Introduction: 2002 Mazda Protege5 Mod - Sunroof Always On

If you already did the mod for your power windows, located here, then you may have noticed that it does not allow your sunroof to operate without the key in the ignition. This mod shows you how to wire up the sunroof to operate at all times, just like the windows. I did not discover this on my own, all credit goes to Zap Wizard @ zapwizard.com, however, I altered a few steps, and as it is not available on Instructables, I am posting it here.

**DISCLAIMER** - At this point, I am sure any warranties on 2002 Proteges are no longer valid, however, you still do this modification at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage caused, injuries incurred, or contracts violated by performing this modification. That being said, this is a fairly easy process, with almost no risk involved, but you are solely responsible for anything that happens by following these instructions.

This mod is not quite as easy as the power windows modification. In that mod, we simply connected the power windows to direct power from the battery instead of going through the ignition. The concept for this mod is the same, but the process is different. This time, wires will be cut and reconnected, and we will add a fuse outside the car's fuse box.

For this mod, you will need a few extra pieces:
- Wire cutter/stripper
- Soldering iron + solder (if you want a more permanent setup)
- 1-3 wire tap-in clamps, depending on what you choose to solder
- Electrical tape

Step 1: Remove the Car's Trim.

This step is *exactly* the same as in the power window tutorial, but I will repost it here.

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First we have to be able to access the entire fuse box inside the car by the pedals, not just the front with the fuses. In order to do that, we must first remove some of the car's trim around the driver's seat.

Remove piece number 1. This is the long piece of trim along the bottom of the doorway. Simply put your fingers under the inside edge of it, and give it a sharp pull upwards. The first time you do this it may take a bit of extra effort, but it will come off eventually. :) Sometimes it's easier to start at one end and work your way along it. Check the pictures, they explain it pretty well.

Piece number 2. Next we need to peel back some of the door's seal near the front of the car. We don't need to take it all off, just pull it up until you can toss it over the top of the open door to keep it out of the way.

Piece number 3. This is the panel that covers the fuse box. First we need to pop out the little plug that is right at the far end near the pedals. This is easily done with a flat screwdriver. Note: you need to put the screwdriver under the inner circle of the plug to pull out the center, if you just put it between the plug and the panel, it will not come off and you could break it. After the plug is out, simply grab under the panel and pop it off by pulling towards the center of the car.

Now we can see our fuse box, and are almost ready to do the real work :)

On a side note, you may see a big, thick, shiny red wire or a skinny blue wire in some of my pictures, those are for my amp/sub in the trunk, so if you don't see those in your car, don't panic :) Also, these pictures were taken after I had already modified some of the wiring in the car, so anything that I do not mention that seems out of place, don't worry about.

Step 2: Prep the Fuse Box

Again, this step is exactly like the one in the other mod, but i will repost it here for convenience.

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n this part of the mod, we will remove the fuse box from the wall of the car and disconnect from plugs from it.

First, remove the screw and bold holding the fuse box to the car. The screw is a Philips screw and is easily removed by hand. The bolt is a 10mm bolt that may also be removed by hand either with a straight shaft tool, or a ratchet. I found that using a ratchet was the easiest way to remove it, especially the first time, as it was very tight the first time, just like the first piece of trim that was removed.

After both the screw and bolt have been removed, disconnect the white plastic connector at the top of the fuse box (see picture 3). The wires on that one are very short and it is much easier to move the fuse box with it disconnected.

You should now be able to turn the fuse box around so that we can access the back of it. If it is still a little difficult, or you want to be able to move it farther, you can cut some of the black electrical tape around some of the groups of wires.

Step 3: Removing Wires.

In this step, we will take out what we need from the fuse box.

The wire's that we're most interested in for this mod are pink, and there are 2 of them that we will be rewiring. The key to this mod is that the sunroof shares a circuit with the rear defrost, so we need to separate them and then add power to the sunroof without the ignition. Before we do anything, put the keys in, turn them to the battery position, but don't start the car. Lean in towards the fuse box, and press the rear defrost button on the center console. You should hear a distinct *click* from the defrost relay located down there. Hear it? Good. That's how we're going to make sure you got the right wire later :)

The first wire is in a connector on the back of the fuse box, so turn it so you can see the back. The wire we are looking for is in the top most connector along the side. Push on the little tab on the side that is holding the connector in and pull it out. This connector has 3 pink wires, and we need a specific one. When the connector is in the fuse box, it is the top left wire when looking at the back of the box. Once the connector is out, remove the wire. This is the same process that was used in the power window Instructable, but if you haven't done that one, here's how to do it. Look into the slot with the pink wire from the end that plugs into the fuse box. On the top, there is a small plastic tab that holds the wire inside the connector. Using a small jeweler's screwdriver, push that tab up from the "front", while pulling the wire out from the "back". It can take a few tries, but eventually the wire will slide out.

