Window motor going bad?

I've been having issues with the driver's side window on my 1993 Explorer Sport. This past winter, the window developed a mind of its own, and would go down without me touching the switch at all. I eventually figured out to stop it going down by pressing up on the switch, which stopped it from going down, but didn't make it go up right away. Eventually, it would go up, though, from me holding up on the switch. It would also do this when it was wet out. This hasn't happened since roughly the first part of this year.

It's been acting fine since that time, until today. My A/C doesn't work, so I have to have the windows down. I went to put the windows up when I got home, and the driver's side wouldn't budge. The passenger's side worked fine.

I decided to take it to the nearby repair shop to get it looked at. On the way, I kept trying the switch. It finally went up, so I figured, maybe it's the switch. I stopped by the nearby junkyard, and they were closed.

I called my local Advance Auto to see if they sell switches. They only sell the actual switches, not the panel, which I was not aware of. The guy on the phone told me how to check if the switches were individual because I could get just an individual switch from them, or go through the dealer for the whole panel.

I took the strip out and interchanged the switches. Both switches operate the passenger's side window perfectly. However, neither one will operate the driver's side window.

I recently replaced the passenger's side window motor and I am wondering if this is what is the problem with the driver's side. One thing I noticed with the battery gauge on the dashboard.....when I try to put the passenger's side window up and it's already up, the needle for the battery gauge will drop down, showing that it is pulling current. Nothing happens when I try to run the driver's side. The same thing happened when the passenger's side motor went. However, the difference is that the passenger's side just suddenly stopped working, not a gradual process which has happened with the driver's side.

Sorry to be so long winded, but figured I would give as much information as possible. Any thoughts on what the problem is or suggestions? I hate to drop more money on a motor, if that is truly the problem. My father in law replaced the other motor, but I could have gotten away with using the original since it had just binded and he was able to get it working. He said, since I got a replacement, he just put it in. Thanks in advance for your help!

Jarrod

Reply to
Jennifer Smith
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You have isolated it to the motor or the wiring from the switch to the motor. It sounds like a short in the motor windings. Art

Reply to
Art McClinton

Just a quick update, I got frustrated and did what my father in law suggested when the passenger's side went bad. I held down on the switch and slammed the door shut. That kick started the motor into working again. So does that sound like the motor or the wiring?

Reply to
Jennifer Smith

It is not a short in the motor. A short would draw excessive current and the meter would respond with a larger dip than usual.

It sounds more like an open circuit somewhere. It could be the motor or it could be the connector between the motor and the wiring harness. The door slam jars the whatever is open together, but the nature of these things is that they get worse over time.

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie Bress

Reply to
Art McClinton

After further inspection today, mainly due to the fact that the window would not go up or down, I started playing around with the little boxlike structure. Tapping it on the frame made the window operate correctly. I consulted a coworker, and he told me that boxlike structure is the relay. There is something loose in it, and the window does not operate at all now. I am going to hit the boneyards tommorrow to get a replacement relay.

Jarrod

Reply to
Jennifer Smith

Just a quick update. I hit the local junkyard a little bit ago and the part I needed was an express down module. Oddly enough, I got my replacement part out of a '94 Taurus 4 door. Thanks to everyone for their input and help.

Jarrod

Reply to
Jennifer Smith

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