Auto Down Power Windows for the passenger side
by Blitzo


Intro:
Every Spyder owner quickly finds the driver's window auto feature and most appreciate its convenience.  And sooner or later, most wish this feature was present on the passenger window as well.  And what about auto up?  Well, Hoffman electronics has a nifty inexpensive aftermarket module, Autolöc WC1000, to do just that - provide one touch auto up and down for a single power window.  Their device works with the way most automotive power window systems are wired - dual pole, single throw, always grounded.  Their device also has provisions for integration with alarm and keyless entry systems to provide window functions via remote.  Adding their system to the passenger side is a snap, but unfortunately requires significant work to function on the driver's side.

The AutoLöc provides one-touch auto up and down for power windows.
The AutoLöc WC1000 module:
The website states that this is a microprocessor based control module, which it is not.  It is, however, solid state and has worked flawless for me for three months running with no problems.  The system operates with a standard two position power window switch (like on the passenger side).  Pressing the up direction makes the windows auto up.  Pressing the down button makes the windows auto down.  While the window is moving, pressing the button in either direction halts the motion of the window.  It seems like a convenient and intuitive mode of operation to me.  There is provision for integration with alarms and keyless entry modules to also raise and lower the windows.  But since I have neither, I have not tested this functionality but expect that it functions as advertised.  One pleasant surprise about the system is its responsiveness to the window stalling in the full up or down position.  As the motor moves the window to the full up or down position, the motor stalls and the drive current increases significantly.  The unit senses this rise in current and shuts off the power.  This is exactly how the auto-down on the drivers window works.  What I like about the AutoLöc unit better is that it cuts power after only about 1/10th of a second stalled whereas the drivers window cuts off after about 1/4th of a second.  Less time stalled means less wear and tear on the motor, and I like that.  My only concern it the units ability to respond the environmental changes that may affect window operation.  As the temperature gets colder, the motor strains more to put the window up.  My concern is that if this system is preprogrammed to cut off at absolute current levels, very cold weather may cause the unit to shut off before the window is fully up.  If the unit is adaptive, it would just sense that the current went way above what it usually is and have no fixed point at where the current shuts the system off.  Since this product is marketed to ALL cars, I'm guessing that it is adaptive, but am not 100% sure, so I thought that it was worth mentioning.
This is a look at the schematic diagram of the power window control system.
Installation in the Passenger Window:
The passenger side window is prime for installation of this unit.  By looking at the diagram for the passenger switch (yellow) you can see that without any action, that both terminals of the windwo motor are connected to ground.  It is the action of pressing either the up or down switch that momentarily connects that motor terminal to positive voltage.  This is how the motor is told to change direction.  The AutoLöc unit is placed in series with the motor wires so that the unit senses which button is being pressed, but sends its own signals to the motor wires.  The only other two connections are power and ground.

The most logical place for installation is under the console where the window switch is located.  This provides access to the switch wires, wires to the motor, and fused power and switched ground from the passenger window disable switch.  This means if you use this ground, your window disable switch will continue to operate.  If you elect to use a new ground point under the console, then you would disable the switch - which some people would like to do anyway.  I chose to keep the function of the disable switch intact.
This is the passenger switch removed.
To get to the window switch, you have to remove the console.  The console is held in by four phillips screws and the shifter knob.  The two front screws are so close to the seats, that I found it easier to remove the seats just to get to those two screws.  Each seat is held in by four 14 mm bolts and one electrical connector.  The shifter knob is threaded and just screws off.  Once you get the console off, the wiring to the switches and the switches themselves will remain attached to the console.  In my pictures, my wiring harness has been removed from the console for clarity and other secret reasons to be revealed at a later date.  This is where you have to decide whether to cut into the harness or try to make a Frankenstein and get around the problem.  If you decide to cut into the harness, you will cut two wires (going to the motor) and tap into each of the four cut ends.  You will also tap into the power and ground there, but you only need to use a tap and do not need to sever the wires.
The plug-n-play harness I made.
Instead of cutting into the wires of the switch harness, I decided to make a plug-n-play harness so that I could remove the unit with no damage to the wiring.  This is not as easy as it sounds.  The connectors are specially molded by Denso and are only partially available from Toyota.  Through the dealer network, you can order the harness plugs, but without pins.  Luckily, I was able to use standard Molex pins to fit into the connectors, and cannibalize a PC motherboard power connector to plug into.  It's not pretty, but it does work and is reversible.  The black object wrapped in electrical tape is a blade fuse provided on the harness you get with the unit.  This fuse in unnecessary in our application since we are tapping the power source for the passenger window that is already fused.  I left the fuse in place for no good reason at all.  In fact it's probably a bad idea to leave a fuse in a place where it will be covered up and forgotten.  I will probably remove it before I button everything up.

 
Connected, but out of the console.
The wiring harness I made plugs into the window switch harness and the switch itself in a pass-thru fashion.  All the signals required to power and operate the unit are all in the connector.  What I do not show here is that you will want to use double sided foam tape to attach the unit to the underside of the console.  It is better to attach the unit to the console instead of the body underneath the console since the switches stay attached to the console when it is being removed.  If you were to tap into the wiring harness in such a way as the AutoLöc harness was not removable from the factory harness, then you might want to mount the unit to the body underneath the console instead.  If you decide to mount it to the underneath of the console anyway, the harness slips off the unit easily, so it will just be one more harness to remove when removing the console in the future.
Installation Problem with the Drivers Window:
The AutoLöc is not well suited for the driver's side window.  For one thing, the driver's switch has two positions of down.  Luckily, the first position is active whether you are partially of fully down on the switch so it will work electrically, you will just ignore the full down position.  The second problem is that since the switch connects to the body ECU, we don't have all the signals we need right at the console.  The only place to install it for the drivers side is under the dash near the body ECU.  The motor needs to be disconnected from the body ECU and connected to the AutoLöc as well as disconnecting all three switch signals to the Body ECU and connecting only the up and partial down lines to the AutoLöc.  The power and ground may be tapped from the body ECU as well.  The only other concern is that you may need to install resistors from the two switch signals to ground to provide negative bias to the sense circuits since the switch does not do that internally like the passenger switch does.  You can see there is alot more work to doing the driver side and I have not bothered to try it yet, but it should be possible.
Conclusion:
The AutoLöc is very inexpensive (about $45 shipped) and seems to fit the bill exactly for the passenger window.  You don't need to make any special harnesses as I have to install it, but it will require tapping into two wires and cutting two others - not the end of the world, but something worth considering.  I just wish the drivers side window was a little easier to do.