power window speed

[andrew4266]

my windows seem slow. especially compared to a newer vehicle. is there something that causes this or is it just age?

[Macfreak007]

regulators start to wear out after a while, its just age, eventually they will break.

[ronin]

well, that all depends. what final ratios are you using in the regulator? is this under full or partial throttle? have you replaced the fuel filter lately?

(I'm such a smartass)

anyway, like macfreak said, regulators will wear out and start to bind, the brushes could be going in the motor as well. the thing to watch for is that the 944 regulators also have a propensity to break. usually the way to tell is if you have a 'bump' during the movement of the window. when that happens, the regulator may already have a crack on one side of an arm and is starting to flex. it'll usually do this until it breaks.

[TCMdocs944]

Anyone have experience with one of the new aftermarket/generic kits? They seem to be about 80 bucks compaired to the huge expense of the oem.

[andrew4266]

the regulators seem fine. it's the motors that seem sluggish.

[ronin]

it's been a while since I had my regulator out (about 8 years) but I don't believe you can rebuild the motors. heck, now I'm not even sure if you can replace them. anyone?

[dugcat11]

My '84's power windows are also very slow ... I would be interested in any remedies as well ...

Kind Regards,

DL

[VT944]

My '85's windows were S-L-O-W, adn I had to replace a piece on the regulator anyways, so I removed the regulator to see what was up.

The original grease on the regulator (especially drivers side) had turned into a waxy-like substance. I used break clean to remove the old grease, then used white lithium grease in a spray can to grease up the regulator. The window is up/down much faster, and the motor no longer sounds stressed to raise/lower the window.

All you need to do is remove the door panels (easy) and you can get to the regulators enough to lube them. It may be a good idea to clean them up with break clean first, as in my case (and probably yours) they are slow because the old grease has hardened/got wet/time has taken it's toll...

I know it was the regulator because I had mine out, removed the motor, and operated the mechanism by hand. It was full of resistance. Then I cleaned and lubed, and it was nice and flimsy!

Be sure to get in where the two arms meet, and form the scissor. Also try to clean up and lube the half gear that the motor drives.

Good Luck!

[1.2gees]

I second Brian's post. The grease is usually dried out from the regulators. I have only seen one broken regulator so far, they're pretty tough. It may be worth it to clean the motor w/contact cleaner or electric motor cleaner, etc. as well as the other connections, but lubricating the regulator will make the biggest difference otherwise.
Ahmet

[ronin]

VT, Ahmet. perhaps that's what leads to regulator failure. seems to be some pretty easy pmcs to save yourself a few hundred dollars. I know I'll do it

[1.2gees]

My current turbo has almost 200k miles, I lubricated the tracks/regulator, motor etc. when I replaced some windows (courtesy of some punks who broke into my car a few months ago +allstate). Everything looks fine in there. Did I mention this car was purchased in IL and stayed there until last year when I bought it?

The regulators are tough, I presume humidity/heat may be the biggest enemy of that grease, but like I said I've only seen one broken regulator. They should not break unless forced or abused. This isn't to say don't lubricate yours, it'll make the window much faster/smoother but I don't necessarily see it as an "insurance" type of maint.
Ahmet

[VT944]

Ahmet is right, the regulator is a TOUGH piece of equipment, expecially compared to the plastic "zip-tie" regulators found in other cars.

Lubing the regulator might not help the regulator itself, but I'll bet more than a few window motors have failed due to the increased stress caused by a gummed-up, non-lubed regulator.

[ronin]

Originally posted by 1.2gees
This isn't to say don't lubricate yours, it'll make the window much faster/smoother but I don't necessarily see it as an "insurance" type of maint.
Ahmet

but it definitely won't hurt either to me it's one of those things where you can learn a lot about the condition of your car by doing some simple looking around

[VT944]

And while we're on the subject, DO NOT raise and lower the window mechanism with the glass removed, but the window track still on the rollers!!! The track flops towards the outside of the door from it's own weight, and catches on the impact bar when you raise it, snapping the plastic roller off the end of the regulator, usually into several pieces!!

Luckily I have a spare regulator, and stole one of the plastic rollers off it to fix mine. I doubt they are available seperate, and are probably hard to locate...

Don't ask me how I know this will happen...

[tasdevil]

The biggest cause of window regulator slowing is gum up window tracks. This can put a lot more pressure on the motor and regulator.
Easy to fix , simply remove the window and clean the tracks where the window travels. You will find the window travels quicker.

[rob83944]

I also had slow moving power windows along with a switch that was failing. I removed the passenger side switch to check and jumped the connector while the switch was out. The speed of the window increased. After cleaning the contacts of the switch and reinstalling, the speed of the window is what is should be. I suspect the dirt and corrosion on the switch contacts caused poor power to go to the window motor causing the window to go up and down slowly.

I was able to jump the switch by using two wires. One wire in prong "C" (ground) then the other end in one of the center prongs. The second wire was placed into the other center prong and the other end of this wire to prong "D" This prong is the power source.


-----------
| C D |
| |
| Center|
| |
| E 0 |
------------

Prongs D and E are powered with +12 Amp service
C is ground
Two center prongs allow the window to go up or down depending on if the wire in C goes to the left or right center prong.
Prong 0 is the dummy.

Hope this helps.

[SoCal Driver]

I've had the spot welds break on the large gear segment. Was in a 924 in 79. Have not had problems with the 83 944 with the exceptions of the switches. Have seen the connections at the motor corrode and need cleaning.

[rkh3]

My windows are slow, so I will take the advise and clean the regulators. My question is-yesterday the drivers window came off its track, I put it back on, but when the track is moving down, the window gets hung up, when it frees, the track is much lower than the window and it drops. Cleaning may help, but any other ideas????????????

[Roger Hall]

According to other posts you can have the motors rebuilt at a local appliance repair shop.

However I have replaced one cleaned and regreased the regulator and tracks, and its still slow compared to newer cars.

[Ross T]

How does one remove the interior door panels.