Window getting stuck down.

[Whosondephone]

This is the second time one of my window have gotten stuck down. I took apart the door and attempted to press up on the window with all my might while pressing the up switch. Took it for a spin on a rock dirt driveway. No dice. Window motor was warm. An hour later the window went up no problem. I was thinking about replacing the window motor. However I do not understand the system being it is hard to see. I was reading something about drilling out the dimples on a 91 on this forum. I guess there may be something similar on my 86? I was originally thinking about drilling out the rivets. Has anyone run into this issue?

If window motors weren't so expense I'd just go ahead and do it.

[jaywish]

Yes the same three dimples apply to the 86.

[gadget73]

You can probably take the motor out, lube the mechanism, clean the motor internally, put some new plastic plugs in the gear, and put it back in. When they stick its usually either the brushes are losing contact with the commutator or the bearings in the motor need oil. Sticky grease in the window mechanism will also do it.

[Whosondephone]

Useful link to the thread I was referring to. Removing window motor

Thanks again.

[Whosondephone]

I have removed the window motor and cleaned out the gearbox with mineral spirits and a brush. Put some plastic spacers to replace the crumbs of whatever was left. I even took the motor apart and greased the shaft and bushing near the brushes. Wasn't sure it that was a good idea or not. Worked fine for a week and half.

Tonight the window got stuck down again. I can hear the motor clicking when the button is pressed. I removed the motor and the motor operated fine. I move the window up and down many times by pushing on the gear that the motor is connected to. Oddly enough I find it difficult to lower the window all the way down. However very easy to raise the window from the lowest point. I remount the motor. I notice that the stopper at the end of the gear gets sucked in when the window is all the way down forcing the gear towards the motor/exterior of the car. I'm thinking that i could mount some kind of spacer to the fourth screw on top of the motor to keep it from getting sucked in.

Perhaps I'm misdiagnosing the problem.

Never put the window all the way down.
That will never fly.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

A front truck window of mine (with regulator very similar to yours, and motor that is exactly the same as yours) used to do the same thing, once the motor gear reached the end of the tooth rack the two would jam together - sometimes the only way to free them up was to slam on the door from the inside while holding the switch, and sometimes that wasn't enough and the door panel had to come off and the motor needed loosened from the window regulator. Finally had enough of that and built a wooden stopper that is screwed into the bottom of the door, there is a thick rubber pad on its top surface where the regulator arm contacts it - it is all sized so that the arm hits it and stops just before the rack runs out of travel and binds the motor gear. The motors are protected by a thermal self-resetting breaker to begin with (and so are yours), and on top of that I have the automatic one-touch modules which shut the motors off based on the current spike thru them when the window stops moving - so basically I just made sure the window will run out of travel before the regulator rack does, the electrical part of the system still operates just fine with that setup. Been trouble-free for many years now, not really an ideal fix to the issue, but a fix nonetheless.

[dmccaig]

Dear Panthers,

Same thing happened to me one Memorial Day Weekend in the badlands. Jesus it was cold! Somehow It came up again and didn't go back down until I was home in Virginia.

Donald

[DerekTheGreat]

Hmm. I've never had this problem but will leave the windows up ~ 1/2 an inch to keep it from striking.

[Salty Dog]

Once you have the job done. Make sure and put alot of lube on all the moving parts or you'll have a shakey window and have to take everything back apart

[87gtVIC]

If the clicking sound was repetitive then I would say whatever "plastic spacers" you used were not correct and that is what you hear skipping.

I have removed the window motor and cleaned out the gearbox with mineral spirits and a brush. Put some plastic spacers to replace the crumbs of whatever was left. I even took the motor apart and greased the shaft and bushing near the brushes. Wasn't sure it that was a good idea or not. Worked fine for a week and half.

Tonight the window got stuck down again. I can hear the motor clicking when the button is pressed. I removed the motor and the motor operated fine. I move the window up and down many times by pushing on the gear that the motor is connected to. Oddly enough I find it difficult to lower the window all the way down. However very easy to raise the window from the lowest point. I remount the motor. I notice that the stopper at the end of the gear gets sucked in when the window is all the way down forcing the gear towards the motor/exterior of the car. I'm thinking that i could mount some kind of spacer to the fourth screw on top of the motor to keep it from getting sucked in.

Perhaps I'm misdiagnosing the problem.

Never put the window all the way down.
That will never fly.

[gadget73]

The adjustment on the end of the gearbox is a back lash setting. It should have a screw and a locknut. I usually set those by backing it out a bit, and running the motor with no load. Screw it in until you hear the motor slow down just a bit, then back it off just enough so that the drag stops. Lock the nut down. It should not move when you run the motor unless the nut is missing or its totally stripped out. Can't honestly say I've seen either of those cases.

Oil on the motor bushings in the back end isn't a bad idea. Not sure about grease. I would polish up the commutator if you're into it that far. When it gets overly dark it may not conduct well and it'll stick. If the brushes are very low, that will also cause problems. Doesn't take much, an extremely light hit with the finest sandpaper you have is all it takes. Don't need it to be a mirror, just make sure its not black or contaminated with oils or anything like that.

Make sure the window mechanism is well lubricated. I've also had luck with silicone spray in the window felts to make sure the glass doesn't stick to it. I don't remember if there are any adustments to the tracks in the back, but if there are you may get some improvement out of messing with that. Usually it'll be the rear track, and the adjustment would be a bolt through a slotted hole in the door panel. The inner part would be the bottom of the window track, and you can move it around a little bit to alter alignment of things. Sometimes if its too tight, it will bind up the glass and cause it to not move.

[BigMikeIT]

The round portion with the large gear , inside was a large nylon green gear where some of the teeth tabs had broken off in the grease. I recall the clicking sound and when I removed the pieces and it either caught or didn't.

Back when I had too much time on hand and refurbed the window motors myself before just getting new ones.
Sandpaper on the windings cleaned them up and made them a bit more lively.

[Whosondephone]

Thanks for the great Info everyone especially gadget for the details! I'll probably follow His Royal Ghostliness lead here. I was wondering why there is a rubber pad at the bottom of the window arm. It doesn't seem to contact anything.

The motor seems fine. I only hear one click when pressing a direction along with the lights dimming until I release the switch. I rarely remember to leave the window partially up and hasn't gotten stuck again. I'm sure we agree this system is a bit of a kludge, because of the way the door bows out when the window is shut. Embarrassing.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

The rubber pad in my setup is actually attached to the stopper block, I put it on there to cushion the impact of the regulator arm a bit - without the rubber pad the sound produced every time the arm made contact with the stopper was a bit discomforting, to say the least

As for the door bowing out when the window is all the way up, you should be able to add some more bracing to the inner door skin to stiffen it up some if it bothers you so much. However, do consider that the skin bowing also acts somewhat like a cushion for the force transmitted to the window glass by the window regulator. IMHO the best way to handle that would be to build the travel stops into the regulator itself, that way the window glass sees no actual force jamming it into the door frame. I'd imagine doing those mods won't be too big of a deal with the regulator removed from the door, however removing and then reinstalling the regulators isn't exactly a fun experience...

[gadget73]

The doors flex and bend. Its pretty normal.