Passenger window not working
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Linden, TX
Passenger window not working Yeah yeah I know, another one. I Google searched, read through 6 or 7 window threads, but haven't come up with anything definitive to what mines doing.
Passenger window started the slow roll and finally just quit. Haven't messed with it for a few months, and finally bought a replacement motor for it. Just got done changing it out, but still nothing. Driver side works fine, passenger side, nothing. No up or down either from the driver or passenger side switches.
I don't have a test light, but do at work, so I'll check and make sure the motor is getting power from the pigtail, but Is there any way to test the switches themselves? I know from reading other threads, the passenger switch is piggybacked to the driver switch. But how would you go about testing them with a test light?
Passenger window started the slow roll and finally just quit. Haven't messed with it for a few months, and finally bought a replacement motor for it. Just got done changing it out, but still nothing. Driver side works fine, passenger side, nothing. No up or down either from the driver or passenger side switches.
I don't have a test light, but do at work, so I'll check and make sure the motor is getting power from the pigtail, but Is there any way to test the switches themselves? I know from reading other threads, the passenger switch is piggybacked to the driver switch. But how would you go about testing them with a test light?
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Start by connecting the test light clip to a good ground such as a bolt under the dash. Leave the window switch plugged in and turn the ignition to the accessory position. Use the probe of the test light to probe into the back of the connector under the switch and determine if power is available.
Right (passenger's) switch:
There should be power at pin A (brown wire).
Press the switch for down, there should also be power at pin C (the other brown wire).
Press the switch for up, there should be power at pin D (dark blue wire).
(You'll need a helper for the next two) Press passenger window down switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin E (tan wire) as well as pin C (brown wire).
Press passenger window up switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin B (light blue wire) as well as pin D (dark blue wire).
Left (driver's) switch:
There should be power at pin F (brown wire).
Press the left switch for down, you should get power at pin E (gray).
Press the left switch for up, you should get power at pin D (dark blue).
There is no need to test the right switch if you got the expected results while testing the passenger's switch because it must be working. If you did not get power at the light blue or tan wires on the other side then test at this switch while pressing up and down respectively. If it works here but not at the other side then there's a break in the wiring between the two switches.
Finally, test for ground on pin A (black wire). Without a good ground here, neither side window will work. To do this, reverse the use of the test light so that the clip is connected to a power source such as the fuse panel and probe the back of the switch where the black wire connects.
Right (passenger's) switch:
There should be power at pin A (brown wire).
Press the switch for down, there should also be power at pin C (the other brown wire).
Press the switch for up, there should be power at pin D (dark blue wire).
(You'll need a helper for the next two) Press passenger window down switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin E (tan wire) as well as pin C (brown wire).
Press passenger window up switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin B (light blue wire) as well as pin D (dark blue wire).
Left (driver's) switch:
There should be power at pin F (brown wire).
Press the left switch for down, you should get power at pin E (gray).
Press the left switch for up, you should get power at pin D (dark blue).
There is no need to test the right switch if you got the expected results while testing the passenger's switch because it must be working. If you did not get power at the light blue or tan wires on the other side then test at this switch while pressing up and down respectively. If it works here but not at the other side then there's a break in the wiring between the two switches.
Finally, test for ground on pin A (black wire). Without a good ground here, neither side window will work. To do this, reverse the use of the test light so that the clip is connected to a power source such as the fuse panel and probe the back of the switch where the black wire connects.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
You can test the wires at the motor but unless you suspect the wire is broken somewhere between the switch and the motor, testing the dark blue and the brown wires at the switch will produce the same results. Those two wires are the ones that go from the switch to the motor.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Linden, TX
OK, so far, I only got the passenger side tested.
Right (passenger's) switch:
There should be power at pin A (brown wire). Getting power
Press the switch for down, there should also be power at pin C (the other brown wire). No power
Press the switch for up, there should be power at pin D (dark blue wire). No power
(You'll need a helper for the next two) Press passenger window down switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin E (tan wire) as well as pin C (brown wire). power on both
Press passenger window up switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin B (light blue wire) as well as pin D (dark blue wire). power on both
So it's not getting power from the passenger side, but it is from the driver side.
