Driver Side Window Problem

[speedman]

The drivers side power window started down and stopped after 3". the window would not go up or down after that. I replaced the switch and the window still would not move, but the motor made a noise, I switched the green and black wire and the window went up so I switched the green and black back. When the window went down 3" the motor made a grinding noise which sounds like a stripped gear. I pushed on the window and it went down 3" more and more noise. repeat until the window was down. Switch the wires once more and the same noisegoing up. Three questions 1) why will the window go only one direction without switching the wires and 2) is the motor rebuildable or do I need to replace the unit and 3) Any other fixes

[travis2]

Tonight my '87 Carrera passenger window would go down but not up. I can try either switch and it will does not move up. I will assume this means the motor is bad (but since it does move the window down, not sure if there is a chance that it can be fixed/repaired).

Anyone know if I can manually get the window up if I pull the panel off?

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I will guess the solution is similar for both of us.

--travis

[matt demaria]

The window motors are basically windshield wiper motors. They usually last forever. At the most I have had to take them apart and regrease the gear mechanism.
That being said, most of the problems with windows are either switches or window regulators. You can run battery power and switch polarity to rule out switches. Usually if its a problem going up, the regulator is worn (or rarely loose) and the window cocks in the felts (which i assume are good) and causes too much drag for the motor.

[travis2]

hi Matt, thanks for the tips. I was assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that it was not a switch problem b/c the passenger window has the two switches and neither works. I drive the car daily - and had w/in less than an hour of the problem appearing, raised the passenger window. Prior to the problem, no noise, strange sounds, etc, that would indicate drag for the window. It just does not go up.

Do you know which wires on the switch to reverse to see if the down direction on the switch will raise the window? Speedman mentions a green and black wire, however, my car has 2 blue, 2 red and 1 brown (I assume this one is a ground) wires.

Thanks.

--travis