Help with installing new window motor
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Joliet, Il
Help with installing new window motor I am currently installing a new window motor on a 98 Camaro and the old motor is completely shot, I can't even get it to move the window up with help so I think the wiring is shot. As soon as I plug the new motor in to check it continuously runs without input from the switch and if I press the switch for up all that it does is stop the motor while pressing the switch for down does nothing. I'm sure this is a shorted wire, but the harness looks intact. can a bad switch do this? Thanks. -Rich
Edit: I am working on the driver side and I tried an old switch panel from a prior car and the motor does the same thing. I am more confused, does the window motor go through a bcm?
Edit: I am working on the driver side and I tried an old switch panel from a prior car and the motor does the same thing. I am more confused, does the window motor go through a bcm?
Last edited by PSnewbie; May 14, 2013 at 03:01 PM. Reason: added info
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 555
Likes: 0
From: NearHouston, TX
It did sound like a bad switch, good thing you had one to test with. Are you testing the motor under load? If not, Try mounting the motor in the door, then try using the switch and allow the motor to hits it's load in it's stops up and down. If it works like the headlight motors, they turn off when they sense the load on the motor since there is no limit switches.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Joliet, Il
I only tested the motor in a no load situation. I also know that according to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...syVzfN4#t=639s, the motor should only function while the switch is pressed. Thinking that I have a wiring problem I tested the wires for the driver's switch and at any given time with no motor or switch attached all 3 wires are hot. This has me stumped. Thanks for the replies btw way guys, I appreciate it.
This happens a lot with reman motors. They can have a bad cutoff switch in side and shut down when under load. (Just like they are supposed to when the window is all the way up.)
If you go with a doorman motor, it will be 100% new and should last longer with the updated design.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 443
Likes: 1
From: Jacksonville, FL
unless all the switch does is provide the ground for the circuit. then it could cause the motor to go up continuously if its shorted or internally shorted. i dont know how the wiring is on the windows
Even if the parts guy told you it was new, its probably not. Lots of threads on this. (The part was first installed on a GM car between 1967 and 1969.) Its probably a reman with "new" parts - except for the thermal resistor, which is failing on you.
It runs fine unloaded until it encounters a load and the thermal resistor (cut-off circuit) engages. Odds are, its probably still bad. (I've had 2 fail on me this way - right out of the box.)
It doesn't. The motor gets positive/ground and the switch reverses polarity to change the direction of motion.
It runs fine unloaded until it encounters a load and the thermal resistor (cut-off circuit) engages. Odds are, its probably still bad. (I've had 2 fail on me this way - right out of the box.)
It doesn't. The motor gets positive/ground and the switch reverses polarity to change the direction of motion.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Joliet, Il
Also, I just got done pulling the bcm and the 3 wires to the window switch were no longer all hot, they were obviously dead since the circuit was broken. Does this mean that the problem is in the relay in the bcm or not? Thanks again guys, appreciate all the responses.
Sorry, I misread your OP. (I missed that the motor is running w/o pressing the switch.)
If the motor runs by itself, it could be the switch or express down module. An easy check would be to offset the harness on the driver's side switches so the passenger switch is hooked up to the driver's side circuit. That should isolate the switch to see if its the problem. (I'm pretty sure you can do this but its been a while since I had the occasion to remove my switches.)
If the motor runs by itself, it could be the switch or express down module. An easy check would be to offset the harness on the driver's side switches so the passenger switch is hooked up to the driver's side circuit. That should isolate the switch to see if its the problem. (I'm pretty sure you can do this but its been a while since I had the occasion to remove my switches.)
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Joliet, Il
I've already tried 2 other switches that I happen to have and they all do the same thing. As soon and the switch contacts the connector the motor turns.
Does that pretty much mean it is the Express down module?
Does that pretty much mean it is the Express down module?
The EDM is really expensive - even used, because people buy them to add EDM to the passenger side of the car. So, I'd confirm its the EDM first by unplugging the module and bypassing it at the connector. Whitebird00 describes how to do that in this thread: https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...ress-down.html
Once you bypass the module, the drivers' switch and motor should work just like the passenger side.
Once you bypass the module, the drivers' switch and motor should work just like the passenger side.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Joliet, Il
The EDM is really expensive - even used, because people buy them to add EDM to the passenger side of the car. So, I'd confirm its the EDM first by unplugging the module and bypassing it at the connector. Whitebird00 describes how to do that in this thread: https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...ress-down.html
Once you bypass the module, the drivers' switch and motor should work just like the passenger side.
Once you bypass the module, the drivers' switch and motor should work just like the passenger side.
The left window is wired differently because of the express down module. You'll have to bypass the module in order to do what you want. You can bypass the module by simply connecting the gray wire to the brown output wire at the express down module. Make sure you get the right brown wire - there are two of them. The one you want is pin D in the connector. The one you don't want is pin C in the connector and will have power whenever the ignition is on so it's easy to find with a test light or multimeter.