To make sure you got the right wire, put the connector back into the fuse box, slide in your key, and give it a turn. Hit the rear defrost button on the center console again; the light on the button will still turn on, but you should not here the *click* of the relay you heard before. If you don't hear the click, you got the right wire and you can move onto the next step. If you heard it, put the pink wire back that you removed, and try a different one. Remember, it's the "top left" one when looking at the fuse box from the back. Don't forget to test it again if you have to pull a different wire.

Onto wire number 2. Locate the rear defrost relay and connector on top of the fuse box. The relay is the black box that sticks out from the front of on the white connector, so turn the fuse box back to look at the front of it. You don't need to completely disconnect the entire connector, mine was stuck on really well and wouldn't come off at all. All you need to do is pop the relay off the front of the connector. This is easily done with a small screwdriver. The part of the white connector that is attached to the relay is sort of hooked over a little tab on the other piece on the side. Don't try to push the tab in, it doesn't work. Instead, use the screwdriver to pry up the outer piece and push it over the tab. The relay should pop off easily after that.

Remove this wire as you did with the last one.

You should now have two loose pink wires hanging down above where the fuse box would be. One with a small clip on the end, the other with a bigger one. And now we reach the point of (almost) no return. This modification can be undone, but we are about to cut some wires, so "going back" will not be *exactly* the same as it is now.

Cut both pink wires that are hanging loose, but leave a few inches of wire behind that you can work with, we will need them later. In the picture with the cut wires, there are some other cuts on those same wires from a temporary setup I had done before, so just ignore those.

That's all the cutting and removing we have to do, from here on out it's all putting stuff back :)

Step 4: Getting Your Defrost to Work Again.

So now we have some wires we have to deal with. Four to be exact, two pieces we cut off, and two hanging inside the car by the fuse box. First we will get the rear defrost back up and running, and for that we need the ends we removed before.

Here we have a few options. If you're like me, and want a more reliable, permanent modification, you can solder the two wires together and wrap the connection with electrical tape.If you want a modification you can easily undo, you can twist/tape or use a wire tap-in clamp to connect them together. Just put both wires into the same side of the clamp because they're small. That's how I did this mod the first time, and it worked without any trouble.

Once the wires are connected together, we can put them back into their original places. If you just want to do a quick connection between the two, you don't have to pull them out in the first place, but it does make working with them easier, especially for soldering.

After you put the wire back in, replace the connectors and the relay, then test it to make sure it's working again. Listen for that click when you hit the button on the center console. Remember to put your key in and turn it :)

Step 5: Getting Power to the Sunroof.

Here we are, the step that actually provides you with and "always on" sunroof. What we're left with in terms of wires are the two pink wires that are hanging down from above the fuse box. Somewhere along the line, one or both of those wires is connected to your sunroof, all we have to do is hook them up to the battery for constant power. Luckily for us, there is a very convenient battery line nearby. It's the red/white wire that goes into the defrost relay we were just playing with.

For this hookup, I used wire tap-ins for simplicity, and because I don't have a battery powered soldering iron.

Connect one end of your fuse holder (without the fuse, just in case), to the red/white battery wire using a tap-in. Squeeze it together nice and tight to connect the two wires.

Connect the second end of the fuse holder to *both* of the pink wires using another tap-in. Put both pink wires on one side, and the fuse holder wire on the other. Again, squeeze it nice and tight to ensure a solid connection.

Once the fuse holder is hooked up, put the fuse in and you should be all set. Give it a quick test by making sure all the connectors are in the fuse box and hitting one of the sunroof controls *without* the key in the ignition. If it works, you're done! rebuild everything and enjoy the convenience having your sunroof work all the time. If it doesn't work, and you're sure you cut the right pink wires, make sure the tap-ins are completely closed and you tapped into the Red/white wire that connects to the rear defrost relay.