This is a really weird problem I'm having with my automatic windows in my 86 IROC-Z. When my doors are shut, everything works fine, both windows roll up and down. When my driver side door is open, only the passenger side window will roll up.

Here is the weird part, when I try to roll up the driver side window with the door open, all guages hit zero and all electrical seems to short out or something. With the engine running, its still the same, it doesn't kill the engine, but you can hear it effect it somewhat. Anything that is running doesn't die completely, it just gets bogged down a lot.

I have no Idea whats going on, does anyone have any advice on stuff to check out?

 

Just for giggles - open the driver door, but hold closed the pin that turns off the dome light when the door is open, and try the window switch.

My thought - The interior light pin switch makes a ground connection when the door is closed - the interior light always has 12v+ and when the door is closed the door switch makes the ground connection for the light. Maybe there's a ground issue somewhere that's the problem, and everything is feeding back to the door switch as a ground when the door is closed, and when it's open that ground connection is gone, so there's no place for this 'phantom' ground to get grounded. So this test of sorts may indicate that you need to track down a bad ground connection - maybe in the driver side kick panel, maybe in the door panel, maybe under the dash, etc.

 

My thoughts are either the door close switch as stated above, or maybe a fryed wire running to the electrics in the door that contacts metal when its open.

 

Travis - when I saw you had replied I was expecting you to say that I was freaking nuts for my weird thoughts

 

Ive seen faulty wiring do weird things to electronics. My truck had a screw holding in a speaker make its way into the speaker wire, causing my gauge lights to go out when I turned my radio on.

 

another common issue is wires breaking in door jamb conduit.try either looking inside for damage or flexing conduit while trying windows to see if anything changes.but definitely check your body ground.

 

That's exactly what I was trying to say. I was just a little tired and couldn't get that point across very effectively.

 

Ok Thanks guys. I'm gonna check the door conduit. How exactly do I check the body ground?