Minor Fiesta window motor oddity.

perhaps your battery is getting weak.

It did cross my mind, but it seems unlikely in summer. I'll get a voltmeter on it later.

Might be worth checking battery connections, earth strap etc.

Tim

But given you're stalling a largish DC motor you'd expect a bit of a drop, possibly worth cleaning the idle control valve as well.

Do they have a one press function where the window closes totally? If not, you're forcing the motor to stall, and it will take more current than when moving, so I'd say it's likely normal.

No, there is no one-press function. I realise I'm probably passing current straight through the windings, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was normal, but just wondering if anyone else had seen it. It seems odd that there is nothing to stop you doing something which seems as if it could be damaging.

Haynes Manuel says the IACV is not fitted to the 16V engine (which is what I have). Tickover is very high when it's cold, so I've already tried to find this.

It's how most early/basic electric windows work - they simply stall the motor at full travel. Won't do any harm for a short period. Many have a circuit breaker which trips if you exceed a current limit for more than a few seconds. Which would protect the motor.

all modern engines have some form of idle speed control. on older 16 v fiesta 1.25 it is at the front of the engine bay down low where the throttle body is.

one of my cars has a sticky up switch, if it gets stuck and you don't realise, after a short time some sort of overheat thing in the motor operates and clicks every few seconds as it resets and trips again.

It's 1.4 Zetec. Do you know offhand if it's in the same area?

depends on the year, early ones have a standard idle air control valve, later ones use a throttle control motor

It's 2003. I don't know whether that's early, late, or middling :) I remember spraying out the missus's Ka one with carb cleaner. The bolt holes sticking out of the side made it look a bit like a ray (the fish). Do all Ford ones look like that?

Most Ford IACV look like that. But 2003 Fiesta 1.4 uses a throttle valve control motor (to the left of the middle of the engine at the front about half way down ), NOT an IACV

Okay, thanks. In view of that, is it still worth checking it? Presumably, spraying it with carb cleaner isn't going to help :)

Often that is specifically warned against. Have a look by all means, but be careful.