver's side door panel that includes a one-touch auto-down feature. This mod will enable it to be pushed up and enable the auto-up part. The circuitry is already there, but there are a few little things that need to be changed. It's a fairly easy mod but be careful not to mess up this circuit board since it's fairly expensive from a dealer.
First the main switch panel on the drivers door (with all the window controls and lock/unlock) needs to be removed. There are 3 or 4 screws that need be removed before it can be popped out and unplugged. Check out the how-to for window regulators if you need instructions for that.
Once the switch panel is out of the car, remove the panel from the cover plate (3 screws on the backside). You will need to pry off the auto-down rocker switch. There is a clip on each side that just needs to be pryed open with a flathead screwdriver. Once you have removed that, you will see a gold-colored pin going into the spot just above the switch. You need to pull this out with pliers. It should pull out with some force.
Now you can take the circuit board out of the panel. On the backside, there are six clips (3 on each side) that need to be pryed open and then you can pull the circuit board out. There are a lot of small pieces that will fall out of the panel if you hold it upside down so be careful not to loose them. On the circuit board, you can see several small circles. These are where the switch pushes down and makes contact between both sides of the circle. There are 2 circles where the auto down switch should make contact, but they dont have any type of metal on them like the rest of the contacts do.
Just underneath the top layer of the circuit board at those circles is copper. You'll need to expose this somehow. I've used a dremel with a rubber wheel to do it before in other projects but for this, I just used an exacto and carefully scraped the area until the copper showed up. Try to just scrape away the pattern like the other circles have and not too much extra. I then added a little bit of solder onto the bare copper to make it raise up a little bit. Be careful not to bridge the two contact pads if you do this.
You will also need a new "pin" that goes from the button to the circuit board. These are the little black things that fall out of the panel. You will see how there is one for the auto-down part of the switch but not the auto-up. I made a new pin with a small piece of plastic I grinded down and then with a small nail I hammered through the center. Make sure whatever you use is the same height as the auto-down pin and will fit through the hole. I drilled the hole out a little bit to make this nail fit but dont take away too much material.
The first pic shows the auto-down pin with the gold-colored pin that was blocking the auto-up switch before. Second pic is the pin I made. The third pic is the new pin installed inside the panel.
Put everything back together and test it out. I think I put a little too much solder on the missing contact on the left side and I think because of that, my driver's side window is always either auto-up or auto-down. I like it that way so I'm not gonna change it - I hit the button down/up and then to stop it midway, I can just hit the opposite direction or just let it go all the way down/up. I dont know if it's designed to work that way or not. I would guess it isn't and it looks like the left circle controls the auto feature and the right circle chooses up or down but I could be wrong.
User accepts all responsibility from this modification.
Just like the auto-down feature, you can have auto-up (drivers window only)
how-to is on my page of course (www.geocities.com/craigbrace)
direct link http://www.geocities.com/cbmaxima/ma...up/autoup.html
here's the text of it (only a few pictures on the site anyway)....
Auto-Up Driver's Window Mod
On the 3rd gen maxima, there is a switch on the driver's side door panel that includes a one-touch auto-down feature. This mod will enable it to be pushed up and enable the auto-up part. The circuitry is already there, but there are a few little things that need to be changed. It's a fairly easy mod but be careful not to mess up this circuit board since it's fairly expensive from a dealer.
First the main switch panel on the drivers door (with all the window controls and lock/unlock) needs to be removed. There are 3 or 4 screws that need be removed before it can be popped out and unplugged. Check out the how-to for window regulators if you need instructions for that.
Once the switch panel is out of the car, remove the panel from the cover plate (3 screws on the backside). You will need to pry off the auto-down rocker switch. There is a clip on each side that just needs to be pryed open with a flathead screwdriver. Once you have removed that, you will see a gold-colored pin going into the spot just above the switch. You need to pull this out with pliers. It should pull out with some force.
Now you can take the circuit board out of the panel. On the backside, there are six clips (3 on each side) that need to be pryed open and then you can pull the circuit board out. There are a lot of small pieces that will fall out of the panel if you hold it upside down so be careful not to loose them. On the circuit board, you can see several small circles. These are where the switch pushes down and makes contact between both sides of the circle. There are 2 circles where the auto down switch should make contact, but they dont have any type of metal on them like the rest of the contacts do.
Just underneath the top layer of the circuit board at those circles is copper. You'll need to expose this somehow. I've used a dremel with a rubber wheel to do it before in other projects but for this, I just used an exacto and carefully scraped the area until the copper showed up. Try to just scrape away the pattern like the other circles have and not too much extra. I then added a little bit of solder onto the bare copper to make it raise up a little bit. Be careful not to bridge the two contact pads if you do this.
You will also need a new "pin" that goes from the button to the circuit board. These are the little black things that fall out of the panel. You will see how there is one for the auto-down part of the switch but not the auto-up. I made a new pin with a small piece of plastic I grinded down and then with a small nail I hammered through the center. Make sure whatever you use is the same height as the auto-down pin and will fit through the hole. I drilled the hole out a little bit to make this nail fit but dont take away too much material.
The first pic shows the auto-down pin with the gold-colored pin that was blocking the auto-up switch before. Second pic is the pin I made. The third pic is the new pin installed inside the panel.
