so i went to drive my car for the first time in a few months yesterday since it was a nice day, and i put down both of my power windows. they both went down normally, but the drivers side wouldn't go back up. i didnt hear it come off the tracks or anything, and it still seems to be solidly attached in there, so i'm assuming its an electrical issue. i've never had any problems with either one before.

as my car sits outside all of the time, obviously having an open window is a BAD thing so i need to get this fixed, or at least manually put the window up today.

has anyone heard of this problem before? i tried searching but quotation marks don't work in the search box so you can't search for exact terms like "drivers side window," you'll get results back for any of those 3 words, which is a couple million threads.

how can i go about manually raising a power window without damaging the motor or anything?

 

also, i can't hear the window motor making any sound when i hit the button. i have the door taken apart at the moment, and measured +12 and -12v at the harness plug while hitting the switch on the console. does this narrow it down to being the window regulator, or do i need to check anything else before replacing it?

 

something else i'm wondering is all of the guides i've seen to replacing the regulator have said to have the window halfway up.

what if its stuck all the way down?

 

I had this exact same thing happen to me...I was pulling out of a gas station after filling up and my windows were fogged over so I rolled down the window to see if it was safe to pull out...My drivers window got stuck about half way down...turns out it was 6 degrees out that day and it was snowing! It was a cold drive to school . Turned out that my window motor crapped out! In order to get the window back up, I pushed the window button up while lifting up on the window glass and it came up fine had to replace the window motor though. Hope this helps!

 

OOPS

 

Sounds like a crapped out window motor. Get your fingers in there and grab the window, and pull up while pushing the switch to see if you can get it up for the night. Then the word "bogus" and you'll find a post about changing window motors the easy way without removing the regulator.

 

yeah i had seen that thread and planned on using that method if i can narrow it down to the motor. is there a way i can test them without removing them to check whether its the regulator or the motor?

when i hit the passenger side that still works, i hear a little click, is that the regulator? because i'm not hearing anything at all on the drivers side. i'd hate to go through the trouble to replace the motor and find out it was the regulator.

 

If the motor was working but straining against the regulator you would hear or be able to feel the motor trying to do something I would think. Not sure where you're checking for voltage. Have you verified that the switch is working by bypassing it?

 

i unplugged the 2 wire harness from the front of the regulator and tested for voltage as i hit the window up/down switch and showed +12 and -12v.

wouldn't the regulator going out also stop the motor from doing anything though?

 

The motor would still be vibrating or humming trying to do something unless the wiring was somehow preventing 12 volts from actually reaching it, or some connection is at fault I would think? I'm certainly no expert at electrical stuff, but I've always known motors to show signs of slowing down before dying, but them I'm sure that doesn't always have to be the case either

 

yeah it showed no signs of acting up prior to this, although both of my windows have been slow to go up/down as long as i've had the car. seems to be a common issue though.

my car definitely has its share of electrical gremlins though. needs a complete wiring replacement.

 

bump... hate to be a pain, but i need to know if there is a way to narrow it down to the motor or regulator before i start drilling out rivets.

or, if they aren't going to be very expensive, i might just swap both, how much do they run from the local parts store? something like this, that would be difficult to test on site, i won't buy from a salvage yard.

 

if you look in your fuse box there are two large silver fuses, try swapping them and see if it helps. when my mustang window got stuck all I had to door was bang the door by the motor (bottom right corner on drivers side) and it reset the motor relay/ popped it back on track. give it a try.

 

If you need to replace the motor just drill through the door to remove the rivets and the motor pops out. DO NOT drill out the regulator rivets or you're in for a headache

photo courtesy of bradlyj8z28

 

Regulator is just metal bars that move from the turning of the motor in a scissor-like fashion. Nothing can really go wrong with the regulator (unless you were in a wreck and it got bent). If the power window does not work, and the WDO fuse is good, and there's current getting to the motor, then the motor is bad. Replace them both while you are at it - takes like 1 hour to do both.

 

i checked all of the plastic fuses, but not the big silver ones. i thought both windows would operate off the same fuse anyway, though?

regulator seems like a shitty name for what that is... sounds more like a servo switch or relay or something

 

i tried to get the window halfway up by having someone hold the switch while i pulled on the window, hard. i was afraid i was going to rip it off the tracks i pulled so hard, and it barely budged.

i am an aircraft mechanic, so drilling out a few rivets is not a problem. is the only reason you want the window halfway up when you pull the motor so that you dont drill through into it? if thats the case, i can be careful enough when i drill out.

 

basically yes, when you get the door panel off there's not a whole lot going on in there. by drilling out the motor rivets through the door you don't have to remove the regulator or motor bracket. the new motor comes with some bolts and nuts that fit in the drilled out holes.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...2_543299804___

these are the ones I bought from work and they have a lifetime warranty. in case they ever crap again (knock on wood)

 

Hi there, ive just had this exact problem happen to me in the rain, ive had slow windows for the 4 years ive had the car, its been sat a couple of months so i started her up and gave her an airing - winding the windows down, it started raining so i went to wind it up and nothing ? it moved a few mm then stopped, i had to rip my door panel off quick and really push hard under the window to get it up whilst operating the switch.
im wondering how youve got on fixing yours ?

 

my rs has the same issue. only the drivers side craps out at a drive through or an atm. My quick fix is to kick the part of the panel that the motor is behind while pushing the up button. i have had the panel off and checked and the wire connector to the motor. It turns out its loose and after bumps from NY roads and slamming the door shut, the connector tends to have a loose connection. if you hear nothing from the motor then it may just need to have that connector looked at also spray all connection surfaces with electrical cleaner spray. Hope this helps.

 

to test your motor just hook it up to a 12 volt power source and use the negative and positive leads to try and make the window go up and down if it doesnt do any thing than your motor is shot