How To: Moonroof Always On

[ZapWizard]

If someone could please move this into the How To forum, thanks.


Always On Moonroof

2003 Mazda Protégé - By ZapWizard

http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/moonroof.jpg





<HR>

If you have modified your power windows so that you can run them even when the car is off, you will find that the moonroof is on a seperate circuit.
With a few more steps, the moonroof can also be wired for always on operation.

This is part one of my modification, the second part will be making a rain-detector circuit, that will allow the moonroof to automatically close if it starts raining. This will allow me to park my car with the moonroof venting air out, yet not worry about water getting into the car. An alarm system later will also be able to close the moonroof if someone is too close to the car.




<HR>The tools needed are:


Philips screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Tiny flathead screwdriver
Normal pliers
Needle nose pliers
Wire cutters
1 QTY: 16-22 AWG Wire taps
2 QTY: 14-12 AWG Wire taps
1 QTY: 15-Amp mini-fuse
1 QTY: Wired mini-fuse holder


<HR>This modification is not as easy as simply wiring the moonroof to battery power, like the power windows.


This is because the moonroof is connected to the 15-amp A/C fuse inside the fuse box, and the wire running to the moonroof is also connected the rear window defrost, so we have to separate and re-wire both these connections.
So far I have not found that any other circuits are on this same wire, so I doubt there is anything else on the wire that could drain the battery.
As will all modification: Do at your own risk.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Foot-Trim.jpg


The first few steps are the same as modifying the power windows.

Remove the bottom-trim on the door by pulling up on one side.





<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/trim.jpg

Pull up about six inches of door trim




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/pop-bolt.jpg

Pop off the push-bolt at the back of the fuse-box cover.



<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Fuse-Cover.jpg

Pull the fuse cover off by pulling the backend towards the center of the car.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Defrost-Relay.jpg

Locate the Defrost control relay, this is attached to the top of the fuse box.

If the car is on, you should hear this relay click when you press the rear-defrost button.

Remove the defrost relay and its holder.

Note: This modification is possible without removing any wires (only cutting them), but I found it easier to work with the wires away from the fuse box.(And to make sure I don't cut the wrong pink wire)




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Relay-wire-out.jpg


You need to remove the pink wire on the defrost relay.

You do this by pushing up on a pin inside the holder.

Once disconnected you can test by pushing your rear-defrost button, this relay should no longer click on. (Even though the defrost button lights up)

Note: This pink wire is shared with the moonroof, and is connected to the 15-amp A/C fuse in the fusebox.



<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Fuse-Connector.jpg

Once that wire is loose, you need to remove the top-most connector on the fuse box.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Fusebox-Pink-Wire.jpg

You then need to pull the pink wire located at the top of the flat side of the connector.

If you look at the connector as if it was plugged into the fuse box, it would be the top-most wire towards the center of the car.

If you are not sure, remove a wire, plug the connector back into the fuse box, turn on the car, and test if you can open your moonroof.
(It should not open)

Note: This pink wire is the power-output for the moonroof and rear-defrost relay.


<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Pink-Wires.jpg


You should now have two pink wires hanging from the tape-wrapped bundle of cables.
(One with a large metal connector, and one with a small metal connector)

These two wires are connected together somewhere, and still have an electrical connection between them.
(You can confirm this with a continuity meter)
The only circuit these should be connected to now is the moonroof.



<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/cut1.jpg

Cut the pink wire with the larger connector about three inches from the electrical tape bundle.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/cut2.jpg

Cut the pink wire with the smaller connector in the same way.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Cut-Wires.jpg

You should now have two pieces of pink wire.

We will use these to restore the rear defrost relays connection to the fuse box.



<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Clamped-Wires.jpg

Using a 22-16 Gauge wire tap, clamp the two wires together, and close the tap.

I also recommend that you test their connection with a continuity meter.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Installing-Spliced-wires.jpg

You can now push the connectors into their original spots on the fusebox, and defrost relay.

This will complete the relay part of the modification, and your rear defroster should function like normal.

Note: These steps could have been done by simply cutting the wires without removing them, and then splicing them back together.







<HR>
http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Left-over-wires.jpg



You should now be left with two cut and loose wire hanging from the tape-wrapped bundle.

We need to splice these (with a fuse) onto a battery wire to allow the moonroof to work when the car is off.

There is a battery wire conveniently located right on the rear defrost relay.

It is white with a red stripe.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Battery-Tap.jpg


So first we need to splice our fuse holder onto the battery wire.

