Ok, so anyone that has done the master window switch LED knows of the problems that may occur as a result. The LEDs become disconnected, you can't aim the bulbs too well, and sometimes it can interfere with window operation. Well, I having ruined the LED connections on two masterswitches of my own, I decided to go about this in a different method. The HOW-TO below can be used:

-On ANY 5th or 5.5 gen
-On ANY 5 or 5.5 gen whose OEM/aftermarket LEDs work
-On ANY 5 or 5.5 gen whose OEM/aftermarket LEDs *DON'T* work


...best of all, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SOLDER ANYTHING TO THE OEM MASTERSWITCH CIRCUT BOARD!!!!!!

 

Did you ever notice how the little light channel in the masterswitch cover has enough room for an LED? Well, let's take advatage of that. First take four LEDs in the color of your choice and bend them over a straight razor. You will need to make the bend as close a possible to the surface of the blade; the further the LED is from the switch, the better off you are. The LEDs I am using are 8000MCD blue; they achieve what I consider to be optimal output @ 4" from a reflecting surface, with the beam being a solid blue @ 2" in diameter. We will be far less for this, but we get GREAT results anyway.





Next, you will need to tuck the LED into the hole, in the lower-righthand corner. You won't have to adjust them much this way.

 

You will need to glue the LEDs into the flat ends of the cover. I used a marine adhesive that you can find at home depot...I forget the name of it. It comes in a blue tube, is clear, doesn't stick to skin, and is nice and thick. You will need to have the longer end (+) on the outside and the shorter end on the inside (-).

*NOTE: All of the other orange and clear stuff you see is tape adhesive and rosin from other failed attempts at getting this to work.



Now take a small peice of 22AWG wire and connect the negative ends.



Then take a another length and solder the positive leads. Now you are going to test and aim your bulbs. Cut two lengths of wire and solder one end onto the positive end, and one to the negative.

 

You will now need to test the lights, turn them on, and aim them. Solder two leads onto a 9V battery. BE CAREFUL WHEN DOING THIS - solder in quick, 1s intervals. If you leave the soldering iron on the battery too long you will heat the sulfuric acid in the battery - this is NOT good. Make sure the (+) end has a resistor in the line, otherwise the bulbs will burn out...and they will smell terrible.



Then, twist the (+) and (-) ends to the battery. The LEDs will light up.

 

Here we see the LEDs illuminated. They center beam if way off on both of them.



I used a brad nail to move my LEDs around in order to aim them in the center. Here is the end result of the aim.



Nice and centered!!!!!!

 

You will now need to cut channels in that little 'border' to allow for the wire to run through...this will allow your OEM switch for fit back in place with no interference. I used my soldering iron to simply burn away the channels.



Now, connect the thrid bulb via the same method as before.



And now for the fourth.

 

Now, do the same as before with the other bulbs in the 5th slot, and complete the circut. You will need to strip some of the wire in the lead to the 5th.



Now, aim the rest of the bulbs...this looks REALLY nice in person.

 

Finally, you will need to drill two small holes, one in each side, of the cover. Then make two leads, one with a resistor (+), one without (-), and solder them to the open leads. You MUST solder on the perpendicular in order to keep your wire flat.



Close it all up. If you have done this correctly, there will be no resistance in closing it.

 

Now, all you need to do is wire tap it to the (+) and (-) of the OEM window harness...I ran out of time last night, I will determine the wire colors tonight.

 

Wow that looks real good... you almost made it look too easy. U should post some pics of what it looks like inside your car after its all installed. Good Stuff though

Also what size resistor should u use? or should it be pretty much the smallest one u can find to control the current flow?

 

nice- looks great

 

Well, there is an equation that you can use to determine what size resistor you need, and in all honesty...you might not even need it. I think I am using a 250-ohm resistor. I will try with and without tonight.

Thank you, kind sir.

 

why did u strip the wire in the middle? i'm just windering the reason because i'm deffinatly going to do this when i get my NEW master switch!

