'97 Window Issue

[QuickTop]

My driver side power cluster thingy has pretty much gone bad, when i bought the car the guy said that the drivers window will go down but not go back up, on the drive home i accidentally rested my arm on the button and the auto windows went all the way down. and now wont go back up. so im thinking its the actual switch? because the motor pulled the window down, it didnt fall down like its off the the tracks.. any suggestions before i buy http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/fi...trolsboth.aspx

or could it be this white piece that the copper prongs go into that has gone bad..


Thanks, Bryan.

[meissen]

It's the motor. 4th gen power window motors are notorious for going bad - it's pretty common. Yours was able to go down because it's just gravity doing the job, but the motor doesn't have enough oomph to push that heavy glass back up.

Here's the write up:
http://shbox.com/page/windowmotor.html

[SS4Matt]

it is most likely your actual window regulator that is bad since it's a common problem with these cars and they always go out. I replaced one in my car. my moms ex had a '99 30th anniversary ws6 and the drivers side went out with the car having 8K miles on it!. if you want to see if it's the switch and not the regulator, you can take a batter charger on low (2 amps) or a multimeter if you have one, and "prod" the different connections with the power and see if the regulator goes back up (or makes noise like it's trying to go down then you're on the right track)

I've done this a lot to POS customer cars that come in to get tinted but a window might not roll down so I pull the switch off (assuming/hoping it's the switch) and manually roll the window down with a battery charger and a piece of wire

[QuickTop]

damnnnnnnnnnnn ):
so which is more likely? regulator or motor?

[meissen]

Motor - http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...r+window+motor

If it was the regulator your window would be loose in the tracks.

[Lucky SOB]

Like said above - your window motor is bad. Tons of write-ups online that show you exactly where to dremel out holes in the door panel to access the stock window motor rivets that hold it into place. The first time you do it, you'll cuss for a while, but it's not that bad after you do a couple of them.

[JoeliusZ28]

Unfortunately the ENTIRE configuration in these cars is pretty much junk. It is a design appropriate for a window half the size/weight. Motors are junk, regulators are junk, switches are junk, and even the manual regulators are junk (i converted one of mine and found this out). Any 4th gen that has actually been driven is going to have this issue. It'd be a miracle if it didn't. How fast did it roll down? If it seemed even a little on the slow side, i would agree with the rest of the crowd and say its motor. Heck, even if its not the motor its bound to need replacing anyway, might as well start there

[nascarnate326]

If your doing it, replace both driver and passenger. Usually you get a lifetime warranty from a parts store- keep the receipt. You will do it again in 5 years.

If you use advance auto you can use coupon codes online to save a decent amount of money.

[QuickTop]

i guess motor replacement is whats gonna have to be done.

Unfortunately the ENTIRE configuration in these cars is pretty much junk. It is a design appropriate for a window half the size/weight. Motors are junk, regulators are junk, switches are junk, and even the manual regulators are junk (i converted one of mine and found this out). Any 4th gen that has actually been driven is going to have this issue. It'd be a miracle if it didn't. How fast did it roll down? If it seemed even a little on the slow side, i would agree with the rest of the crowd and say its motor. Heck, even if its not the motor its bound to need replacing anyway, might as well start there

when it rolled down it was about average. i wouldnt say slow at all.

[JoeliusZ28]

ok then if grabbing the window and pulling it up while pressing the switch doesnt bring the window back up... its the switch.

[QuickTop]

ok then if grabbing the window and pulling it up while pressing the switch doesnt bring the window back up... its the switch.

i did try that, i didnt pull too hard but i pulled enough to hopefully "help" it back up.
im thinking just gonna get the switch because it seemed sketchy already and if that doesnt fix it ill do the motor..

[JoeliusZ28]

It shouldn't need much help. I ran one of my motors on said "life support" for a couple years and it didn't take much to help it along. But, the windows are definitely heavier than they seem once you take apart a regulator and have to support one.

[QuickTop]

so you would say its a switch?

[Lucky SOB]

Not necessarily, my driver window wouldn't even go up with me pulling on it. Motor was bad

[meissen]

Honestly I've never heard of a switch going bad.