Window motor questions
06-11-2008, 02:10 PM
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Window motor questions So, I've been having a problem recently with my driver's side window on my 2000 Firebird Convertible. It will go down fine most of the time, and when it tries to go up, will only go up about an inch or two and then die. If I open and shut the door, it will usually go up another inch or two. Initially, I thought the motor might be dying, but one day I tried it (out of curiosity), and it went down and back up at full power like it was brand new! Which makes me think it's an electrical connection that's going bad somewhere.
Are there any simple places to check before following the guide to rip the entire motor out of the door? Like a frayed cable in the door hinge, or connection somewhere else?
Additionally... my vert top is starting to sag - anything I can do about that before ripping the front off and retightening?
Any suggestions / help / comments would be awesome.
Are there any simple places to check before following the guide to rip the entire motor out of the door? Like a frayed cable in the door hinge, or connection somewhere else?
Additionally... my vert top is starting to sag - anything I can do about that before ripping the front off and retightening?
Any suggestions / help / comments would be awesome.
06-11-2008, 03:19 PM
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Yeah remove doorpanel, its easy, look for all the screws and use a long phillips. It sounds like a motor is going bad, it probably craps out if you use it a couple times in a row, or when its hot, and works after you leave it alone for a while.
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06-12-2008, 07:28 AM
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Your motor is on the way out. The internal circuitry that shuts off the motor when it senses resistance from being all the way up/down is going bad.
To confirm the issue and get your window shut when the motor stops part-way up: turn off the car, turn it back on, open the door, and then tug up on the glass while you press the up switch. This should give the motor enough "help" to go all the way up. If this works, you should prepare to replace your motor - its only a matter of time before it dies on you completely...
To confirm the issue and get your window shut when the motor stops part-way up: turn off the car, turn it back on, open the door, and then tug up on the glass while you press the up switch. This should give the motor enough "help" to go all the way up. If this works, you should prepare to replace your motor - its only a matter of time before it dies on you completely...
06-12-2008, 09:48 AM
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So, I've been having a problem recently with my driver's side window on my 2000 Firebird Convertible. It will go down fine most of the time, and when it tries to go up, will only go up about an inch or two and then die. If I open and shut the door, it will usually go up another inch or two. Initially, I thought the motor might be dying, but one day I tried it (out of curiosity), and it went down and back up at full power like it was brand new! Which makes me think it's an electrical connection that's going bad somewhere.
Are there any simple places to check before following the guide to rip the entire motor out of the door? Like a frayed cable in the door hinge, or connection somewhere else?
Additionally... my vert top is starting to sag - anything I can do about that before ripping the front off and retightening?
Any suggestions / help / comments would be awesome.
Are there any simple places to check before following the guide to rip the entire motor out of the door? Like a frayed cable in the door hinge, or connection somewhere else?
Additionally... my vert top is starting to sag - anything I can do about that before ripping the front off and retightening?
Any suggestions / help / comments would be awesome.
Take the door panel off. Get a rubber hammer and beat the **** out of the door panel right where the motor is mounted to it, this will loosen up the corrosion. Then take a new can of SeaFoam spray or WD-40 and empty the entire can into the motor...while you are pressing the switch up and and down moving the window. If it is a corrosion problem, that will most likely make it good as new.
Window motors usually just fail, rather than slowly die. Corrosion is what slows them down, just like it slowly affects a battery from starting an engine as it builds up on the terminals. After it builds up enough then the starter won't get any power and you're dead in the water, but the battery is still fine. Same thing with the window motors.
As "wssix99" said, resistance is what slows the motor. The corrosion is that resistance.
Its worth a try.
06-12-2008, 10:44 AM
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Yeah, my initial thought is that it's based off of corrosion - it's pretty humid down here in Texas, so it wouldn't surprise me. I guess it's actually possible to spray down the thing with WD40 without ripping the whole door off (meaning the interior panel). I haven't seen any guides to remove and put back the same motor, just to drill out the existing motor and replace with a new one, so I wasn't too sure how to tackle that...
06-12-2008, 02:26 PM
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Yeah, my initial thought is that it's based off of corrosion - it's pretty humid down here in Texas, so it wouldn't surprise me. I guess it's actually possible to spray down the thing with WD40 without ripping the whole door off (meaning the interior panel). I haven't seen any guides to remove and put back the same motor, just to drill out the existing motor and replace with a new one, so I wasn't too sure how to tackle that...
06-15-2008, 08:04 PM
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Alright, finally got a chance to pop open the door, and I'm pretty sure it's corrosion, because even if I help lift it, the window goes nowhere unless it feels like it.
But holy crap, I can't see / maneuver at all with the motor behind this wall of metal - I'm going through the replacement tutorial which drills out the rivets to get to the motor, but even then, it seems like I would need an eye on my hand to figure out how to catch it much less put it back. Am I missing something? Is there a better way to do this? o_O
But holy crap, I can't see / maneuver at all with the motor behind this wall of metal - I'm going through the replacement tutorial which drills out the rivets to get to the motor, but even then, it seems like I would need an eye on my hand to figure out how to catch it much less put it back. Am I missing something? Is there a better way to do this? o_O
06-16-2008, 11:36 AM
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I just bought copies of the factory manuals off of ebay, so I'm hoping they provide some help as well. Dunno, may just end up drilling the holes and navigating blindly, given the horror stories of soem people with realigning the window.
06-28-2008, 02:33 PM
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Don't be so fast to get a new motor. If you slam the door and it helps or it works perfectly sometimes...like you said.....then most likely your motor is just accumulating corrosion.
Take the door panel off. Get a rubber hammer and beat the **** out of the door panel right where the motor is mounted to it, this will loosen up the corrosion. Then take a new can of SeaFoam spray or WD-40 and empty the entire can into the motor...while you are pressing the switch up and and down moving the window. If it is a corrosion problem, that will most likely make it good as new.
Window motors usually just fail, rather than slowly die. Corrosion is what slows them down, just like it slowly affects a battery from starting an engine as it builds up on the terminals. After it builds up enough then the starter won't get any power and you're dead in the water, but the battery is still fine. Same thing with the window motors.
As "wssix99" said, resistance is what slows the motor. The corrosion is that resistance.
Its worth a try.
Take the door panel off. Get a rubber hammer and beat the **** out of the door panel right where the motor is mounted to it, this will loosen up the corrosion. Then take a new can of SeaFoam spray or WD-40 and empty the entire can into the motor...while you are pressing the switch up and and down moving the window. If it is a corrosion problem, that will most likely make it good as new.
Window motors usually just fail, rather than slowly die. Corrosion is what slows them down, just like it slowly affects a battery from starting an engine as it builds up on the terminals. After it builds up enough then the starter won't get any power and you're dead in the water, but the battery is still fine. Same thing with the window motors.
As "wssix99" said, resistance is what slows the motor. The corrosion is that resistance.
Its worth a try.
Like, the white plastic part in these pictures? I can't see any other place to get anything into the motor other than that... http://nikon.250free.com/window/index.htm
06-28-2008, 07:33 PM
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I've heard cleaning out the corrosion works, but I'd rather not drill out the rivets if I don't have to - especially since it seems like it should be riveted back in afterwards. I'm almost certain it's corrosion based, given how it's acting (some hitting usually has it work a little bit) and I know someone was saying you can spray the crap outta it with WD40 or seafoam while it's still attached - anyone know how to do that?
Interesting on the repair kit - anyone know what it entails? And why is it only for the passenger side? My driver's side one is the one giving me trouble!
Interesting on the repair kit - anyone know what it entails? And why is it only for the passenger side? My driver's side one is the one giving me trouble!