passenger power window stopped working

[timbieber]

1986 911 cab -- passenger window stopped working, no up or down. drivers window is fine.

after reading all posts on this subject I have done the following tests:

1. swapped drivers side switch for passenger switch. passenger switch works on drivers side for driver side window but when putting the drivers side switch in passenger side -- nothing.
2. also tried the working drivers side switch swapping with the drivers side passenger switch to see if that would drop the passenger window -- nothing.
3. tried manually powering the motor by removing the two middle Blue wires from the passenger door switch and running 12v to one and grounding the other to see if i could activate the motor up/down this way -- nothing.

I'm now assuming it's the motor after all this testing. Would this be a safe bet?

I haven't pulled the motor out yet but is it worth trying to take the motor apart to see if there's a way to revive it?

anyone have a spare passenger window they want to sell me?

[twistoffat]

If the motor is getting no power(ie making no noise at all) then its time for a new motor. If the motor is getting power then it most likely a broken regulator. I think both parts are one of Waynes 101 projects.

[slodave]

The driver's side switch for the pax window and the pax window switch are tied into each other. If one of the switches fail, the other will not work. Take the working driver's window switch and swap it to both pax positions. If only one of the two switches failed, you'll know by using the driver's switch.

[cabmandone]

If you put power to the motor and the motor doesn't work, bad motor, that is unless you put power to the wrong points.

Are you sure that power to blue and ground to blue black is the way to test? I'd think one blue is hot up the other hot down and then the brown wire at the bottom of the switch is ground but I haven't checked my Bentley manual wiring to be sure. It just doesn't sound right.

Okay, checked the Bentley. Blue and Blue black should be your leads to the motor. The switch reverses polarity to the motor. It sounds like your motor is bad if you're sure you had good ground to one lead and power to the other.

[kanadary]

my pax window stopped working before and as one of the previous posters has suggested, the drivers side/pax switch and the pax switch are tied together. in my case it was the switch on the drivers side and it wasn't springing back into neutral (centered, not flipped in the up or down direction). try to wiggle the switch abit to make sure its in neutral. i did this and it worked, i've since replaced this switch.

[jcgranato]

Also, make sure the wires have not come loose from the motor itself. The wires on my window motor were very loose. If one of those wires comes off , you can put all the power you want to the switch but it won't power the motor.

By the way, the Mercedes window motor is the exact motor but almost half the cost.

[timbieber]

thanks everyone.

tried the working drivers side window switch in each of the passenger window positions and nothing.

I know i tested powering the motor from the blue wires correct as I did the same technique on the drivers window motor from the blue wires (one powered, the other grounded) and it powered the motor up/down.

I like the suggestion and possibility that the wires at motor are loose or disconnected inside the door... will check that next after pulling the panel off.

Once i've got the motor out is it easy to pull apart and see if the brushes are stuck or anything to try and clean up the motor to get more life out of it or is it shot and not worth trying to revive?

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by timbieber

thanks everyone.

tried the working drivers side window switch in each of the passenger window positions and nothing.

I know i tested powering the motor from the blue wires correct as I did the same technique on the drivers window motor from the blue wires (one powered, the other grounded) and it powered the motor up/down.

I like the suggestion and possibility that the wires at motor are loose or disconnected inside the door... will check that next after pulling the panel off.

Once i've got the motor out is it easy to pull apart and see if the brushes are stuck or anything to try and clean up the motor to get more life out of it or is it shot and not worth trying to revive?

It can't hurt to check connections and possibly check continuity of the wires from the switch to the motor. I recently bought a new power seat motor for the back of my drivers side seat. It turned out the wire was crushed and appeared okay but when tested, the wire was broken internally.

Good luck.

[GeorgeK]

Try this:

If your door panel has tweeter speakers, remove the tweeter. Behind it is a hole in the sheetmetal that lines up wit the motor's shaft. Take a screwdriver, and give the shaft a good knock. Try the window.

I am having an unexplained condition where the motor blocks in my '89 C4, and gets unlocked by this procedure.

[timbieber]

i've got the panel off but since the window is stuck in the up position it's tough to access the motor. I"ll try and give it a good knock to see if that helps.

is there a way to manually move the window up and down to more easily access the motor?

is there a way to remove the motor without disassembling the regulator?

[timbieber]

got it working. i have no idea what i did!? pulled the window motor and connected power to it and it worked. put back together and working now.

[GeorgeK]

Seems like the same issue I have with mine. The motor shaft should be visible through a hole in the door sheetmetal, aligned with the tweeter, if you have one.

[bodmin]

I had a similar problem with the passenger window. After trying all sorts of fixes with multi meter with the door panel removed, I cut a slit in the polythene, inserted the tool for manually winding the window (I think it doubles up as the sunroof emergency crank), wound the window up & down a couple of times, and hey presto, it started working again. And it has worked ever since!

The hole for inserting the tool is in the middle of the square foam pad shown in the picture.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by timbieber

got it working. i have no idea what i did!? pulled the window motor and connected power to it and it worked. put back together and working now.

Was there cussing involved? That always seems to randomly fix problems

[TDHarris]

Just adding my recent experience to this thread. The passenger window on my '89 Carrera was stuck in the up position. Trouble-shooting showed that all wires, switches, and connections were OK. The motor worked when tested on the bench. Problem was traced to dried-out and thickened grease on the lift mechanism. I guess the grease has a right to do that after 161,000 miles and 25 years. I cleaned and regreased all sliders, rollers, and pivot points; it's now working great.

Take-home lesson: never assume it is the motor (expensive).

Tom
'89 3.2 (street)
'74 3.6 (track)

[reachme]

GeorgeK said "The motor shaft should be visible through a hole in the door sheetmetal, aligned with the tweeter, if you have one."

I think this started in '88 so if true you would have it, but original poster with an '86 would not.