[apex]

All this electrical talk reminds me to ask about my pokey driver's window and ask for suggestions as to the cause. Seem to remember reading somewhere that the switch is the culprit - as it ages resistance within the swtich increases????



Or should I go the "clean all the grounds" route... and if so... which to tackle first?



BTW it's only the driver's window that does this - passenger seems fine. I have a Window Express unit installed on the driver's side but the window was already slow before installing that. Furthermore, whatever is slowing the window down often prevents the Window Express from sending the window up with a single press of the switch - it usually gets hung up mid-travel.



What do you think?

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[Brian]

i had two slow windows that were cured by cleaning the grounds around the engine bay.

not sure, though, if you only have one slow one. might be something much more local?

there's a great diagram on the forum showing all the ground points. if you search for it, most of them are very straight forward. should only take an hour or so to touch them up. two by headlights under the front plastic cover, two directly rearward of them about 12" on inside fender, major one by the battery, major one on the rear of the engine block itself (trace ground from battery), two under fuse box itself. these are tricky! then there's one by the wiper motor under the plastic shroud. if you go to the back of the car, there's one by the hatch. there's also one under the car by the fuel pump. the diagram shows another one in the trunk area that i just couldn't find.

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[apex]

Thanks brian - I've seen the grounds under the fuse box and they look pristene - but you never know what might be lurking between washer and screw.



You have a good point, though - the problem might be local to the door. I think I'll tackle the general ground points first. Taking off the door panel is a PITA!

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[Brian]

i've never taken the whole door panel off, just the bottom to get at the speaker. i've heard bad stories about them, though. do you have one of those body panel fork tools? i don't have one, but heard that it helps a bunch.



it certainly can't hurt to clean the grounds. most of them are easy to reach. when i cleaned mine, there was one under the fuse box that was a mess. the other was perfect. it's a really difficult place to work under there. be careful about dropping a nut <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />.

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[cosimo]

MAybe it needs a little Viagra. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

these window motors are a heavy drag on power - they need a good supply and a good ground - ever since my car was painted, mine are slower - it's even worse now at idle due to the power pulleys lowering the output voltage at idle



i need to get in there and clean them up

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[gryphon]

I had a similar problem with both windows on mine. After checking the grounds and numerous adjustment attempts, I eventually fixed the problem by lubricating the mechanisms WD40 and the tracks with Armoral. Worked for me.

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[apex]

the fork tool is essential to removing the door panel.



I've already lubed the bejeezus out of the mechanism - which helped but only a little bit - so looks like wiring is the culprit.



I think I'll exchange driver's switch for passenger switch to test that hypothesis...

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[jww968]

The switches are very easy to remove and clean. My passenger side window switch quit working altogether and I pulled the switch, opened it, cleaned it and installed it in 15 minutes. Note the orientation of the switch when you take it apart. There are two copper rocker arms that may fall out. Clean them and rebalance them on the pivot posts. Snap it back together and reinstall.

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[Brian]

do you just pop the switches out from the front? no need to remove door panels? i've never really looked at them, but the passenger's side on mine doesn't work too well.

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[jww968]

There is a small plastic panel with screws in the bottom. Take the screws out and slide the panel down. The switches are just snapped into this panel. Unsnap the switch and remove the plug on the back. Then take the switch apart as I described above. You do not have to remove any of the door panels.

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[Brian]

thanks, jww!

sounds like a good saturday afternoon project.

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[S_Cal968]

As for lube, I'd suggest applying white grease sparingly - it's sold at most autoparts stores, (I believe it's lithium or soap based). It's closer to what the factory uses. WD-40 will migrate and then dry out quickly.

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[Brian]

thanks to this thread, i yanked out my window switches yesterday.

pretty straightforward job.



they were NASTY!!! i've never seen elec contacts that dirty.



anyone who tries this, just be careful that you don't lose the tiny ball bearings inside the switch. i dropped one and luckly it fell right on my shoe. when you put them back in, a dab of silicone grease will keep them stuck in place so you can re-assemble.



can't say that the windows are a ton faster, but they do work much more reliably now.



i can't believe how hard the car has to work to move those things up and down!

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[biotechee]

Just hope that you don't have to replace the window regulator / motor assembly... I helped a guy do that on his 944 many years ago- technically easy, but physically challenging to say the least!

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