Electric window problem

[gouldsborough7]

Sorry guys, didn't plan to hog the messages area.
My driver's door electric window is not working properly. It was OK when I first bought it, but just lately the glass will only go DOWN half-way and grind to a halt. If I force it with my hand on top of the glass, it will work but sounds really unhappy. It will slide UP with no problem.

I took the trim off the door, and looked at the mechanism while working the up/down switch - no obvious problem. However, if I 'assist' the glass to go right down, the mechanism causes the inside of the door to bulge. Not a happy situation. I topped up the greasy areas, but no improvement made.

I was tempted to strip off the passenger door trim to see why that works without problem, but didn't have the time, and had run out of enthusiasm.
Would appreciate any ideas.
Cheers
Mike

[Cabrio_Simon]

Re: Electric window problem

Hi Mike,

In my experience the electric windows can be a pain to get working correctly! However, yours have been working ok so the good news is that there shouldn't be anything fundamentally wrong.

First of all I'd check that the rubber/felt glass guides are seated in the door runners properly and that the runners themselves haven't worked loose. Either of these could restrict the glass movement when its being lowered. The runners obviously need to be parallel to one another (front to back) and adjusted so that the glass slides smoothly but is not so loose as to allow the glass to rotate in the runners (which could also cause it to jam).

It also worth checking that the glass is still gripped in the bottom U channel of the winder mechanism ok.

If the problem persists then, if possible, I would remove the window motor/mechanism from the door glass to check it works ok by itself (this is a fiddly job). This will at least confirm whether the problem lies with the motor or the glass and it's runners (which is more likely in my experience).

Hope this helps!

Simon

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Electric window problem

Hi Simon
Your ideas echo what I thought!
When I first got the car, one of the u-shaped rubber guides was missing entirely from the front slot of the driver's door. So I bought a metre of it from Woolies, and fitted it without a problem. As I had some left over, I did the same to the other door. Both windows worked OK after I had finished.

Funnily enough, when I took the trim off the driver's door, surprise surprise the old rubber was in the bottom of the door.

The glass is still stuck well in the U-channel, and the plastic wheels appear to be OK. I smothered them with grease, but no improvement to the operation.

I think I might separate the motor from the scissors action, and operate each component independently. I suspect I'll find it's the glass that's not sliding up/down smoothly.

Cheers
Mike

[dave_kitson]

Re: Electric window problem

Hi Mike
Probably not a good idea to try to separate the scissors from the motor, not sure it would even be possible. What is fairly easy, is to separate the scissors from the window. You can then assess better whether your problem is with the window/guides or with the motor/scissors.

All you need to do to effect separation, is pop off the plastic wheels from the studs on the ends of the scissors. Put a broad screwdriver behind and gently lever them apart. Hold on to the glass and lower it in the guides, then rotate it and remove. The motor and scissors can now be unbolted as a unit if you want. A possible cause of your problem is that these bolts are a bit loose, which has allowed the motor to twist, so the scissors are not working equally on the base of the glass.

Also try cleaning the old grease out of everything, and putting in new. At least you can check the motor operation either in or out or the car with the glass out. With the scissors out of the way, put the glass back in, and slide it up and down by hand, to see if there is a tight spot or if a slight rotation causes it to jam. Check that everything appears parallel.

It's possible to have hours of fun getting these right, but it can be done, and it's very satisfying when it's finally correct. An even more entertaining job is getting the central locking working properly!!! One last thought, perhaps there has always been slight resistance, and your battery just need charging to get the window on the move again.
Cheers - Dave

[keith_h]

Re: Electric window problem

Is there a more simple fix? The same happened on my wife's 2 year old Jazz and the guy at the garage told me to spray Silicon lubricant in the channels and on the rubbers. "It thinks you've got an arm or a head in the way and is stopping so that nothing gets chopped off". Sure enough it did the trick.

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Electric window problem

Thanks guys
Perhaps I'll try the Silicon route first, and if necessary work reluctantly towards the 'hours of fun' with the more mechanical bits!!

I'll report back my progress.

Cheers
Mike

[chris_cussen]

Re: Electric window problem

I'll second Keith's suggestion, I did the same with silicon spray on the passanger side of my Puma.

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Electric window problem

Just a follow-up to finish off these messages. Tried the silicon spray, which sort of worked but the glass still jerks to some extent. Will have a more serious go at the mechanism during the Winter.

Cheers
Mike