FJ62 Drivers Power Window (AutoDown) Relay Fix (2 Viewers)

[slcfj62]

The only power window with relays that Toyota put in our FJ62s is the drivers window. The relays are in that little green plastic box tucked in the lower front corner of the door. This relay typically fails in one of two ways, you won't be able to roll your window up or you won't be able to roll it down. The common failure seems to be you can't roll it up. I don't know that they are available new for any price, but they are $100 used from cruiserparts.net--and they will have 20+ year old relays in them with who knows how many trips up and down they have experienced.

So, being the naturally curious person that I am, and since this seems to be a fairly common failure, I acquired a broken one to see if I could fix it before I needed it. I pulled it apart to see what makes it tick. It has a couple of relays inside, some sort of inline IC, some resistors, diodes and capacitors--nothing too scary. Since the relays are the mechanical part of the assembly, I pulled them off the circuit board to bench test them. Sure enough, one of them was bad.

Now I set about to purchase a replacement. Here is where progress bogged down. The Omron relays that come in the relay box have been discontinued (What? It's only been 20 years! Don't they know we will be driving these old girls another 20?) I persevered, and eventually found an NTE relay that is a direct replacement. It is part number R46-5D12-12 and is readily available. So I ordered some and soldered them in today. Success! It's fixed. I can't say that all of these that fail are a relay going bad, but I'll wager most of them are. So, if you want to preempt fate, get a couple and swap them out before they fail.

PICS:

First one is the relay board as it came out of the plastic case.
Second pic is a view from the bottom after I de-soldered the relays. See the relay sitting at the bottom of the circuit board to match the 5 pins with the holes.
Pic three is a shot from the top with the relays removed. You can easily see the holes where the 5 pins per relay solder in.

 

[slcfj62]

The first pic is the bottom of the circuit board after I soldered the new relays in. Here are the tools you will need--a soldering iron and a solder sucker.
And the last pic is a close up of the new relays installed.

So there you go. Order some of these relays while they are still available and swap them out. And if you figure out a way to get the green plastic box apart without breaking off the little lock tabs, let me know. I had to glue it back together.

 

[saucebox]

Is there any sort of electrical gremlin that you can't fix?

 

[2Rusty]

Nice work.

 

[rfj62]

Are you going to be repairing the relays and then selling them? Might make a couple of bucks and make some Cruiser heads life a little easier.

 

[slcfj62]

I could. If you would like me fix one of these for you, send me a PM. I'll want a little for my time, but it would be cheaper than $100, and you would have brand new relays.

 

[kevin in okinawa]

me not being an electrical genius wonders..."would this work with my 24v truck?" and, do you have a link to the parts source? I googled nte elec onc, but didn't get too far

 

[slcfj62]

For a 24V truck, you would want to get the NTE relay with the part number R46-5D12-24. The number after the last - is the voltage for the coil. The 12 after the D signifies it is a 12 amp relay. Just google the R46-5D12-24 number and you will get a bunch of hits.

 

[kevin in okinawa]

salt lake:

nice tip! if i'm ever in the neighborhood, drinks are on me

 

[Tofudebeest]

Just found this after I posted this:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/373756-my-next-electrical-gremlin.html#post5409237

Hooray!

 

[Spook50]

Very cool. You know if Tyco/Bosch makes matching relays for that? I'd like to do up a backup relay panel, but not if I have to deal with Chinese relays. Solid state relays would be badass

 

[Tofudebeest]

I pulled off this repair in about 15-20 minutes this afternoon. $12, and I have two more of these little relays as spares! THANK YOU, SLCFJ62!!!

 

[Michael Hanson]

I have heated the green box with a hair dryer to get it good and warm,then the tabs dont break. I have had trouble sourceing replacement parts,I dont want to use chinese. MIke

 

[slcfj62]

I understand the Chinese thing. I got past it in this case because I looked forever before I finally found the NTE relays. So if you can find American made let us know. I used to feel the same about Japanese, and now look what I'm driving.....

 

[Tofudebeest]

Hey, those relays are $3 an change a piece. To replace the whole green box is $100. I don't care if the relays were made in Vanuatu, Haiti or your uncle's spare bathroom, it is a super cheap, quite easy fix. If they last a year, I have a back up pair. I'm betting they are as good or better than the Omron originals.

Oh, by the way...I did not have a solder sucker. Instead, I pulled on the relays as I heated up the solder points from behind and pulled them, one pin at a time. When I put the new ones in, I laid the relays on the floor and pressed lightly as I heated up each solder point until then pins popped through one by one. Once flush with the circuit board, I added electrical solder to each pin to lock them in place.

 

[slcfj62]

The danger in de-soldering that way is that you hold the soldering iron on the solder points for long periods of time while you are working the pins out. This can de-laminate the copper traces from the PC board which can ruin it. In this case, the PC board construction is good, and you got away with it. There are times when I haven't been so lucky. You can get an anti-static solder sucker for under $20, so I think it is worth having in your tool chest. You can also get some stuff called "solder wick" that is braided copper wire that literally wicks the solder away from the joint when you heat it with the soldering iron. And it only costs a couple of bucks for a little roll. It also tends to remove some of the heat from the joint which is good for delicate joints, but don't have your fingers too close to the action or you will have a sudden burning sensation!

And I'm glad it worked out for you. It is an easy cheap fix--one I'd recommend be done proactively....to avoid getting caught out on a trail somewhere......in a rainstorm.

 

[imabigbangkindaguy]

Hey SLCFJ62, It is no secret that you have a magical way with electronics, I was wondering if you have installed power seats in your rig? I am about to do this but really have no idea how. I have read a couple of threads, but no real write up with step by step instructions, as you are able to do so well. So there is your challange! or maybe just a few bits of advice... sorry for the hijack.

Thanks,

Richard

 

[slcfj62]

Haven't done power seats myself. There are a million different kinds, so there is probably not a generic procedure. I know Randy88fj62 installed a power drivers seat. Maybe PM him?

 

[2sun62]

I replaced my relays 6 months ago and it's the best $15 Ive spent Also thank u for Power window permanent fix.

 

[AndersN]

Just did this fix after replacing the motor and cleaning all the contacts and finally got my drivers window working. Oh well got an all new system in that door good for another 20 years. One question though, now none of my other windows work, any ideas?