driver's window won't go up

[968]

i don't mean to draw attention from the other post about a stuck window.
i have a driver's window that's stuck down. when i push the switch "up" nothing happens. when i push it down, i hear a pretty distinct clicking noise from either the front part of the door, or somewhere near the fuse box.
my guess is that this isn't a bad motor or switch, but a circuit breaker or relay that's bad. i do not have an owner's manual, so can someone help me with this one? is there a relay or breaker to check? or is this a symptom of a bad motor or something in that regard.

[Ibanezplayer272]

This might sound stupid, but mine used to do this same thing. I never really figured out what it was but my best guess was that the motor or something got water in it and gets stuck. This is the one time that I will tell someone else that banging on the door panel budged the window and worked fine until it got stuck again which didnt happen often at all, maybe once every 2 months? and I drove the car everyday. But around where that little pocket is in the door panel, bang around there, and of course dont bang so hard that the door panel comes off but just significant bangs with a closed fist and make sure your holding the window button up. Try it out let me know if it comes up. From what I know the motor or anything else wasn't bad.

[968]

thanks for the tip. it happened once and then seemed to clear itself up. this time, it's been stuck down for several days. i started prying the door panel off, but i hate door panels. i always feel like i'm breaking them (sometimes i do). i wonder if there's a sensitive ground in this thing?

[jimmy_beaner]

Mine did that, and not too much later the window regulator (and motor assembly) had to be replaced. The Haynes Manual has a great write up for how to do it without hurting yourself.

[Ibanezplayer272]

Ya, could just be a loose connection or something or something could be takin a crap. Every car is different but thats what worked for me. And jimmy did you realize you have smoked fogs and headlights twice in your mod list? Sick stang anyways. lol

[jimmy_beaner]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ibanezplayer272 Ya, could just be a loose connection or something or something could be takin a crap. Every car is different but thats what worked for me. And jimmy did you realize you have smoked fogs and headlights twice in your mod list? Sick stang anyways. lol

they're twice as important as the other parts

Thanks... hopefully in the next 2 months I can toss a 2.1 KB at 9 psi on

[968]

i was reading through the haynes book the other day on the window replacement. doesn't look like much fun. did you do it yourself?

[Otlaw80]

I had a similar problem with a T-bird i had. The rollers would get stuck in the track. I'd oil them, bang on the door and it would work for a while. I was in a hurry to get the window up once and hit the door a bit hard. Cost me $75 for a new window from the junk yard

[2000MustangGT17]

Hey it's your regulator. Go to any auto parts place and buy one. I hope that you do have a friend that works on cars so he wont charge you like $150 labor. The regulator should be between $40-$60 bucks. If you don't have a friend go to the Ford dealership and just go back where the bays are and ask who is the electrical mechanic. Tell him your situation and he will def hook u up on the side. I did that.

[SpectorV]

you can go to a pull a part and get a used setup~ the motor may be fine it might just be the track etc but it would be best to replace it all.

[jimmy_beaner]

Quote: Originally Posted by 968 i was reading through the haynes book the other day on the window replacement. doesn't look like much fun. did you do it yourself?

I replaced the motor and regulator in about 1.5 hours. The hardest part was lining the window up in the tracks. It really is pretty easy...

Quote: Originally Posted by 2000MustangGT17 Hey it's your regulator. Go to any auto parts place and buy one. I hope that you do have a friend that works on cars so he wont charge you like $150 labor. The regulator should be between $40-$60 bucks. If you don't have a friend go to the Ford dealership and just go back where the bays are and ask who is the electrical mechanic. Tell him your situation and he will def hook u up on the side. I did that.

None of the auto parts stores up here had just the regulator. Also, none of the Ford dealerships mechanics up here would touch a car "on the side"... Seriously, it isn't very hard to do on your own...

[968]

cool. that's what i was hoping to hear.
i think i'll first check all the connections in the door and then work my way through with a volt meter.
the window switch on this car is much more complicated that anything i've ever seen. my past few cars have all had corrosion on switches. it's intricate, but cleaning a window switch is pretty easy. i think this is the next level.

[SpectorV]

yea the window motor/regulator is pretty easy, the hardest part is getting the door panel off, just take your time and all will work out good.

[jimmy_beaner]

Quote: Originally Posted by SpectorV yea the window motor/regulator is pretty easy, the hardest part is getting the door panel off, just take your time and all will work out good.

you just have to feel it. Lift up as you pull out slightly and it pops right off.

Also, what ended up happening the first time I went in ill informed... we took off the motor, and that spring unloaded on the ex's step dad's hand. He went "out of commission" for awhile. If you remove them as a unit, you help eliminate that. Anyway, once we unhooked the two, the motor worked just fine. Put them back in, and it worked again for another 2 months... and then I got to the point where I was tired of it not working.

[968]

got the trim off and the weather stripping off the top of the door. ready to have some fun now.
the haynes write up is pretty good, but i'm stuck on two things.
first, you have to raise the window just a little to get at the rivets that hold the assembly in the car. how do i raise the window a little when the motor doesn't work? is there a manual crank or something? i tried pulling/pushing the glass by hand and it's really stuck.
second, if i have to drill out rivets to remove the assembly, how do i put it back together? this may be a dumb question, but i've never worked with rivets before. do i just buy some generic rivets at the parts store and a press tool?

[jimmy_beaner]

Quote: Originally Posted by 968 got the trim off and the weather stripping off the top of the door. ready to have some fun now. the haynes write up is pretty good, but i'm stuck on two things. first, you have to raise the window just a little to get at the rivets that hold the assembly in the car. how do i raise the window a little when the motor doesn't work? is there a manual crank or something? i tried pulling/pushing the glass by hand and it's really stuck. second, if i have to drill out rivets to remove the assembly, how do i put it back together? this may be a dumb question, but i've never worked with rivets before. do i just buy some generic rivets at the parts store and a press tool?

you can either re-rivet it, or you can use bolts and nuts so you can remove the glass easier if you have to do this in the future.

Take off the door skin, plug the controls back in, try taking the window up, while pulling up on the bottom side of the glass. It *should* come up.

[SpectorV]

I was in the same situation, what I did was remove the motor from the window thing it was bolted to, then the spool that the motor turns can be freely turned by pulling the window~ the motor holds the spool in place.

[968]

spector - i just looked at the door again, when you say to remove the motor from the window, could you clarify? is it the two gold colored nuts on the door, or something internal? i see the pie-shaped gear that the motor must spin against to raise and lower the window, but i'm not seeing how to detach that from the motor.

also, when i pull the window out, what do i need to watch out for. i've heard that the regulator can spring pretty hard.

[jimmy_beaner]

The motor is held in place by three nuts, they are sorta towards the front side of the door. Be CAREFUL... if you mess around with it too much you can knock the teeth off the motor and it'll unspring a HUGE spring. Much pain will be had.

[968]

thanks, jimmy. i took the car to the dealer today to see if they can figure out my bogged down engine from the detail job i had done. when i asked him about the window, he said the same thing - loosen the three bolts off the motor - kind of recessed in the door just a little and it should free up from the regulator.
is there something i can do to prevent the massive spring/pain issue? when i free the motor, is the regulator just going to pop? i was thinking the window assembly would hold it down, right?
my thinking was to lift the window a little bit, drill out the rivets, and then find a place to insert a locking pin or screw or something so the regulator doesn't cut my hand off, then remove the regulator assembly. does that sound right? just thinking out loud here.
i sure appreciate your input. i have enough pain in my life right now (don't we all?)

[SpectorV]

get someone to hold the window and as you wiggle the motor loose it shouldnt have any issues