Good News...Bad News

zeus2you · 02-23-2007, 08:13 PM

In my misspent youth, I was the proud owner of an old style ('77) 924 until the last vestige of sheet metal rusted away and the drivers door became, how shall we say, "loose" (Read: Unsafe at any speed or under any circumstances unless you're 17).

Always kinda wish I had kept her until I could have had it fixed, but money was scarce... I always said "when I get settled down and have spare time and a regular job..."

So as a way to rid myself of the worries of disposable income and exercise my curse word vocabulary I've brought home a new addition... a soon to be shiny (and at the rate I'm replacing parts) darned near brand new '87 924S...

I'm sad to say I have run into something that I can't find ever being mentioned anywhere I searched. After cleaning and eventually replacing 2 of the 3 electric window switches I have a fully functional driver window. The passenger side, well that's where the good news - bad news come in...

Good News: As it is I will never accidentally leave the window down and have my baby rained in...

Bad News: When I hit either passenger window switch the window goes down and as soon as you let go it rolls right back up...

Does this maybe sound like the relay is bad?

I've moved all of the switches around and it works the same no mater what switch is where. The motor is obviously good. The only thing I can think of is a stuck relay.

onZedge · 09:00 PM

When you took the switches apart to clean them, did you put them back together the right way? Check them first before you troubleshoot anything else! I screwed this up (as a newbie mind you) when I cleaned my switches and the passenger window would only go up and down if I pushed BOTH switches at the same time.

Congrats on the new to you '87 924S. I welcome the company. I was starting to feel like a Guards Red-headed stepchild!!!

zeus2you · 02-23-2007, 09:03 PM

As far as I can tell...

Currently, there's only 1 original switch left and it's currently connected to the drivers window which is working flawlessly. Both the passenger window switches are brand new from Pelican.

I guess it's possible that one of them isn't quite right even though they're new. I'll take a look at them tomorrow.

Thanks

mattdavis11 · 02-23-2007, 11:08 PM

What I'd do is take the good one and use it as the passenger window switch located on the driverside. If the passenger window still rolls up, you know that switch has the brass/copper prong inside the switch bent a bit too much.

Schumi · 02-24-2007, 06:25 AM

The switches and contacts on these cars I have notices are really, really strange compared to everything else I have seen. Take the e-brake light switch. It's really just a plastic pin that is pushed up with a spring and pushes on a metal contact, grounded to the chassis with one wire connecting it. Not even in a housing really. I guess after owning a 924 you had figured this out. Definitely not like japanese cars.

Congrats on your new purchase BTW. There are more and more and more 924S's on this board. Maybe the styling of these cars is becoming a bit more popular again.

Mike

JonA · 02-24-2007, 05:46 PM

There is a relay that is used on the passenger side circuitry so that the 2 switches will play well together. If the contacts inside are fused you maybe will get the conditions you describe. Pull it out and take the cover off to check, or whack it with the handle of your screwdriver and the contacts may release.
Are you sure all your new switches are good? Take the good one from the driver's side as suggested and move it around. The switches come apart easily and can be cleaned and reassembled many times. If you find a bad one you should be able to repair it easily.

Hope this helps,
Jon

zeus2you · 02-24-2007, 06:29 PM

And we have our answer...

Apparently, even new parts know they're destined for a 20 year old car and take on that cantankerous attitude straight from the box. I swapped out switches again, and was seeing the same thing. However I guess I hit upon a combo that I hadn't tried before or something.

Turns out one of the new switches was absolutely packed full of electric grease and it was permanently holding down one or both of the switch pins (those little flat pieces at any rate).

Once we removed the "liberal" grease and reassembled using a much smaller amount, I know have fully functional windows... Better not say that too loud.

Thanks for everyone's help...

On a related note, I'm pretty much the luckiest guy I know. I started delving into the front of the engine for the requisite belt, water pump, seal change as I have no idea when or if it was ever done. After removing all of the covers I found a nice little surpire in the shape of a completly shredded balance shaft belt snungly confined to a small corner at the bottom of the belt area. This did not look like a recent development

I know I shouldn't have been, but I had run the engine briefly after fixing an issue with the radiator. Pretty lucky it didn't bind anything up and really make a mess.

Really glad right now that I helped out that pretty girl that was lost in the Frankfort airport last month as I passed thru on my way to India...

SoCal Driver · SoCal Driver's Garage

Here are the factory electric window diagrams. One from Pelican Parts 944 Tech pages (the early 944) and one from the 924S section of the factory manuals. Just a sight difference in the main power relay. Every thing else is the same.