Put everything back together and test it out. I think I put a little too much solder on the missing contact on the left side and I think because of that, my driver's side window is always either auto-up or auto-down. I like it that way so I'm not gonna change it - I hit the button down/up and then to stop it midway, I can just hit the opposite direction or just let it go all the way down/up. I dont know if it's designed to work that way or not. I would guess it isn't and it looks like the left circle controls the auto feature and the right circle chooses up or down but I could be wrong.
User accepts all responsibility from this modification.
03-04-2004, 07:36 PM
#4
Originally Posted by DMad8724
Good Job Craig 
My auto down doesn't work, is there a right up on how to fix this?
My auto down doesn't work, is there a right up on how to fix this?
have you tried tapping it?
A lot of them have bad solder connections on the board. You can resolder them or if you're not comfortable doing it, Matt93SE will do it for $30
just kidding
I dont know of any way to fix that. I'd take it apart and just make sure it's not something really obvious like the pin not making contact with the pad or something like that. It could be one of the relays on the board is bad but that's a little bit of a pain to test and then a good deal of soldering to replace. Otherwise, you'd probably need a new unit which is $100 or so from a dealer but you can probably find one for less at a junkyard (www.car-part.com is a good site for finding stuff at yards and some of them even ship for you).
03-04-2004, 08:52 PM
#7
i've tried many times to resolder the unit to fix the switches (window and auto down). finally i gave in and bought a practically new one from a junk yard ($20)...it still had all the white lettering on it. now the auto down works. nice write-up btw 
.
03-05-2004, 05:10 AM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 727
I had auto up in my old maxima, but the thing is, it did it on its own 
the window wouldn't roll down unless I used the auto down button and held it in, but as soon as I let off the button, the window would go right back up. Sometimes it would stay down for a few minutes then decide to roll up when I had my head out my window talkin to one of my buddies. Definatly got me in the jaw a few times. I have no clue why it did this, thought it was pretty damn odd myself.
the window wouldn't roll down unless I used the auto down button and held it in, but as soon as I let off the button, the window would go right back up. Sometimes it would stay down for a few minutes then decide to roll up when I had my head out my window talkin to one of my buddies. Definatly got me in the jaw a few times. I have no clue why it did this, thought it was pretty damn odd myself.
03-06-2004, 01:11 AM
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 303
Lucky us who have non-USDM max's - we have auto roll-up & down as factory standard! If you could source the master switch from a European country where they drive on the right, it'd save having to do the mod... Nice write up
If you could source the master switch from a European country where they drive on the right, it'd save having to do the mod... Nice write up
03-06-2004, 07:47 AM
#15
Originally Posted by nismobaron
Lucky us who have non-USDM max's - we have auto roll-up & down as factory standard! If you could source the master switch from a European country where they drive on the right, it'd save having to do the mod... Nice write up
If you could source the master switch from a European country where they drive on the right, it'd save having to do the mod... Nice write up we cant because like Craig pointed out on another board the switches would be inverted. The switches are angled to the right (away from driver) on RHD and angled left(away from driver) on US. We can just go to the junk yard and get a bad switch and use the pin for the auto up instead of having to make one. I have an extra set that has problems so I think I may use the button pin from it.
03-06-2004, 07:54 AM
#16
Originally Posted by bobbydigital450
Man, thats awsome....I always wanted an auto up, more so then an auto down. Thanx for sharing the info....
p.s. your web page is the shlt, theres sooo much good information. someone like me can really appreciate that.
thanx
p.s. your web page is the shlt, theres sooo much good information. someone like me can really appreciate that.
thanx
also, when I first tested it in the garage, it was going all the way up or all the way down until I hit a button even when using the normal up/down controls. The next day when I took it out, it worked like normal - up/down just moves it while you hold down the button and autoup/autodown go all the way. I think one of the pads was shorted and that caused it.
nismobaron - like Michael said, it's angled the wrong way so it wont work. UK maximas come stock with auto-up too
03-06-2004, 09:46 AM
#17
awesome, did the auto-up today in about 15 minutes. i used a utility knife and carefully scraped away to the copper. i copied the pattern of the other contact points. i did not solder them as Craig did since i didn't want to run the risk of bridging the contacts, which i've done before while fixing my clock. next i used the black pin from the auto down to push the gold-colored pin from the back. i didn't have to make my another black pin since i had an old switch lying around.
it works perfectly now. mad props to Craig for posting this! i've always wanted auto-up.
it works perfectly now. mad props to Craig for posting this! i've always wanted auto-up.
03-06-2004, 08:36 PM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 303
Originally Posted by «§»Craig B«§»
thanks for the compliments :
nismobaron - like Michael said, it's angled the wrong way so it wont work. UK maximas come stock with auto-up too
nismobaron - like Michael said, it's angled the wrong way so it wont work. UK maximas come stock with auto-up too
Tsk, tsk - you guys should carefully read what I wrote:"If you could source the master switch from a European country where they drive on the right, it'd save having to do the mod..."
As most Euro countries are LHD, they drive on the right & the switch is the same as US.
Yes - UK / NZ / Aus are RHD, hence we drive on the left and our switches are the mirror image to yours...
03-06-2004, 08:50 PM
#19
Originally Posted by nismobaron
Tsk, tsk - you guys should carefully read what I wrote:"If you could source the master switch from a European country where they drive on the right, it'd save having to do the mod..."
As most Euro countries are LHD, they drive on the right & the switch is the same as US.
Yes - UK / NZ / Aus are RHD, hence we drive on the left and our switches are the mirror image to yours...
I saw a burgandy 3rd gen in Vienna, Austria this summer whilst I was there. Shoulda grabbed a few things
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