It's been almost a month since my lasts venture onto this forum. Wife had emergency surgery to remove a growth from her stomach that kept her down for the count for the past few weeks, so I was tending to her, managing the house, taking care of the kids, taking care of the animals, and basically running myself ragged. But all of that is over, she's recovering nicely, and I'm back to work.

The problem mentioned in the title is something that just started showing up on my Ex. The first few times I noticed it, it was intermittent, but now it's an every day thing. I am in the military, so I have to drive onto the base every day. That involves rolling down my window, presenting my ID card, and driving through before rolling my window back up again. My window has stopped rolling down on its own a few days ago unless I started it moving with the switch, then pushed down until it was mostly down. This morning it wouldn't roll up on its own. I was able to finally make it roll up by pressing down on the window, then hitting the switch. But if I stopped short of it rolling all the way up, I had to repeat the process.

I'm leaning toward a bad window regulator, or a bad window motor. Anyone experienced this or know of a good way to troubleshoot? I'm not all that good at electrical stuff, so any insight would be helpful. Thanks!

 

If the motor is working (you can hear it) then it's likely the thrust bushings in the gear box on the regulator motor. Not uncommon, but luckily a pretty easy fix.

 

Thanks for the quick response! So assuming it is the thrust bushings, is this something that can be repaired reliably without replacement of the window regulator? I found a regulator and motor kit on partsgeek that goes for $63 + $9 shipping, no core charge.

I guess what I am asking is can it be repaired and require no further maintenance for some time? Or should I just replace the regulator and motor since I will have to tear the door panel off as it is?

 

Before you go tearing the regulator/motor out of the door make sure you don't have a faulty window switch. I know that the placement of the switch panel tends to get lots of moisture when a window is rolled down in the rain. If for some reason that most used switch contacts were starting to corrode it could cause faulty signals. Put a meter to the switch and verify it's not sending out a weak signal.

I'm not saying the regulator/motor isn't the problem, but the switch is another failure point that could cause a similar issue if power isn't getting to the actuator assembly cleanly.

 

Interesting. Would the problem manifest itself as it has, but then enable the window to work when pressure was applied against the window?

My problem is, I don't know what voltage I should be looking for at the motor or at the switch, and I would have to either purchase or borrow a multimeter. I don't want to just throw parts at the problem, but I don't really know how to troubleshoot this.

 

Motors need a certain voltage to actuate and torque to move the window.

If a switch isn't delivering enough juice (12volt) through the circuit because of worn contacts then that could keep the motor from starting. Likewise, a worn out motor will require more voltage to initiate movement. Also a binding actuator might require a motor to generate more torque.

Adding your own force to the window can unbind a system, overcome a weak motor or switch not delivering enough juice to get the motor going.

Multimeters are cheap(less than $20 for basic ones), and should be in your toolbox for tracking electrical problems in vehicles and elsewhere. The meter will allow you to check the switch and motor alike for weakness. Measuring the voltage getting to the motor will tell you if the switch is sending a weak signal. Measuring the voltage across the motor will tell you if it is weak.

 

With the key on, and engine not running... do the interior lights dim when you try the window switch?

Try a window that works and see if the lights behave the same. If the switch is bad, the lights probably won't dim... if the bushings are bad they probably will dim... if the motor is bad - I don't know what happens with the lights.

 

I'll have to check that later, thanks David.

 

Like I said, listen for the motor. If it sounds normal but the window isn't moving (much, anyway) then it's 99.9 the thrust bushings. Very common, and the Dorman kit is about $5 IIRC. I've had to do this on my Mustangs, both sides, and the Bronco, all 3. Thank God we don't have the tailgate motors on our X's. That was one of the most awkward jobs I've ever completed. Removing and repairing a side door regulator is a cinch by comparison.

On a totally separate note, driver's window on my 09 Expedition is getting slow. Unfortunately, that's a cable and pulley arrangement. I just had to replace one on my wife's Escape. Nowhere near as easy as the gear driver arm regulator on our older trucks. Not looking forward to...

 

Okay, so here's an update to the issue.

I tried what Mr. Crab said above, and hit the switch, I couldn't hear the motor turning or trying to turn at all (with key on, engine off). I also didn't witness any dimming of interior lights, as David suggested.

Yesterday, it was quite cold outside (18 degrees when I left my house), so everything was frosted up. I got in my truck, started it up (after several preheats with my glow plugs), and got the defroster going on the back and front glass. I scraped the windshield mostly free of frost, got in the truck, and noticed that the side mirrors were frosted up. So I hit the window switch to lower the window so I could swipe some of the frost off and, to my surprise, the window went down without any issue. I swiped the frost off, and hit the up switch, and the window didn't go up AT ALL. Great. So I sat there, messing around with it for a minute or two, and it never went up. So I drove the whole way to work, in 18 degree weather, with my driver's side window down. Good thing for heated seats, otherwise I might have just called in sick this morning.

Once I got to work, I pulled the switch out of the door to look at it and clean it. Hit it with some canned air to blow dust and dirt out, then sprayed some corrosion prevention compound in there, wiped it clean, let it dry out for a while, and installed the switch. The window went up. Smooth as butter. Same thing when I pushed the switch to make the window go down. Smooth as...glass. I've cycled the switch a few times since then, and it seems to work just fine now. I guess there was some dirt, dust, or foreign material in the switch or something, as it seems to go up and down without hesitation now that I have cleaned it.