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2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Power Window Upgrade on ST

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2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission APC Clear Taillights

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I have a 1994 ST Dodge 3500. It has manual windows. I need two new door panels, but want to upgrade to power windows. I assume the door panels for an SLT with the cutouts for power windows will fit on the door, but want to know if the dealer sells everything for the power windows, like the buttons, wiring and all that. Also, will it plug into the wire harness or could it be wired in somehow. I also thought about a junkyard for all the parts, but first want to about the addition of the power windows with respect to wiring it into the truck.
 
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How funny! I logged on to post the same question. I want to put power windows in my 95. To take it one step further, I was wondering if there is a harness already in the doors for the addition of power windows. Were all of the trucks generically prewired and the power components added? I was thinking all that I would need is the power buttons and the small panel to put them on the door. I thought that I could use a small round plug for the hole where the manual crank was.
 
I did my '96 a few years ago. Power windows and door locks. Got everything off ebay. You will need the door wiring harnesses, door panels, switches, lock mechanism, and window regulators.



I think the harnesses I got were from a later model (98?) since the rubber accordian boot was a different shape from mine and I had to switch them around which meant pulling each wire loose from the connector to slide them on and off and reassembling.



The power windows worked by simply plugging the door harnesses into the factory dash harness. My truck already had power mirrors, so there was an existing harness going to each door and an under-dash harness. The door harnesses were replaced, but the dash harness was OK to use and already wired for power windows and locks (sort of... read on... ).



The power locks were a problem. In order for them to work, they need to reverse polarity to the lock motors and be synchronized (not fight) with each other. Most manufacturers use a special relay to do this. The dodge parts man swore up and down that dodges do not have door lock relays, but I could not get my locks to work both ways without one... I later found universal ones (also called "door lock modules") on ebay. But that was after I had already come up with my own relay system which I spliced into the main harness to perform the necessary functions, so I never tried one.



It took some researching on the 'net to figure out the solution, but it really wasn't that difficult once I educated myself on how relays work. The rest is logic, and it sure helped to find a wiring diagram of how to do it.



It required 4 separate relays all wired together to achieve reversed polarity. I know your next questions will be to ask exactly how everything got wired. I will need to take my knee panel off , unwrap some wiring, and see if I can refresh my memory to do that. Maybe I can find the wiring schematics, too. I save everything. Trouble is, that always means I have to look through "everything" to find anything... the curse of the packrat... Please give me a little time; I'm already heavily engaged throughout this weekend.



Bottom line is: Yes, you can do it and it will work great. Mine sure do. I also added power heated mirrors (but the deer that hit me last winter took care of them... ). I will soon be completing the hat trick with a power sliding rear window. Again, it requires the polarity to be reversed to the motor, but all I'm using to do that is a DPDT three position momentary contact toggle switch.



I like my factory manual sliding rear window very much, but with an extended cab it is inconvenient to use, so I found a good used power slider.



Oh, and my Boss Lock electric tailgate lock and the vehicle security system are also wired into my power door locks so one button locks or unlocks everything and I can do it with the alarm remote, too.
 
I have power mirrors also. So I should be able to just get everything you listed and just plug right in. I would probably do the power locks at a later time to reduce the confusion and wiring mess. Is there an empty plug where mirrors plug in? I have had the door panels off, but cannot remember.
 
The new and old plugs are the same, they just have a different number of wires and blank spots. The mirror branches off the main plug to it's own plug. Everything on mine was a straight pluggin. I'm trying very hard to remember if there was a short intermediate harness from the driver's side door hrness to the underdash harness connectors... Those are located by the parking brake pedal. Blue and white plastic plugs.



I'll do my best to get time to look mine over, but I assure you, you can do it if you get a complete harness. That is the key. The rest is just simple bolt-on stuff. It would be great if you take one off a donor truck yourself. I got my parts piecemeal. Harnesses from one guy, regulators from another, switches, etc. from still others. It took time.



The rubber accordian boot was for a round hole on my truck. The ebay harnesses had boots for holes that were more square. You will need to take your kick panels off to deal with the harnesses.



I laid everything out on the floor and seats (window regulators, locks) and plugged everything in to make sure all was working before installing it. Obviously, the lock relay problem delayed things a bit. the heated mirrors were simple. They have two wires for heat and the rest were a matter of trial and error as to the motor controls. I ran two extra wires piggyback through the boots to a toggle switch for the heat. It didn't seem to matter which was positive and which was negative. Both positions made them heat.
 
Thanks, my projects usually take awhile to get going and complete. I work offshore in the Gulf and am not home much. Any info. would greatly be appreciated. You can e-mail me at -- email address removed --.
 
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I have schematics for the lock relays... also, I've done the complete swap and it's plug and play with the right harness... I'll post more this eve...
 
The hard parts are an easy bolt in. Windows bolt right in, as well as locks. When I did mine, I had a bottom of the line truck, no options except ac/tilt/cc. I took every thing from an SLT truck, including the power/heated mirrors, power seat, and over head compass. If you rob the dash harness from the donor truck it will plug into the vehicle harness and the locks will work fine. In my case both truck happened to be 98s (1 12V and 1 a 24V) but I assume all 98 and later use roughly the same harness. If this is not an option for you I can dig up the lock schematics and e-mail them to you.
 
"I have schematics for the lock relays... also, I've done the complete swap and it's plug and play with the right harness... I'll post more this eve... "



Even while doing the relay system, I had to wonder if the problem might have been mismatched harnesses. I mentioned how the door harnesses I got were different even at the accordian grommet. The relays were cheap and work great and it's done, so I didn't see any need to try to find a different harness now. But its good to know that a relay shouldn't be needed.



Buying that harness I gave you the link for would be the best assurance of having what you need. If your truck already has the right harness, you should be able to resell it. The cost is about $50 including shipping; way cheaper than the DDD (dreaded dodge dealer).



The entire swap is an afternoon's work and you will enjoy the results every day. Good luck!
 
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