(Don't install the fuse just yet)

Using a 14-12 Gauge wire tap, clamp the fuse holder onto the battery wire.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Moonroof-tap.jpg


Next, we need to connect the two loose pink wires onto the other end of the fuse holder.

Using a 14-16 gauge wire tap, insert both pink wire into one side of the tap, and the fuse holder into the other.

Then crimp the wires together.

Even though the pink wires are thin, I have found that splicing both of them together provides enough connection that they don't pull-out of the wire tap.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/Completed.jpg


The last step is installing a 15-amp fuse into the fuse holder.

You can test the moonroof now if you want, if it works you can start putting the fuse box and covers back together.

If you want to reverse this modification, you can take the tap off the battery wire, and splice it back onto the pink wire running to the defrost relay.




<HR>http://www.zapwizard.com/Car/moonroof/moonroof.jpg



Done!

You should now be able to operate your moonroof anytime you want.

[Brian MP5T]

That is about as "In Depth" As I have seen it. Good job.

[Poseur]

Dude, you're a big help, thanks again. I'm in the process of hooking up my windows and sunroof to my alarm, and finding the power for the sunroof was really starting to bug me. One thing,though. if you're taking the time to get into them, why use the ghetto splice-blocks? especially if you've got 'em out of the car, twist and solder and shrinkwrap, or atleast electrical tape 'em... makes everything WAY cleaner.

[ZapWizard]

Well I am using the wire taps mostly for speed, as I am a technican 8 hours a day, a PC modifier 6-hours a day, and only have a few hours left over for side projects.
Plus they are not visible in the end.

BTW, This mod took about an hour to complete.

[Matthew]

very nice write up. now do one for a clutch install lol

[Poseur]

ah that's cool, Just sorta my thing I guess. I hate having to look at messes of tangled wire even if it's behind a panel. Not to discount you at all, again, thankyou.

[Moeed]

Nice job, can you tell me when you say test to see if the moonroof works after you take out the smaller pink wire, do you want it to work or should it not work any more?

Again, nice write up. been waiting for some one to do this for a while.

[ZapWizard]

Nice job, can you tell me when you say test to see if the moonroof works after you take out the smaller pink wire, do you want it to work or should it not work any more?


Correct, when you first remove the pink wire from the fuse box, you can turn the car on, and test to see if the moonroof opens.
It should not open.
You can also try pressing the rear defrost button, the light will turn on, but you shouldn't hear the relay above the fuse block click on.

I have been quite a few days since I did this, and I have seen zero problems, my battery doesn't drain overnight, and there doesn't seem to be any other circuits on that wire.

I got more guides coming as I mod other electronic stuff.

[Moeed]

Zap, i know this is a little off topic but be sure to come out to the texas meet.

[ZapWizard]

Zap, i know this is a little off topic but be sure to come out to the texas meet.I will be there for the saturday events.

[Poseur]

Has anyone found anything else on this circut yet? I just integrated my windows into my alarm, and intend to do the sunroof soon, but I just want to make sure nothing else's gonna be a problem.

[ZapWizard]

Has anyone found anything else on this circut yet? I just integrated my windows into my alarm, and intend to do the sunroof soon, but I just want to make sure nothing else's gonna be a problem.
I have been running it since I wrote the guide with zero problems, and I haven't noticed anything else working out of the ordinary.

[Poseur]

zap>
Thanks alot, you're the man. I'd have never had the patience to figure this one out myself. Just did it in 15mins thanks to your guidance. I'll see if I cna get it hooked to my alarm tomorrow. Best way for sunroof integration seems to be right at the switches, as things are fairly self-contained up there. If you haven't gotten up into it yet, Just pull the maplight/switch assy down, there's a metal spring clip on each side holding it up. It all becomes very clear fast.

[mrpopnfresh]

Nice write up. I've been wanting to do this for some time now.

[Natey]

hah! We were just talking about this the other day. :) Thanks a lot. I'll be trying this tomorrow.

[Midnight22]

Note: when ur cutting the pink wire out of the fuse box, make sure it is the one in the back, not the front where all the fuses r... the front one is for the radio... i figured that out when i cut the wire and all of a sudden my cd changer was going loco... so thats one thing, in the back, and 2 when messing with the battery wire... dont ground urself out...

[Brian MP5T]

Wow, A Bump From Feb 24!!

[Midnight22]

lol, o wells, long time coming

[ZapWizard]

Also, I think this mod may be possible by just splicing wires behing the moonroof control panel.

