Rep Power: 194

So, this is really bizarre. I have a Japanese built, supposedly, 2001 Honda Civic. The VIN starts with a J, and whenever I ordered parts before using the VIN I was always told I have a Japanese built Civic. Anyways, the last time my driver's side window regulator messed up, I thought about ordering a new one. 5 years ago, this would have cost about $200 for the Japanese version, and a third of that for the U.S. built ones. I was pretty upset by that, so I decided to just fix the cable myself using steel stranded cable from Home Depot. Worked well until a few weeks ago and the whole assembly busted. So, I went on Ebay and found a Japanese built window regulator for $50. I get it today and it looks pretty much like the OEM part except the connector. The motor and connector looks exactly like this:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...3/DSC03487.jpg

However, the rest of it looks like this:

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Front-Left-4-Door-Power-Window-Regulator-with-Motor-2001-2005-Honda-Civic-/00/s/NTI2WDgwMA==/$(KGrHqV,!hsE-S)GuuSSBPpbu)HZLQ~~60_12.JPG

It's freaking bizarre. It's like a combination of a U.S. and Japanese window regulator in one. Has anyone else seen anything like that for the 7th gen Honda Civic? By the way, I am the original owner of this car.

Finally, the biggest problem I have is that the new regulator has a 6 pin connector. My car is a 4 pin. What should I do? I guess I could try to match the wire colors and somehow connect them up and see if that works.

 
Rep Power: 518

Both have 4 wires but with different connectors?

2 or 4 door?

LX/EX?


Digging wire diagrams, looks like all the 01-05 use the flat 4 wire connector, not a squared connector with stacked terminals. I wonder what the regulator fits?



And yes, we get plenty of Japan built cars in North America.
VIN starts with J, Japan built.
2 is Canada built.
3 is Mexico
1, 5 are US

 
Rep Power: 812

this is why you stick with oem parts. they last years instead of days too.

 
Rep Power: 194

Never mind. I was able to answer to figure it out on my own. Ok, for anyone who ever comes across this in the future, this is what I did. Before you start, read through the whole thing since there are two ways to go about this:

1) Disconnect the two terminals here to free the cable and connector:

https://i.imgur.com/Zcz5V.jpg

2) Strip apart the plastic terminal housing to free the wire and metal connectors. This part is pretty difficult, and you should use some strong wire cutters. I partially melted the plastic terminal leads by setting it on fire for brief periods to help wear away the plastic. Do this carefully as not to melt the wire insulation.

3) Once the metal connectors are all free, connect them to the corresponding leads in the blue 6 pin housing:

https://i.imgur.com/ZxAtZ.jpg

The corresponding leads have wires that are the same colors. For example, connect the red/yellow striped connector to the red/yellow striped lead.

4) There will be two leads on the 6 pin cable that goes to nothing. Don't worry about it.

5) The metal connectors should fit snuggly over the leads; however, they can become easily disconnected when installing the window regulator. I suggest using super glue to keep the connector tight to the lead. Solder would probably work, but it would be hard to do in the very cramp space. I wouldn't recommend it. Also, it's very easy to reattach the leads if they come off again. Once they are attached before the door panel is put back on, I doubt they will ever come off again.

Finally, the other route is simpler and more secure. You could just cut off the wires and solder the corresponding ones together. Insulation tube should also be used to hide the exposed wires. However, you should always test the part out with your car. If it doesn't work, you could easily return the part back to the store since it's not damaged. If you already cut the wires to the 6 pin connector, well, good luck with trying to return it.

Hope this helps someone out in the future.

 
Rep Power: 194

Gearbox, I haven't been clear enough in my OP. What I meant to say is that I seemingly have American parts in my Japanese built Honda Civic.

Anyways, I read another thread on Civic Forums and another guy had a similar problem. Infact, I stole his line by using "frankensteined" Civic. He apparently also had unexpected parts in his OEM car. It's bizarre.

 
Rep Power: 812

in my experience, the parts should interchange just fine. I've used japan made parts plenty of times when the usa version was not available and i have a usa civic. the parts are just more expensive even though they are identical. i thought you posted a link to some cheap ebay part, that's where my comment comes in.