Good morning, all -
I have an '02 Explorer 4-dr XLT. A year ago we were rear-ended by a lightweight Hyundai. The damage (to us, not the Hyundai!) was pretty well confined to the trailer hitch and rear bumper, and was easily repaired by a body shop. However, at the same time, the operation of the left rear-seat electric window became intermittent, and finally it stopped going up and down at all. This MAY be coincidence - there was no damage anywhere near the door.
I have removed the trim panels from the door to get access to everything inside it. I have confirmed that electric power reaches the motor when any of the switches are operated, and that the polarity of the power reverses for DOWN vs UP. I opened the connector in the door that goes to the motor, and used my ohmmeter to measure the resistance of the motor (I am an EE). It tells me that the motor resistance is about 1 ohm (which is about right for a motor), and it also confirms that the circuit breaker in series with the motor is OK.
When I hit a DOWN or UP switch, I can hear the motor click as if it is trying to start. But nothing moves, and the motor does NOT hum as if it were spinning freely. So I conclude that something in the gearcase is jammed. If it is like the mechanism that raises and lowers an electric antenna, there is a nylon gear in there, and a gear tooth may have broken off - but who knows?
First question - is this a reasonable conclusion? Does anyone know how to check it, or to rotate the gear a bit by hand, to see if it kicks out the obstruction and frees up?
Second question - I think I am faced with replacing the motor/gearcase assembly - is this what is called the "regulator"? Or does the "regulator" include the slides and tracks and the two rotating cables that actually activate the up/down mechanism? Anyway, the initial hurdle is that it seems that I must disconnect the hardware from the glass, and it appears that the window must be DOWN in order to do this. However, the window is stuck in the UP position, and since nothing will move - well, you get the idea.
Any thoughts, ideas, or experience, are welcome. FWIW, I have a kind of crappy CD of Ford Truck Workshop Information, but it is only partially helpful.
Thanks
Bill