Power window disfunction

Massie

Registered User
Joined
May 4, 2019
Posts
6
Reaction score
3
Location
22967
I am having a problem with my power window on the driver side of my '90 idi getting stuck in the down position. I have replaced the motor gear plugs and the lifter arm seems to be fine. When it gets stuck, I pull the motor out, check to see that the motor is working fine, reinstall the motor, and the window lifts up. It is operational for a couple weeks and then gets stuck in the downward position again. Any thoughts?
 

chillman88

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2017
Posts
6,022
Reaction score
6,152
Location
Central NY
Mine acts the same way. I assumed it was because I needed to replace the motor. Have you tried disassembling the switch and cleaning it?
 

Massie

Registered User
Joined
May 4, 2019
Posts
6
Reaction score
3
Location
22967
Not yet....apparently they were replaced right before I purchased the truck (about 2 years ago), so was hoping maybe electrical wouldn't be the culprit, but I'll check them out anyway.
 

YJMike92

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2018
Posts
608
Reaction score
329
Location
NW Arkansas
Not yet....apparently they were replaced right before I purchased the truck (about 2 years ago), so was hoping maybe electrical wouldn't be the culprit, but I'll check them out anyway.

The switches are cheap and cheaply made so It could be a switch. LMC Truck parts is a good source for our truck part needs.
 

Massie

Registered User
Joined
May 4, 2019
Posts
6
Reaction score
3
Location
22967
But why would disconnecting/reconnecting the motor at the gear make it function again? Simply disconnecting/ reconnecting the switch wires without removing the motor from its mounting position does NOT cause it to function again. It's like the motor is locked up, yet when I remove it and reconnect the switch wire to test, it operates (seemingly) flawlessly.
 

YJMike92

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2018
Posts
608
Reaction score
329
Location
NW Arkansas
But why would disconnecting/reconnecting the motor at the gear make it function again? Simply disconnecting/ reconnecting the switch wires without removing the motor from its mounting position does NOT cause it to function again. It's like the motor is locked up, yet when I remove it and reconnect the switch wire to test, it operates (seemingly) flawlessly.

It could be a loose or poor connection at the motor connector, a bad wire, or bad brushes in the motor and the movent rectifies the situation for a while.
 

Selahdoor

How can I help you, or make you laugh, today?
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2015
Posts
2,253
Reaction score
2,004
Location
Index Wa
Is it possible that the mechanism is getting over extended?

Sagging with age. And has sagged so far that at the bottom it gets, "over extended", and stuck?

Maybe experiment with putting a small vise grip, or a bolt or something at the bottom to keep it from going all the way down?
 

snicklas

6.0 and Loving It!!
Staff member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Posts
6,164
Reaction score
2,342
Location
Greenfield, Indiana
I wish I knew the fix. I had a Sable wagon that would do the same thing. Unfortunately it was totaled before I was able to fix it.

The only thing I could figure is something was getting in a bind, and popping the motor loose caused the bind to release. There was one sure way to get it stuck. Shut the door with the window open. That would do it every time. If you put the window up before you shut the door, it normally was fine.
 

chillman88

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2017
Posts
6,022
Reaction score
6,152
Location
Central NY
So you didn't change the motor? You just replaced the nylon bushing things? That was my first thought was the motor but I misread that you had replaced it
 

Selahdoor

How can I help you, or make you laugh, today?
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2015
Posts
2,253
Reaction score
2,004
Location
Index Wa
I didn't say this before, but my postulation is based on experience. (Just didn't want to write all this out, before.)

When I got my first truck, (The '89), the windows didn't work at all. I took the motors out and rebuilt them. Needed new brushes. I had to buy bigger brushes and "machine" those down to the right shape and size with a file.

That was the motor itself. As for the plastic bushings, yeah, mine were chewed up. I put, I think, 3, 10mm nuts in there instead of the bushings, and it worked perfectly.

Ok, so got those running again.

Now I had the same problem described in the OP.

The same thought came to me, on my own. Seems like when it bottoms out, it gets stuck. I wonder if it is over extending.

I found that if the door panel was off, and the window got stuck in the down position, I could put my hand under the bottom of the window, give it a quick nudge, and it would roll up again.

So, from that point on, if I remembered not to let the window go completely down to the bottom, it never had a problem with getting stuck again.

I intended to someday drill a hole somewhere so I could put a bolt in, that would prevent the window from going all the way down. Or maybe cut some wood to put below the window, inside the door, to let the window go almost all the way down, but not all the way.

But I got the newer truck and have been working on this one instead, ever since.
 

MtnHaul

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Posts
616
Reaction score
258
Location
California
I had more or less the same issue a while back. Fortunately I don't have a driver side door panel so access was always easy. For quite some time I got the window back in action by pounding my fist in the general area of the window motor and then I found that using the handle end of a screwdriver to beat against the motor also worked. But eventually those wonderful fixes stopped working. I replaced the window regulator just to be sure that wasn't part of the problem and then replaced the motor which seemed to have fixed it, but then after a week or two I had the same issue--window stuck in either all the way up or down position, never halfway. So I dug into the connector from motor to harness and found that one of the wires was a hair loose. I cut out the factory connector and used some spade terminals instead. No problems since. I would suspect your issue is also at the connector, but I could be wrong.
 

Robm45497

Registered User
Joined
Sep 3, 2016
Posts
42
Reaction score
13
Location
Mead wa
over the years the wire becomes brittle and will break or fray from opening and closing the door. If you pull back the rubber insulator between the doow and fender i bet you will find problems with the wiring making and not making contact.
 

Massie

Registered User
Joined
May 4, 2019
Posts
6
Reaction score
3
Location
22967
After about 2 months now of flawless operation, it would seem that Selahdoor's suggestion was correct: window could be over extending. I put a very accurately cut piece (actually three pieces screwed together in a "T" shape) of wood in the door to keep the window lift arm from bottoming out, and it has been working great. Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll update if it begins to fail again.
 

Selahdoor

How can I help you, or make you laugh, today?
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2015
Posts
2,253
Reaction score
2,004
Location
Index Wa
I love those kinds of solutions! Didn't cost anything. And shows that you looked at the symptoms, and instead of just treating them, figured out the problem and found an unconventional fix.

It should work until you need to replace the motor and regulator.

If it starts to be a problem again, put a shim in. Preferably something like a piece of metal bar stock. The wood could get shoved down too far over time. Or shrink. Or get dug out by the metal.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
91,217
Posts
1,128,469
Members
24,043
Latest member
tottripp

Members online

Top