"OEM" garage door opener / H0m3l!nk
Five and a half years later, I got around to doing it myself.
Warning: This was not done on an 80 series cruiser, but on a Rav4 instead.
On a side note, every mod I make on the car has to be completely reversible / removable if desired (i.e. no cutting, splicing, drilling etc unless absolutely necessary).
Let's cut to the chase.
Requirements: Soldering iron, small/precision flat-blade screwdriver, wire crimper, multi-meter, your 12v garage door opener, old wiring harnesses, mdv1 110 male spade crimp connectors, heat shrink tubing, suitable Toyota switch and mating connector.
The door opener HAS to operate on 12v and have a more-than-decent range (since "burying" it behind the dash will drastically diminish its range). 15-20 metres or more should be sufficient. If your remote does not meet one or both of these requirements, I suggest buying a cheap 12v remote control duplicator with extended range (as I did).
Everything was sourced on the cheap from a donor Rav4, but, should you need part numbers:
#84790-42020 Toyota Rav4 Defroster switch
#90980-10797 Housing connector to that switch
#82998-12340 Terminal repair wire (x5)
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http://s23.postimg.org/aj6va6rzt/req.png)
Remote hack: Since my soldering skills are marginal, I decided not to solder connections on the mini switch of the remote. Instead, two ("power" and "ground") wires were inserted through holes on the casing and soldered to the battery terminals. Then, I jammed a rubber spacer between the mini switch and the casing so that the remote is "on" as long as current flows through the wires (without the need to "physically" press the button).
The back of the Toyota Rav4 defroster switch has 5 pins and a blank spot (the colours of the wires are my personal preference and not indicative of what you will find on your connectors):
#1 Wire Green w/ White Stripe to Illumination -12v
#2 Wire Blue w/ Black Stripe to ON -12v
#3 Wire Red w/ White Stripe to ON +12v
#4 Wire Green w/ Yellow Stripe to Illumination +12v
#5 Blank
#6 Wire Red w/ Yellow Stripe to Remote positive
The other end of the wires were terminated with the mdv1 110 male spade connectors (the black ground wire from the remote and the blue/black wire from the housing connector were terminated together on a single spade connector).
These posts clarified the details for me:
Help wire factory defrost switch to fog lights... and
115V Matrix Switch Wiring
The following picture should make everything clear:
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http://s22.postimg.org/9wukf45un/rem.png)
Switch hack (would never have thought of this myself, again, props to NLXTACY): This step was not necessary, but since I wanted to replicate the push/release button action from the original remote, the push/stay pushed nature of the defroster switch was undesirable. So, using several small flat-blade screwdrivers as pry bars I managed to separate the actual switch from its casing. The following picture shows two of the four tabs that need to be pressed (the other two are on the opposite side).
Inside, there was a sliding pin which "locked" the switch in place when pressed (again, the arrows in the illustration depict the "offending" pin). Once it is removed, the switch will only close the intended circuit as long as you keep pressing it.
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http://s18.postimg.org/8cx1rxm93/switch.png)
Bench testing: After having assembled everything, a 9v battery was used to test the connections.
Both the icon illumination and the operation of the switch along with the indicator light function as intended (explanatory illustration ensues):
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http://s14.postimg.org/acvnua5cf/bench.png)
Vehicle integration: Decide which switch blank space on the dash you want to use and "fish" behind for unused connectors.
I used the connector intended for the side mirror heater switch for no specific reason.
Pin receptacles #1 and #4 provide 12v when the parking lights are turned on, thus will be used for the icon illumination while pin receptacles #2 and #3 provide 12v when the ignition key cylinder is turned to the "ON" position.
Note that while the polarity of the receptacles for the illumination is unimportant, the polarity of the "ON" circuit must be observed carefully (in my case, #2 was "+" and #3 was "-").
Tuck away the remote (tape it to the black housing connector to protect it from bumps if you want), remember to thread the defroster housing connector through the removed blank space and replace whatever trim piece you removed.
Connect the switch to the housing connector, push it into the blank and you are done!
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http://s10.postimg.org/xeu45tg2f/cons.png)
Result: Everything works as intended, albeit with a reduced range. The icon (interpreted as a sliding garage gate in my case

) illuminates with the parking lights, the pressing of the switch closes the circuit as long as the ignition cylinder switch is in the "ON" position and lights up the indicator light.
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http://s30.postimg.org/ccuq9pdy7/res.png)