my drivers side power window has been intermittingly working for several months but all other windows worked fine. now my passenger front window will not work as well but back windows work fine. i pulled the panels and do not have power to either front switches. is there a fuse or relay that works just the front windows? this is on a 1996 explorer 2wd. thanks any info would be greatly appreciated. there is nothing else not working that i have noticed.

 

Why would you pull the panels BEFORE checking fuses and relays? The panel is a lot more work. If you have a blown fuse you can replace it, but there is a reason it blew in the first place. If there is a relay you can pull the relay and jump the load side to see if that gives you power to the switch since you already have the door panel off.

 

There are 2 fuses for the power windows under the hood. If either one fails, none of your windows will work (or your sunroof either if you have one). If the back windows are working, and the front passengers is not, I would suspect the drivers master switch. The master switch going bad would also explain the intermittent operation of your drivers window

 

If there are fuses, but no relay the door switch has all the motor current passing through it which is substantial. Over time the contact will pit and corrode resulting in high resistance(contacts get HOT) and low conductivity(not enough current flow to operate the window motor). I'd try electrical contact cleaner just to see if that temporarily gives relief, but if the contacts are pitted badly the switch will have to be replaced. You might try some fine sandpaper(400 grit crocus cloth) to remove some of the pitting as a temporary fix. You might want to install a relay if you spend the money on a new switch which probably won't be cheap since it will most likely be a dealer item. Oh, heck they use reverse polarity on those DC motors. Your going to have to use 2 relays for that. Ford should have used relays in the first place to keep from cooking those switch contacts.