power window alteration. any reason not to?

[isotopeman]

I swore I'd never buy another car with power windows, but the price couldn't be beat on this one. Sill, I don't like that I must have the key in the ignition to roll the windows up or down. Would there be anything wrong with changing the window swithces to a power supply that's always there, even when the keys are out? Would it in some way put a drain on the battery? The doors are never locked anyway - I don't have a key.
Thanks,
-tom

[vrg3]

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=15795

[isotopeman]

GEEZ! That was fast!

[vrg3]

[BAC5.2]

Out of curiousity, why don't you like power windows?

I hate manual windows with a passion. Why? Because you don't look cool rolling down a window. ESPICALLY in a sedan.

I want to pirate 4 drivers switches from a 90 to 93 Legacy so I can have auto up/down on every window. I also want to see if it'd be possible to wire a relay into the sunroof so I have auto open.

[evolutionmovement]

I understand your concern and dislike of power windows, but the ones in these cars are pretty damn reliable - I've never had an issue. One thing that bothers me on the new Lotus Elise is power windows - it's a small 2-seater for Christsake! Not to mention that this car's reason for being is minimal weight. Plus with the British reputation for electrics, I'd rather not chance any more than necessary when I finally get a hold of one.

Steve

[isotopeman]

Out of curiousity, why don't you like power windows?

Reliability is one thing. I've been in too many cars where they don't work. What looks less "cool" than cranking a window is having to coax one back up when a poor unknowing passenger unknowingly pushes a button to roll it down. Even though ours do seem more reliable, I'm leery about them. I've had more than one person get in my car and say, "Wow, the windows still work!". Having to have a key in the ignition to roll them up or down is inconvenient at times. And there's the added weight.
The worst problem I've seen recently was on a new Beetle. Returning to this girl's car while on a date, we found that it had started raining heavily while we were in a restaurant. The bad part was that, even though we locked the doors and put the windows up, when we came back, there were down. She says it had happened a lot - whether driving or sitting parked somewhere - the power windows would just roll down. She had taken it to the dealer several times, but there was no explanation from them for it. It was a bizarre bug (no pun intended), but I don't have to anticipate something that bad to dislike the power windows. And, yeah, I enjoy getting off-subject if it means telling a story of some kind.

[evolutionmovement]

VW's are junk. Especially electrically. Totally different animal. Sleep well, my friend.

Steve