Now as far as testing on the driver side, my driver window works fine, so I'm fairly certain pins F D & E and pin A ground are good.. a fair assumption? Or should I go ahead and pull the door panel and still test those too?
Right (passenger's) switch:
There should be power at pin A (brown wire). Getting power
Press the switch for down, there should also be power at pin C (the other brown wire). No power
Press the switch for up, there should be power at pin D (dark blue wire). No power
(You'll need a helper for the next two) Press passenger window down switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin E (tan wire) as well as pin C (brown wire). power on both
Press passenger window up switch on the driver's door, you should get power on the passenger's switch at pin B (light blue wire) as well as pin D (dark blue wire). power on both
So it's not getting power from the passenger side, but it is from the driver side.
Now as far as testing on the driver side, my driver window works fine, so I'm fairly certain pins F D & E and pin A ground are good.. a fair assumption? Or should I go ahead and pull the door panel and still test those too?
Last edited by 99T/A_No0b; Nov 21, 2017 at 03:52 PM.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Those results are somewhat inconsistent with your symptoms. Having power input (pin A) but not having power output (pins C or D) from the right side switch would indicate that the switch is faulty. But that doesn't explain why the window doesn't work from the left side switch despite having power both in and out when using it. Finding power on both outputs to the motor (brown and dark blue wires) when controlled from the driver's side should make the window work unless either the motor or the wires from the switch to the motor are bad. The one thing that might tie it together is if the ground from the driver's side switches is no good - then having power wouldn't be enough to make the motor run.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Linden, TX
So maybe test the driver side pin A ground? And go ahead and test the motor pigtail as well from the driver side switch, since it's sending power to the passenger switch, I guess?
I'll turn wrenches all day any day, but I hate chasing wiring/electrical **** lol
I'll turn wrenches all day any day, but I hate chasing wiring/electrical **** lol
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Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Linden, TX
So on the pigtail going into the motor:
Using passenger switch; got power to pin B, brown wire, pressing down; power to pin A, blue wire, pressing up.
Same thing with driver side switch.
Using passenger switch; got power to pin B, brown wire, pressing down; power to pin A, blue wire, pressing up.
Same thing with driver side switch.
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Yes, test the black wire on pin A of the left side switch for a good ground.
However, there is no need to further test the switch or pigtail on the driver's side. You've already established that you get power input to the passenger's switch (tan wire and light blue wire) from the driver's side switch and that the power is passing through the passenger's side switch to the motor pigtail on that side (brown wire and dark blue wire). So the question is why doesn't that power make the motor run? The ground could be one reason - the circuit must have both power and ground to work. Or the brown and dark blue wires in the passenger's door may be damaged. Or the motor there might be bad.
You can confirm that power is reaching the motor by checking with your test light. If it's there at the switch end but not at the motor end then you know the wire is broken somewhere between. Otherwise, if the ground checks out as well, you can deduce that the motor is the problem.
However, there is no need to further test the switch or pigtail on the driver's side. You've already established that you get power input to the passenger's switch (tan wire and light blue wire) from the driver's side switch and that the power is passing through the passenger's side switch to the motor pigtail on that side (brown wire and dark blue wire). So the question is why doesn't that power make the motor run? The ground could be one reason - the circuit must have both power and ground to work. Or the brown and dark blue wires in the passenger's door may be damaged. Or the motor there might be bad.
You can confirm that power is reaching the motor by checking with your test light. If it's there at the switch end but not at the motor end then you know the wire is broken somewhere between. Otherwise, if the ground checks out as well, you can deduce that the motor is the problem.
GM wires these window motors without using relays, and after a lot of use the switch contacts can get fried from all the current going through. I had this happen on a mid-90's Pontiac, took the switch apart and the contacts were all burnt. And when you test them with a multimeter, the voltage can be OK because the meter isn't drawing any current, but try to operate the window and since the burned contacts have a large resistance there's a big voltage drop.
It was probably not on the motor correctly and only one contact was being made in the connector. (out of the two)