[davemc87]

Evening all.
This may seem like a daft question but I’m wondering if electric rear windows could easily be fitted to a car that currently has manual ones? Is the wiring inside the doors already there? I’ve got the chance to buy a really nice sli that could also come with a really rough and rusty gsi, just wondering if it’s a straight forward job to put the power windows in?
Sorry if it’s a daft question, pretty new to the 200/400 scene.

[crepello]

Rover didn't install redundant wiring!
You could look out for a copy of the workshop electrical manual, which would detail the wiring differences.

[RoverRevival]

you'd need to find the rear loom and see if there are any empty plugs. It is highly probable (especially on later models) that there would be one main loom to which you add the extras too.

Alternatively, find a car with the 4 door electric and swap it out, checking for other compatibilities as well.

Can always go aftermarket, if you are desperate.

[Kriss707]

Some manufacturers, not all, use a 'Basic Wiring Loom' for the whole model range. They just add the 'Optional Extras' as & when the customer requests a certain 'Extra' & put the price up. So you might be lucky enough to install your chosen upgrade (you might need to install a fuse/relay in the fuse box) & plug n play, as they say.

I upgraded my 216 Cabbies standard front bumper to a GSi bumper with Foglights, I wasn't lucky enough to have any of the plugs on the loom for either the dash switch or the lights themselves, so it was 'Old Skool' wiring them in.

But on my Son's Renault Clio we did the same upgrade & all the plugs were there, popped a fuse in & it was job jobbed.

[davemc87]

I was rather hoping it would all be there and it was just that these things were rigged up if they were specified
I’d want to swap the door cards over as I’d be swapping the leather over, it’s not that I desperately want rear electric windows, I just want everything to look right

[Kriss707]

If you get the cars first carefully dismantle the Donor car that has what you want to install on the Recipient, follow the door loom wires back to the plug in the main loom. Then look on the recipient to see if the plugs are present, they may be just hanging or tucked away, IF they are there you've got an easy job, simply remove the door loom & window mechanism, install, plug it in & your done.

Don't forget to check the fuse box as you may need to install a fuse or Relay. Because if the upgrade isn't there the fuse usually isn't either.

[Johnny 216GSi]

I’d want to swap the door cards over as I’d be swapping the leather over, it’s not that I desperately want rear electric windows, I just want everything to look right

In which case, just source 2 replacement door cards with manual wind holes from another car with the right colour interior. It depends on the age of the car - a GSi could be flint grey, granite grey, beige or even prussian blue. Flint and strangely, beige, are the two most common colours you'd find on scrapped vehicles and in people's stocks of spare parts - prussian blue is very rare and granite, whilst being a 1993 colour, seems to be pretty rare too. Flint is a sort of warm grey (it's got a hint of brown in it), whilst granite is more of a neutral or slightly blue-looking grey by comparison.

You'd need to swap the leather inserts over. These can be tricky depending on the age of the vehicle. Up to 1993 I'm pretty sure they are all held on with melted plastic rivets which can be snapped off with a wall-paper scraper used as a chisel on the back of the door cards. You've then got the problem that you have to install new fixings. I've had to, before now, free the material from the door insert and clean it and the metal up, then physically glue M5 nylon bolts in place, with the heads sanded down so they don't show as "bumps" through the material. Then you reattach the material and offer it up carefully to the door card and put nuts on the back. Cars from about 1994 onwards may be spring clips holding on the plastic pegs rather than them having been melted, so replacement is easier. Later cars have the door insert metal formed into metal tabs which are just bent over in the door card holes, which must be really easy to remove and refit.

[davemc87]

Thanks for the info. I was hoping for a nice simple swap of parts, will have to have a good think about if it’s worth the hassle