mikaleda Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Okay, as some of you probably know i own, owned and work on several of these first gen Legacys and i have found a common problem that is just a inherent to these cars as the faulty climate control and i have not found any threads that go into much detail about them. The master window switches on these first gen Legacys are always malfunctioning. I've taken several apart and cleaned them to restore partial functionality, but the success rate of the working is getting less and less as time goes by. I've found that after 25+ years the switches contacts are eroding and cleaning them is not restoring functionality anymore. I know from experience the first gen Legacys all have a problem with dirty sticky window rails so the only permanent solution is going to be removal, cleaning, and re-greasing of the tracks as well as fixing the faulty electrical. My only idea to permanently fix the switch failure short of buying a new switch ($180 at dealer) would be to rewire the controls to go through DPDT Relays that are actuated by the old switches. I don't fully understand how to accomplish this tough since the original switches are wired into a control circuit which supply's power to the other switches as well. i am getting ready to do a full service of the electric windows on my car and my neighbors car is down to only one functioning window and i will more than likely be servicing their car soon as well so i will be able to refine the process and hopefully get a few pictures and a write-up on the process going. i have a feeling with the age of these cars this is going to become a more common problem soon. Any help would be much appreciated, this will be a slow process i expect since funds are low and so is time at the moment. This problem is getting old Quickly though so i will be getting this done as fast as i am able. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 okay I'm doing some more research on this and it looks like i will be needing only one relay per door it looks like and i should be able to use the original output to the motor to actuate the relay. Now i just need to figure out where to pull the power from. I'm thinking i will probably want to use the original main power source to keep it from getting too complex. I think i will start with one of the rear doors since they should be more easily accessed and not a huge deal if i screw something up. IIRC all power is routed through the master switch and i will need to replicate this with my relay setup so i am assuming that i will need to tap all relays into the main harness at the drivers side door. I'm still not sure exactly how i am going to do this though, i have pulled apart several of these switches over the years and i have studied them thoroughly and i am still not exactly sure how they work yet. It looks like they operate similar to most power window setups, but instead of each window having a dedicated circuit and switch they are all connected through the master switches circuit board. I'm having a hard time finding good interior wiring diagrams of the power window circuit, if anyone knows where i can find one it would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 I can't beleive it!!! I found a good used switch for $50 on eBay and it won't let me buy it!!!! Just my luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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