Basicly you would be moving the moonroof power over to the maplights power.
(it would be on the 10-amp room fuse)

I may write a guide on this later, as my next mod needs both +12 Acc, and +12 Batt up in the moonroof area, and rather then run another wire, I will just reverse this mod.

[holokaustos]

Well, I finally did this mod this past weekend. I did it on Saturday, then followed it up with the "One Touch Auto-opening Moonroof" mod on Sunday. You'll have to read that thread for more info, because it was a lot more involved than this one. This mod, though, was pretty straight-forward and relatively easy to do. I just wanted to offer a few tips from my own experiences with it...

1. For me, it was easier to have the fusebox detached from the car while working on it. However, it may be a good idea to do so after you've detached the defrost relay (see below). The stability of the mounted fusebox will help greatly.

2. When removing the defrost relay and holder from the top of the fuse box, you have to use some muscle. It is on there TIGHT (or at least mine was) and I wasted a good 30 minutes trying to figure out the holding clip that I thought was there, but wasn't. If you're facing the fusebox, you'll need to get a good hold of it and pull hard towards you (from the front of the car to the back). Trust me, it will come out. Then you can unmount the fusebox.

3. I found it easier to reach the clip for the relay's pink wire by removing the relay from the mount (the mount is white and the relay itself is black with a white end). There are two small clips, one on each side, that have to be opened outwards from the relay to actually remove it. It was a bit of a pain in the ass, but, once it was removed, it definitely made the pink wire (and its retaining clip) more accessible.

4. For that retaining clip, you'll want to use a super-small, flathead screwdriver (like one from an eyeglasses repair kit) in order to get in there and pop it up. I don't think a traditional toothpick will do it here.

5. Personally, myself, when it got to the point to remove the top-most connector, I just went ahead and removed all of them. It doesn't appear that any of the plugs can accidentally be put into the wrong spot (all four or five of the connectors are different shapes and sizes) and all of them only go in one way, so, by leaving them all out, it totally freed up the box, allowing me to completely remove it. This enabled me to work with the wires unobstructed.

6. I did have a bit of a hard time getting the pink wire out of the top connector. The damn clip did NOT want to cooperate, but I finally managed, using the same small screwdriver from the relay. HINT: I'm not sure about anyone else's Protege, but my '99 LX had a sort of recessed door on the flat side of the top connector. When I used my tiny screwdriver to pry it up (first one end, then the other, VERY carefully), I discovered that it was more like a release door for all of the top clips of the connector! With it up (it comes up about halfway, just enough to release them), the pink wire slid right out! Cool! Of course, I discovered this AFTER I was done and I was putting everything back together. (gun) Wooooooooooonderful...

7. Once they're taken out, the two (correct) pink wires really can't be mixed-up, because the connectors are two different sizes (like ZapWizard pointed out). However, AFTER they're snipped, you'd better have a surefire way to remember which is which. What I did was take a yellow paint pen and put a mark on both the defrost relay and its corresponding pink wire. Just be sure you put the pink wire's mark up more towards the black electrical tape, so as to avoid accidentally leaving it on the snipped portion. (And if I remember correctly, the two wires DO have some sort of distinguishing lines on them, but it was a kind of dark place and those tiny lines were too much to deal with.)

8. Be sure you follow the instructions and cut the wires the way the mod states! I short-snipped the relay's connector and when I went to put it all together, the wire connecting back into the relay was just a hair too short for the defrost relay and holder to be reattached to the top of the fuse box! No big deal, really, since everything worked fine. All I had to do was tuck it up under the dash by the hood release. Ta-da! Problem solved.

9. At first, it may not appear that the two pink wires will work in the 14-16 gauge wire tap, but they do. I double-checked them and they are as snug as a bug, so there's no need to worry...

That was it! Everything worked fine and now I have windows and a moonroof that are always on. If I can just get that damn "One Touch Auto-opening Moonroof" mod to work right, I'll be very happy, indeed...

Thanks, Zap, for the thorough write-up and pix. And I hope that my experience here helps others. Remember, make a post if you have anymore hints or advice! Later.

[ZapWizard]

I am glad you are double checking my work.

The trick is my guides and photo's are taken as I figure things out, so I may miss something that would be easier another way.
It also took me forever to get the relay off the fuse box.

As I posted, It may be easier to do this whole mod behind the moonroof control box, I will check on that later though.

[holokaustos]

I am glad you are double checking my work.

I wouldn't view it as "double checking" someone's work. Seeing your work for a few years now, I can safely say that you definitely need no review from me or pretty much anyone else. My only purpose is to do the mod, then post tips to others who may run into the same problems and obstacles that I had. I ain't no groupie and I ain't no critic. Just a man with a modding dream and a car (and two computers) to try it out on! Your mods are dead-on, my friend. Can't wait for more.

