Power Window Upgrade - Window Of Opportunity

The Electric-Life regulator is carefully installed through the same opening the manual regulator was removed from. The power window motor's electrical connector with its wiring pigtail is already connected to the motor.

The new power window regulator is first installed onto the window's tracks--the rear track first and then the forward one. It may require a helper to adjust the window up or down to get the bushings onto the window tracks. In rare cases you may have to temporarily power the regulator with a battery or battery charger to reposition the regulator for installation.

Once the regulator is attached to the window itself, the regulator can be positioned against the inner door shell to be secured by the three retaining nuts included in the kit. We found it helped to temporarily remove the door handle release rod from the door shell to seat the regulator. Again, it might be necessary to bump the motor with a battery to position the mounting bracket properly.

Electric-Life has several designs for window switch options, including a classic chrome switch, black euro-look switches, and these billet switches, which are essentially the euro-style switch with in-house-created billet trim and covers. Switch kits can be ordered for the standard door mount or console mount. We opted for the door mount, which puts two switches on the driver's door and one on the passenger door for two-door applications.

Once the wiring harness is unwound, it's easy to see how the wiring needs to be routed from the driver's door, through the cabin, and to the passenger door. Start with the passenger door wiring and carefully pull it through the driver's door and into the main cabin.

The switch and wiring kit includes grommets and wiring sleeves for the doorjamb areas. Before passing the switch wiring into the main cabin, be sure to install the grommets and sleeves, otherwise you'll be pulling the wiring back out to install it.

As you can see here, the passenger window regulator is installed and we have the wiring from the driver's door carefully routed under the dash edge through the cowl side and into the passenger door (the harness is wrapped in black harness tape). The window motor wiring is also routed inside the door, clear of any moving parts, to the old window crank opening where our switch will be.

The wiring could not easily be transferred from the door shells to the body with the wiring connectors in place, so installation of the connectors has to happen once the wiring is routed. The wiring simply slides into the connector and locks in place (follow the included diagram). The two motor wires will need to have their included terminals crimped onto the leads before being attached to the connector itself.

The only remaining wiring will be the power and ground connections (and illumination circuit if your switch style warrants it). For power, we used a key switched circuit found behind the dash and soldered into the existing wiring (you can possibly find a connection right at the fuse box, too). The ground circuit must be a clean ground, easily found in the dash or cowl area. Since our switches require an illumination circuit, you can either tap into the headlight wire of the headlight switch or tie the illumination wire to the same keyed circuit the power lead is attached to (the switches will be lit anytime the key is on).

You have to trim the door panel to install the billet switches. We traced the switch on the back of the panel and then cut inside the tracing at the proper measurement to fit the switch into the panel.

The billet switches look great against the black standard door panel and fit nicely. For deluxe door panels, custom fitment may be required. We suggest dash or console-mounting the switches and installing a plug in the deluxe door panel. We've also seen small tweeters installed and even wheel center caps in place of the manual window crank.

Initially, the billet two-gang switch for the driver door fits the original window crank hole during test-fitting, but we must have trimmed the door panel a tad too far forward and we now have to trim the door shell to fit the switch (silver shaded area). This may be required regardless, depending upon the type of switches being used (a four-gang switch for a coupe or convertible would require trimming for instance).

Since the area is small and recessed, the owner of the car felt it was best to use a jigsaw with a fine metal cutting blade, but a keyhole saw or rotary tool with a small cutting wheel or grinding bit will get the job done, too.

Fully assembled and tested, our new Electric-Life power windows work great and the owner is very happy (and already feels better about the next time he has to get his windows up quickly).