Power windows do NOT respond

[Dereck]

Well, I've been poring over this one for the past few weeks. I checked the LB/BLK wire (power wire) that goes to the master switch. It's getting steady voltage between 11.20 and 11.50

fusible link under the hood might have burned up

Hi

If there is power on the Light Blue/Black wire then I doubt it is a fusible link problem.



Regards

Dereck

[CheeseSteakJim]

The red/blue wire has around 11.50 volts running to it also.

[Dereck]

The red/blue wire has around 11.50 volts running to it also.

Hi CheesesteakJim

It would do it powers the other three window switches, if you flick the window lock it will not have power.

Regards

Dereck

[CheeseSteakJim]

Hi CheesesteakJim

It would do it powers the other three window switches, if you flick the window lock it will not have power.

Regards

Dereck

It works exactly as designed, then.


It seems that, as impossible as it may be, all four of my window motors may have died within the 10 month time span that this car hadn't been run. Does anyone have anymore ideas besides this?

Recap:

- The master switch works fine. I even bought a new one and replaced it just in case.
- Window safety relay has been replaced.
- I am getting 11.50v to the master switch, and 11.5v is also getting sent to the other three windows.
- No fuses are blown.
- Circuit breaker 14 was tested and is okay.
- Interior lights do not dim when I press any of the window switches, but they do dim when I press the lock/unlock button.


Question: If all four window motors were blown, would they still draw power? If that's a no, then could that be why my lights do not dim whatsoever when I press any of the switches?

If I remember correctly, the parts car that donated its front end and two front doors to this project had an issue with the windows not going down. I never looked into it because I wasn't going to keep the parts car and figured the problem wouldn't carry over into my car.

Is there any way that one (possibly two) blown power window motors could possibly prevent the others from working, or go as far as actually destroying the other motors? I would think we'd need a Power Window Motor from Hell for that to happen.

[gadget73]

You get 11.5 volts at the plug on each window motor when you activate the switch? If thats the case, then odd as it sounds, the motor is probably toast. If they're open then they will not draw any power and the lights will not dim at all. Try whacking one of the motors with a semi heavy object. If it starts running again, probably the brushes are a bit corroded and they may restore themselves to working order with a bit of run time. And no, having a bad motor or two wouldn't make all the windows not work. Having a wiring problem in the door's harness between where it plugs into the car at the kick panel and the switch panel could create some issues.

[CheeseSteakJim]

It looks like they never disconnected the door harness itself. It looks like they slipped the harness out of the old, damaged door and fed it into the new door from the parts car... then again, who's to tell. The guys at this shop really did a shoddy job with my car. My dad was happy with it, but he's a friend of the owner. They'll never get any of my business again.

I'm going to double check how much voltage I get at each door, but I seem to remember last time I checked I saw around 11 volts, maybe higher.

[CheeseSteakJim]

Okay, now this is interesting...

I checked the BLK/LB wire that goes to my rear left power window switch, and it gets about 9.77v. I checked the plug that plugs into the window motor, and I get between zero and 0.07v when I push the window switch.

In my amazement, I also realized that the courtesy light that lights up the ashtray/cigarette lighter no longer lights. I checked the voltage at the plug for the bulb and got 0v. I then realized that none of the courtesy lamps in my doors were lighting up, although the lamp in the headliner and the two in the C pillars light up fine. My instrument panel also lights up as it should.

After that I put the panel back together and went inside because it's way too damn hot and humid out. I'm currently looking through my EVTM in case the courtesy lamp and power window issues could be related. When it cools down outside I will also begin double checking my original voltage tests, starting by checking C.B. 14 and all fuses.

[CheeseSteakJim]

I've checked CB14, and it has continuity through it. The Flash-to-Pass is also running on the same circuit breaker, and that works fine, so it's same to assume that CB14 works.

I've checked the Power Window Safety Relay (which I've replaced), and it's getting power to it, and is also putting power to the switch. The Master Window Switch (which I have also replaced) is also getting power.

I don't think my front driver's side window motor works at all, but I know for a fact my driver's side rear window motor works fine because I hotwired it and tested it and it turned both ways fine.

Past that, I don't think I know what I'm doing. I'm desperate to get these windows working. Someone who knows electrical please tell me what to do.

[86VickyLX]

I know you said that it had a ground... But maybe, in the crazy jumbling of wires, the ground wire is broken. No ground means no lights dimming. No lights dimming means no power to the windows. Etc. If the other windows. The Passenger front and rear, worked before, it's highly improbable that the motors went just like that. It has to be something that place did. I personally think it's a ground.

[Lincolnmania]

theres probably a wire broken off in the drivers door harness

[gadget73]

Might just need to get yourself an EVTM to chase out the circuit.

[CheeseSteakJim]

Might just need to get yourself an EVTM to chase out the circuit.

I've been staring at page 116-117 of my EVTM for over two months. My biggest problem now is that I don't really fully understand what I'm doing. I need someone to guide me through the troubleshooting process.

I've tested the main window switch with a digital multimeter and am getting 11.5 volts at the LB/BLK wire. I am also getting power to the rear driver's side window switch. These are the only two I have tested so far, because of the way the car is parked it would be fairly difficult to test the other two doors.

I think the biggest problem is that I can't really understand electrical at all. I look at my EVTM and I read the descriptions of how the window motors work electrically and my head starts spinning. This EVTM has become what I read in my free time instead of a book. No matter how long I read it, I just don't get it. I don't grasp what's being told to me at all.

As much as I can't afford it and as much as I hate doing it, I'm desperate enough that I've toyed with the idea of having a professional look at it. That'd require that I get the car towed there and back because it's not insured or registered yet.

I really need someone who understands this crap to help me big time. I can scan the Power Window sections of my EVTM onto the computer so someone else can look at it. I can be your eyes and hands, just please tell me what to do. I'm very very desperate at this point.

I hate electrical.

[gadget73]

ok, one easy test you can do. Take your volt meter, ground one side of it to the body, door, or other piece of metal, and connect the other to a lead on the window motor power plug. Try flipping the switch either direction and see if you get power. Hook the + lead to the other wire and see if you get power when you flip the switch the other way. If thats what happens, you have a broken ground wire. Start checking out the grounds if you get that result. I think for the door there ought to be a wire screwed to the body just inside th kick panel area.

[CheeseSteakJim]

ok, one easy test you can do. Take your volt meter, ground one side of it to the body, door, or other piece of metal, and connect the other to a lead on the window motor power plug. Try flipping the switch either direction and see if you get power. Hook the + lead to the other wire and see if you get power when you flip the switch the other way. If thats what happens, you have a broken ground wire. Start checking out the grounds if you get that result. I think for the door there ought to be a wire screwed to the body just inside th kick panel area.

I did this yesterday and I got plenty of power both ways I pressed the switch. So that would mean the motor is dead if the plug is putting out plenty of power, right? Well I bought a new motor today and plugged it in, and it seems that when it's plugged in, there is no voltage going through the wires, and motor receives no voltage. Yet when I benchtested the new motor to ensure that it wasn't a defect, it worked fine.

What the hell?

[CheeseSteakJim]

bump.

My friend suggested a bad ground or a short, but as far as I can tell the grounds are fine. I even found one on the actual door that isn't listed in the EVTM. Is there an easy way I can find a short?