So far, so good. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, even though it's only been five days since I did it. Has anyone out there had any problems or possible problems from this mod?

[Apocalypso]

As I posted, It may be easier to do this whole mod behind the moonroof control box, I will check on that later though.


Any update on this?

[holokaustos]

As I posted, It may be easier to do this whole mod behind the moonroof control box, I will check on that later though.
Any update on this?
Aw, HELL, no! I may not have an update on the mounting revision for this mod, but I do have another update. For some unknown reason, my moonroof has stopped working!

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73766

I don't know yet if it's connected to this mod or not, but I'm in the process of trying to determine exactly which has gone haywire: the controls or the motor. Personally, I'm hoping that it was some sort of soldering screw-up on my part from another mod (http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70456), but I won't know until I go through and check everything.

If anyone could take a look at the first link and offer some ideals, I'd appreciate it...

[ZapWizard]

Any update on this?
Well, no since mine is already modded.
BUT, here is the theory:

Locate which wire on the moonroof control box runs to the car fuse box.
Cut this wire, and re-run it to the reading-lights power. (which is always on)

holokaustos, I replied to your thread.

[holokaustos]

BUT, here is the theory:

Locate which wire on the moonroof control box runs to the car fuse box.
Cut this wire, and re-run it to the reading-lights power. (which is always on)
Hmmm. Interesting...

[iamcanadian]

I semi just skimed this post but i was quite interested in doing this to my Mazda3 do u know if it is basically the same? also you said that you were going to hook it up to the rain sensor so when it rains it auto closes how would i do that. my car comes standard with the rain sensor on the windshield to start the wipers.

Thanks

[Alpinejwl]

amazing!

[ZapWizard]

The rain sensor is on my to-do list.
I designed the whole circuit, but am re-designing it to allow for a microprocessor controlled circuit, that way you can program sensativity and such.

There are several types of rain sensors I plan on testing:

Optical sensors
-These are used on high-end cars to sense water on the windsheild.
-This would not work in a drizzle rain however.

Electronic pad
-A interlaced electronic pad where a waterdrop completes the circuit

Electronic cup
-Similar to the above, but a little cup is used to increase reliablity.

Capacative sensors
-A touch-pad type circuit that can sense the presence of a drop of water

Humidity Sensor
-Best, but hardest design

[KrayzieFox]

One thing that I have a question on is the wire taps used for this mod. I have had absolutely NO luck at all finding the 12-14 gauge wire taps (light blue as I saw in the pictures) and the closest I found were the dark blue 14-18 AWG taps. Would those work for what they are used in this mod or do I need to find the EXACT sizes? I've looked at every Wal-Mart, Radioshack, Menards, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, Auto Zone .. pretty much every single place I could think of that would carry these and had NO luck at all. All they have are the damn 14-18 ones.

[KrayzieFox]

bump?

[ZapWizard]

One thing that I have a question on is the wire taps used for this mod. I have had absolutely NO luck at all finding the 12-14 gauge wire taps (light blue as I saw in the pictures) and the closest I found were the dark blue 14-18 AWG taps. Would those work for what they are used in this mod or do I need to find the EXACT sizes? I've looked at every Wal-Mart, Radioshack, Menards, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, Auto Zone .. pretty much every single place I could think of that would carry these and had NO luck at all. All they have are the damn 14-18 ones.

Sorry for late reply.
The size of the taps are probably not critical.

[Glowspeedp5]

Electronic pad
-A interlaced electronic pad where a waterdrop completes the circuit

These will work but if rain stops and water is on the board sun roof will not open.......


The rain sensor is on my to-do list.
I designed the whole circuit, but am re-designing it to allow for a microprocessor controlled circuit, that way you can program sensativity and such.

There are several types of rain sensors I plan on testing:

Optical sensors
-These are used on high-end cars to sense water on the windsheild.
-This would not work in a drizzle rain however.

Electronic pad
-A interlaced electronic pad where a waterdrop completes the circuit

Electronic cup
-Similar to the above, but a little cup is used to increase reliablity.

Capacative sensors
-A touch-pad type circuit that can sense the presence of a drop of water

Humidity Sensor
-Best, but hardest design

[Breeegz]

but couldn't you wire the sensor into one of the functions of our moonroof... whichever you plan on using, so when water is there you'd still be able to tilt?

[south9border]

bump so i remember to do this