New to the Bronco Forum, guys. Been here on the diesel side.

I just got a 90 Eddie Bauer, and can't get the rear glass up. It is stuck in the down position. I tried to hot wire the motor, but no-go. I have resorted myself to the fact that the motor is toast, but I can't get the glass up to get to it or even close it off from the weather. How do I go about that. It is stuck in the full down postition. Any tips, tricks, and wiring diagrams would be much appreciated.

By the way-

This Bronc is getting a full engine rebuild including a Melling RV cam, ported/polished heads, headers, full on dual exhaust, and k&n setup. Also, I plan on body lifting 3 inches and running 33's on her. I got it "running" fof 200 bucks. I'll be posting other questions in the near future.

Thanks in Advance

Bobby

 

Yeah the rear window is a very common problem on the Bronco's. The problem is over-time water leaks into the tailgate and gets the motor wet and rusts everything up.

Just because you window isnt working doesnt mean that your motor is toast. Try the following Before replacing the motor.

Get the key for the tailgate, turn the key to the window up position WHILE also leaning very hard using ALL your body weight up against the tail gate. This should get that window to go up. The reason this works is the Latches on the tailgate get rusty and worn out over time and do not fully engage the hinges, which tells the tailgate not to let the window operate. If this in fact works, make sure to clean the latches real well, and place tape around the hinges on the truck if they are worn out.

If this doesnt work, go ahead and replace that window motor. A word of caution though, make sure to get some instructions on replacing that motor so you dont cause any electrical problems. Also WATCH your fingers while taking the motor out, the springs in there are under extreme tension and are known to chop fingers off if not worked with properly!!

Good luck!!

 

I'll give that a try after the rain quits. Just in case, how do I get the glass up if I cant get the motor to work?

 

I dont think that there is a way to get the glass up with out the motor. You just need to tape up some plastic till you can get it fixed.

 

okay then, what about wire colors for checking power to the motor and stuff in the little harness on the drivers side of the gate.

 

Just my two cents...

You might wanna read my post "The Tailgate Must Die"...

Then you might just consider trying something other than trying to fix the rear window. It was clearly designed to fail, and it WILL fail again. I have had many problems and there are many posts stating the same.

One i build a new window i will post my results.

G

 

My wife is gonna be using the Bronc as a grocery getter, as well as being a backup work truck for me, so I would like to have the rear glass as operational as possible.

 

There are 3 common places to check for rear window maladies.
-Outside latch safety switch (already addressed in an earlier post)
-wiring to the tailgate where it bends when the tailgate is closed- the wire fatigues and breaks in two. It requires a new wiring harness, or a properly soldered westinghouse twist on the power supply wires.
-switch on the dash - because it's also a ground when the rear switch is used, and vice versa.

The motor is not difficult to jumper, but it is much easier to track the problem down and fix it. You need a Haynes manual with a wiring diagram. This is not an overly complex circuit, but I couldn't work on it effectively without looking at a wiring diagram first. It's a must have for this vehicle.

 

I have this saved in my favorites:

http://www.off-road.com/ford/bigbron...ire/index.html

The connector to the motor only has two wires: the polarity reverses to go up/down. You can jumper it easy enough from inside with a motorcycle battery to check the motor.

 

You can get the same effect if you open the tailgate then reach around and push both latches(on the drivers side) together till the lock in the closed postion. This fools the saftey switch latch into thinking the tailgate is closed. This makes it easy to bypass that switch and leave the tailgate down to work on the motor. I do this all the time to run the window up with the gate open to clean the inside of the window. Beats climbing through the truck to wash the rear window..


Another thing you might try if you find out it's the motor. Call a few local starter/generator rebuilders. Chances are one will rebuild it for 50-60 bucks.

 

Bobby:
One other possibility is that the motor runs but the glass doesn't move; the motor is identical to the one for the headlights in my Corvette (!), and has three little cylindrical nylon pins in the center of the driven gear in the motor housing. These little pins turn top powder, but can be replaced easily.
You can buy the headlight motor rebuild kit from a Corvette accessories place for about $3, or you can find some plastic rod - I can't think of the diameter but it's around 1/4" - 5/16" - and you can cut them out yourself. They don't rotate, so if you find something that's slightly oversize, you can sand it down to size.

The motor drives a large sheetmetal gear arrangement, and that sheetmetal part gets rusty and can sometimes require more force than the motor can provide, so check that thing and lube it up liberally.

Good luck;
-R

 

Alright guys, so far with ya'lls advice, I have gotten some results. So far, I have gotten the window up, then down, then back up again, and now, no more.

I let the gate down, and set the safetey switch by hand, and got nothing. I was not getting power to the motor. After the usual power checks, I found that the harness had in fact been pinched and broken. So, after a temporary repair, I was able to get to where I am at now. Unfortunately, I am stuck with the glass up and the gate down. The window will still go up, but not down. I am getting power to both sides of the connector at the motor. It was having to push pretty hard to get it down the first time I tried it.

Do you think I need to tear the regulator apart and clean it up, or have I toasted it? I tried pushing on the window with power to the motor, but no go.

Are the finger chopping springs an integral part of the regulator, or are they attached to the gate itself? Also, do I have to take the chrome dressing cover off of the gate to get to anything or can it all be accessed from the inside of the gate?

Thanks again guys.

Bobby

 

The motor will come out no problem with the glass up. As I recall it's like 3 bolts. The springs on the window lift arms are there to help raise the window and will hold the window in the 'up' position when the motor is removed.

Take the motor out and see if it still works. My guess is it will still work. Lube it up and set aside. Then go to town cleaning and re-lubing all the internals. You should be able to easily have the glass slide in and out of the tailgate when you are done. Spray some lubricant designed for rubber (it's either non-silicon or pure silicon... forget which but can will say) on all the weatherstriping on the top as well and the side window guides.

I've had to do this a couple of times since all sorts of junk gets into the tailgate and gums it up. Do a good job, or you'll be doing this again soon.

Oh, and I'd permanently jump the latch switch (on the left side of the tailgate). It tends to fail or not think the tailgate is quite closed and will leave you will that really big box stuck inside the truck with no way to get the window down and no real way to get to the tailgate access panel (has happened to me twice now!). Most of us aren't going to try to operate the window with the tailgate down so the switch is really of no value.

 

Well, if your motor still works but the gears aren't turning, you can go to the local parts store and get the replacement gears. If your gears are in good shape but you're missing the 3 bushing that act like a clutch, they can be purchased for about $5. I bought a new nylon gear assembly for $20. Later I found I could buy the 3 bushing at the "help" parts area of the store. Handy stuff there.