Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2005 09:37:44 -0700
Reply-To: Audin Malmin <amalmin@OKB-1.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Audin Malmin <amalmin@OKB-1.ORG>
Subject: Re: HOWTO: Installing aftermarket power door locks in an '85
vanagon westfalia
In-Reply-To: <vanagon%2005042611174111@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
On Tue, Apr 26, 2005 at 11:12:10AM -0400, Brian Keese wrote:
> This is excellent. Thanks for the writeup. Any tricks for running the
> wires to the sliding door? I tried to run speaker wires to the rear
> speakers through there with no luck. They seemed to get hung up somewhere
> above the passenger door.
I did it in two stages.
Started by removing the railing above the slider and the headliner.
There is a long slot above the passenger door which is where I worked
the wire down the pillar.
Then ran a piece of stiff copper wire (from a chunk of 14 or 12 gauge
romex electrical wire) down the front pillar. There is an opening somewhat on
the other side of where the passenger door button is located. I also removed
the door button to use the hole to look for the wire. Then I used another
peice of that wire bent into a hook to grab the long wire and pull it out the
larger hole. Anyway, that is the painful part.
Then pull the needed wires up from the bottom out of the slot above.
Probably a good idea to pull a couple of extras at this point, too...
Then you can do as I did and run the wires back across the rear pillar
through the same opening used by the stock speaker wires. However, I noticed
as I was replacing the headliner that this is not neccessary, there is pleanty
of room just behind the liner to take serveral wires, so if i had to do over
again i would not bother with this step.
Access to the sliding door latch pillar is apparently from the rear
side only. Remove the air grille from the front side of the pillar (it just
sort of pops out), then remove its frame as well. This gave me enough room to
just get my hand into the pillar. Then take the stiff wire again and, going
in through the air vent above the slider, work it forward and try to get it to
make the 90 degree turn into the pillar. It is a pain. Try to pre-bend the
wire into a gentle downward curve. Soemwhere along the line the end of the
wire will probably get caught on the passenger door latch strike plate thingy.
Try to wiggle it around that, or try to get your hand up there to free it.
with enough perseverance the end of the wire can be gotten down through the
front air duct opening.
Then just pull your new wires down into the pillar. The air vent
opening is 'sealed' with a large block of soft foam, so there is no problem
running wires into it.
Anyway, it is a pain in the butt. But IS possible. And makes for a
nice professional looking install.
While the headliner is off, think about installing a second dome light
on the passenger side. Gowesty has the lights for like $6. And the actual
placement of the hole doesn't matter much at all (it doesn't have to line up
with the hole in the metal frame...the stock one doesn't line up at all).
--
Audin Malmin - audin@okb-1.org