 

It was stripped in the middle so you can solder the leads (see the 2nd to last picture) that will tap into the OEM harness. What was wrong with your OEM switch?

 

looks good - certainly a good alternative if you screw up the "original" way of doing this.

 

Great job!! I will hopefully be doing this with red. :

 

ok ya i see i was just being an idiot. I shorted all the original LED's and the control to put my passenger window down. so i need a new one. i may just do this with the one i have now because the cover doesn't really matter. only thing is u still havne't mentioned which wires to tap into in the harness.

 

merovi, where are you getting your circuit board? I also screwed up my passenger side!

 

Metal you're back!!!! Very good to see you posting again, you never cease to amaze me with your skills. Great work man looks sweet!

 

i dunno prolly ordering a new master switch unit from the cheapest place i can find one.

 

subscribing

 

Looks good, but I was wondering, don't those wires and LED leads get in the way of the pins for the switches? When the cover is assembled on the switchboard, the pins on the bottom of each switch must touch the contacts on the circuit board in order to work. Do these wires you have soldered affect the operation of the switches in any way?

 

if u take it apart and look the pin goes past the board to a little switch that moves back and forth. there is nothing on the board that touches the switches

 

1) where the hell you been?
2)im gonna do this,just waiting to find out the last step (where to solder to get power)
3)check your PM

 

(1) On a vacation...of sorts.
(2) I wouldn't recommend soldering the connection, I am going to suggest that wire taps be used instead.
(3) Done.

 

POWER-TAP INFORMATION

...will not be availible until Monday or Tuesday.

I am going camping this weekend and I still have about a million and one things to take care of. That, and my master window switch does not work (from the OTHER LED method), so I am going to be spending some time mulling over switches and wiring diagrams to see if I can bypass the circut board and install a new switch instead of having to purchase a whole new board. While I am going over the wiring diagram for the switch I will, of course, also obtain the illumination power-tap leads.

 

Let me know if you when you do. If I find them at a decent price before you do, I will let you know.

 

Just to let you guys know, like I stated above, I am going to be looking into a way to BYPASS a broken switch...so if your switch does not work, I may be able to find a way to get the thing working again.

 

subscribing

 

also subscribing

good to see u back dan
watch yourself this time

 

That looks great bud. Good job.

 

ok well i hope that anything u can do helps but i'm not sure. NONE of the LEDs work anymore...some were ripped right off the board. There was some smoke and an entire connection line came off the board and i now have NO control of my passenger window from the master and the passenger control will put my window up but not down. if u can help...ur the man and hell i'll see what i can do about the time u spent on this.

 

Don't worry, dude...I'm VERY confident I can the OEM circut.

Switches ordered, should be here moday...this is gonna fawkin rawk!

 

 

is this a lost cause? i'm just wondering i you figured out the power wires to tap into because i got a new switch for cheap and i'm going to play arround with the old one.

 

I think so. I will be working on this once I am home from work; if my research is correct, I will need to tap the GREEN wire for the up function, the BLUE wire for the down function and the REDwith BLACK STRIPE wire for constant power lead.

Should be interesting!!!!

BTW, YGPM.

 

TAP THE FOLLOWING WIRES FOR POWER:

POSITIVE LEAD (+) - RED W/ WHITE STRIPE

NEGATIVE LEAD (-) - BLACK

...and that about wraps this thread up for now. I am not installing my switches until later on this summer after I am doing my fiberglass and painting projects. I have tested everything all hooked up, and am pleased to report that they are 100% aimed and functional!

I was unable to bypass the OEM switch. I am going to have to wait until I meet up with another .org member so I can rule out if it is my switch or my window motor before I pursue the bypass any further. I was 100% certain I had everything wired correctly, which leads me to believe I am going to have to investigate the window assembly before I play electronic surgeon again.

 

Very nice write-up and work.

 

And I would be the lucky guinea pig that metal is referring too....by the way metal, i should have all the stuff ordered this week, so i'll let you know a more certain date soon

 

suscribed................................