Power windows booster relays

[Dan Szwarc]

They will get a little wet, but the relays are sealed and the connector can drain. I probably should use shrouded harness relays.

For a pampered car that even gets washed seldom, it should be adequate for several years.

[Wixom64Vixen]

Install two relays in the door, wire them as shown, run a new, separate power feed to the door, and put the relays between the motor and the rest of the wiring (inline with motor connector).

Dear Sir:
On Cammy's car I am taking on putting the relays in to make the windows move faster as per the many instructions on this topic on your excellent Bulletin Board.

Most of all of it makes sense to me but I'm stuck on 2 points.

1. Why do I need to bring a new power supply into the doors for the relays? Is there not already switched 12volt power in the doors that run through the switches to operate the windows? Why can't I tap into that power source before the switches?

2. The diagrams you and others have drawn show only 2 wires the connect the car's 12 volt feed through the switches to the motors. Do I have an odd wiring arrangement in our car? My motors and the connectors that feed them are 3 wires. There are 2 naked terminals on the motor and one makes the motor go up and the other makes the motor go down. What do I do with the shielded 3rd wire on the motors? Is that a ground? I was going to buy some of the 3 wire male/female connectors so when I wire in the relays I can just plug into the motors and switches and easily put everything back like it was if I ever want to.

Would you or someone smart in this manner of things help me out? I am not going to worry about the back doors. Those windows seem fine and they even drop down when the doors open so I don't see any reason to do anything on those. I think I read somewhere those already have relays for the windows.

Most sincerely,
Gerald

PS My connectors look like these:

[Dan Szwarc]

Most of all of it makes sense to me but I'm stuck on 2 points.

1. Why do I need to bring a new power supply into the doors for the relays? Is there not already switched 12volt power in the doors that run through the switches to operate the windows? Why can't I tap into that power source before the switches?

Yes. The power there is already degraded by miles of wiring, oxidation, and voltage loss. Running a dedicated feed directly to the relays provides a clean source of power for the relays without going through all of the degraded connections that exist already.

2. The diagrams you and others have drawn show only 2 wires the connect the car's 12 volt feed through the switches to the motors. Do I have an odd wiring arrangement in our car? My motors and the connectors that feed them are 3 wires. There are 2 naked terminals on the motor and one makes the motor go up and the other makes the motor go down. What do I do with the shielded 3rd wire on the motors? Is that a ground? I was going to buy some of the 3 wire male/female connectors so when I wire in the relays I can just plug into the motors and switches and easily put everything back like it was if I ever want to.

The relays switch 12V and provide a return ground for two-wire reversible motors. Three wire motors usually have one 12V wire for UP and another for DOWN with a third wire as a dedicated ground. To add relays to these motors, just remove the ground from the relays on the normally closed contact.

Would you or someone smart in this manner of things help me out? I am not going to worry about the back doors. Those windows seem fine and they even drop down when the doors open so I don't see any reason to do anything on those. I think I read somewhere those already have relays for the windows.

Most sincerely,
Gerald

Rear doors have relays behind the back seat. They don't typically need to be upgraded.