Adding "power" doors to an E350 cargo van - Page 2

rallypanam · 10-13-2016, 01:45 PM

If it helps, I have complete window, motor, guides etc from a driver's side door.

Pretty sure it's in the depths of my garage somewhere. Will sell cheap.

motoidiot · 10-13-2016, 02:03 PM

Thanks Greg. I had just done a little googe-fu and realized that must be what the reference was.

neatvan · 10-14-2016, 01:51 AM

I intended to do the door swap on my 2006 E350. I pulled two complete doors from a junk yard and brought them home.

Pulled the kick panels from my van, unplugged the two harnesses from my factory doors and then looked at the wire harnesses left in the van.

In my case, the van body was not wired for the power doors and windows. The harnesses matched, but the wires and pins just weren't populated.

So, for my van, I believe I need to pull actual wire bundles from the donor van body to make it fully work.

With my existing wiring, it probably wouldn't be a big job to get the power controls to work from the passenger seat, but as some have mentioned, the goal is operating the passenger window from the drivers seat!

I am curious if other van years/models have different results.

neatvan · 10-14-2016, 01:57 AM

Also, I determined it was much easier to pull the entire door at the junkyard rather than components. Some of the items inside the door are riveted to the door frame, and I didn't want that hassle while at the junkyard. Four bolts, two wiring harnesses, and the doors come off. Also, the price of a whole door was cheaper than all the individual parts.

motoidiot · 10-17-2016, 11:07 AM

Thanks for the feedback. Exactly the sort of "real world" experiences I was looking for. It sounds like I would need not only the complete doors (not interested in piecing together the parts into my doors) as well as a chunk of the under-dash wiring.

I saw a couple of good sets of doors at Pick N Pull this weekend but decided to hold off. Perhaps a project for late next year if still motivated.

rallypanam · 10-17-2016, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motoidiot

Thanks for the feedback. Exactly the sort of "real world" experiences I was looking for. It sounds like I would need not only the complete doors (not interested in piecing together the parts into my doors) as well as a chunk of the under-dash wiring.

I saw a couple of good sets of doors at Pick N Pull this weekend but decided to hold off. Perhaps a project for late next year if still motivated.

Just buy a new van. Much easier!

motoidiot · 10-17-2016, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Just buy a new van. Much easier!

LOL...
Thanks Robb. Easier yes, cheaper... not so much.

I scored a "40" door with a window for my van yesterday along with some nice Chateau seats and a side window should I choose to cut a hole in the driver side.

Backcountry Pursuit · 10-26-2016, 11:13 PM

I bought a van that had manual everything. 98 E350 EB cargo. Then I scored a complete 2000 XLT Club Wagon with power everything and a blown motor for $350. I planned to switch everything over.

I bought wiring books off eBay for each year. There are differences. Under $15 each. People quote $40, but they are way less if you look.

I pulled all the doors and put them on my van to bring all that power stuff over. They were in way better shape than mine anyways.

Then, I figured out the internet lied to me and the wiring for the power features is most certainly NOT in vans that weren't built with it at the factory.

Next I decided I was going to meld the two van harnesses together and add the necessary wiring. I pulled the dash harnesses out of the donor van. There are two complete harnesses that can be easily removed from the van if you get the dash out (not easy). Oh, and you'll need the harness that runs from the drivers B Pillar all the way back. Oh, and you'll need the harness that runs from the passenger kick panel back to the 60-40 door. Cause that ain't there either.

Here is where I made my big mistake. I started cutting out things that were not part of circuits that I needed from the two main dash harnesses.. Turns out, I needed more than what I had cut out. The best option would have been to replace both harnesses as complete units and that included the fire wall connectors and in cab fuse panel. I have now made a very large mess. I was also going to add cruise (by switching out the entire column, and power mirrors too. I had them from the donor van, why not? But cruise control involved more wires in the engine bay that weren't there. I digress.

So how did I solve all of this? I bought another van. Literally. Right before I really dug into my conversion a cherry 97 Club Wagon popped up on CL. It needed a tune up and I got it for $1800. Seriously cherry and I seriously got a screaming deal.

My first van is now owned by my business as a capital contribution I made to it. It needed one anyways. And I have nice van with all the power goodies already installed. Oh yeah, and a big box containing a rats nest of wiring that I might install someday. Maybe.

It can be done for sure. But I decided it was literally easier to buy another van. And that's coming from a guy who has a degree in aircraft electronics and made a living for almost seven years doing exactly that.

If you are going to do it, get the diagrams! Get the same year dash harnesses and swap everything over. It's a heck of a lot more than a few wires to add pw, pl, cc, and pm. Even if you are just going to do the windows, it's a fair amount.

motoidiot · 10-27-2016, 07:43 AM

Thank you for taking the time to write this up. That is the sort of real-world experience I was hoping to find with my original post. (actually I was hoping to find "it's plug and play! LOL)

When I bought my van I was under the impression that I could add "power" doors easily at a future date if I was so inclined. It seems pretty clear now that I will remain content with my manual door locks and windows. Unless I buy another van that is.

I hope that your post pops up for the next guy looking for this information!

Backcountry Pursuit · 10-27-2016, 10:54 PM

You and I both thought the same thing. I swore I had seen Ford wired in all the options into every harness and it was just the wiring in the doors and electronic box modules that needed to be added. I was going off that assumption when I bought my first van. It's totally not true. There are also more wires than I thought there would be for all those options. Ford also made changes through the years on wire colors and pin outs. Now, I try comment in every "what van should I buy" thread and make sure to impress the importance of buying a van that has power windows, locks, and cruise. I wish you the best of luck if you decide to add. You can do anything you want with enough patience. Very possible but not plug and play. The wiring diagrams are your best friend. Good luck.