Rear window stuck down

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

O

onemanarmy

Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Threads
59
Messages
5,002
Location
Raleigh, NC
ok...so my window was working perfectly, sometimes got hung up when rolling it up due to worn out window channels...anyway, rolled it down the other day ( dash switch and key switch work fine ) and now it won't go up. I have bypassed the safety swith. Anyway, the glass seems free in the window channels on each side, I took the back cover off and tried the switch while pulling up on the window, in case it just needed a helping hand. That did not help. While I have the back door down, I hold the key in the 'UP' position on the key switch and hear a sporadic muffled groaning/creaking sound coming from the bottom of the door. I can hold the key for as long as I want to and the sound comes and goes. I can see the window motor and gear, and that is not budging when I turn the key. The plastic gear seems to be fine. When I initially turn the key in either direction, I can feel a slight 'click' like the motor is trying to work, but again there is NO movement of the plastic gear or worm gear. I'm guessing the motor is bad, but I'm not convinced. Anyway, now that the window is all the way down, I can't get to anything to work on it. I did a search and found some mention of some C clips that I can get off and move the window manually...I think I found the clips but I am worried about getting things apart/broken and then the window still won't move. The piece that runs the length of the window that holds it to the regulator is definatley fused to the window. Any tips?

Thanks
Ben
 
ha..i forgot i had that link in my favorites....thanks

that helped...i got the window to move freely and can see the motor. Are these tailgate window motors known to go bad? There isn't much about the motor itself in the Gary S. article. I had someone hold the key in the ROLL UP position on the tailgate switch and looked for any movement. I can hear a groaning/slight clicking sound around the whole window mechanism, and it is not any pattern. I finally saw some slight movement of the motor, but it just seemed to be rotating back and forth, very slightly, had to look real close to see it. This leads me to believe that the motor is bad.....i guess these can be rebuilt?

Ben
 
Ben,

I'm not sure how rugged the rear window motor is. I've opened up several heater motors, blown the crud out, reassembled them and they'r off to the races.

have you tried power directly to the power leads on the window motor? Just disconnect the leads at from the terminal block inside the tail gate and bump them from a battery.

From your description it sound as if the plastic gear has split.

Harry
 
I have two working motors for sale. $65 each and if your lucky, the gear will be good in the gear box.... I'll open it up if there is interest in the motor.

Cheers and good luck with your window. I personally wish I had one of those hand crank ones. I hate electric windows of all types.

:beer:
 
My original motor would give a growl and had lost the umph to get the window back up.I replaced it with another used motor and now it goes up soo fast,I think it might go through the roof.I also have a brass gear.If the motor you have is good,I would put my money on the gear being broken.Good luck,that's a fun project
 
onemanarmy said:
thanks...i've got to get the motor and mechanism out and see what is going on. and i have a brass gear already, so I'll be throwing that in.

i'll keep that in mind
Click to expand...


MMMMMM. brass gears.... gotta love those!
:beer:
 
onemanarmy said:
well got it fixed..the plastic gear had cracked and jammed the motor. Put my new brass gear in, lubed it up real good, and now it flies up and down.
Click to expand...
Howdy! Mine kinda died a few weeks ago. It is all the way up. I get the same result with the dash switch and the tailgate switch. It will "try" to go up, but it is stopped because it is 100% up. It does nothing at all with either switch is operated downward. I am about to go out and crawl over all the junk stored in the back of the rig and pull the access cover so I can get into it. After reading thru this ( and the original) repair thread, I hope it is a problem with the LB wire going to the motor. In the past, I have replaced the plastic drive gear when it cracked, and I have replaced the terminal strip when it died. I have also wired past the safety switch in the left side of the door frame, as that had died a long time ago. I am puzzled how it can work up, but not down. Anybody ever have a motor that only worked OK in one direction? John
 
Great. I read this f'ing thread today and today my f'ing window stuck down.... probably that stupid plastic gear again. I can't figure out how to get the window out to get at the mechanism (again!) I actually have a steel gear for this and somehow got it apart last time but the window was half way that time, so I could reach in. HOW do you get window off the roller channels when all the way down so you can get at it??? I read the article and still don't get it.

This electric window has got to be the stupidest part of this otherwise great rig.

Sal- (begging for a hand crank).
 
bigsal said:
Great. I read this f'ing thread today and today my f'ing window stuck down.... probably that stupid plastic gear again. I can't figure out how to get the window out to get at the mechanism (again!) I actually have a steel gear for this and somehow got it apart last time but the window was half way that time, so I could reach in. HOW do you get window off the roller channels when all the way down so you can get at it??? I read the article and still don't get it.

This electric window has got to be the stupidest part of this otherwise great rig.

Sal- (begging for a hand crank).
Click to expand...
DUDE! Sorry I jinxed ya! Anyway, the first thing I would do is wire past the safety switch in the left side door frame. I have seen the switch itself die, but more often the plastic block on the side of the tailgate falls apart and does not push the plunger on the darn switch anymore. When that happens,m it is telling the system that the tailgate is open and unsafe to move the window. If you follow the link back to the old thread on this, there is a great diagram of the wires, and about a 4 page dialogue that explains how it works. I understand it pretty well, and I don't know diddly about electricity. That article also explains how to remove the glass from the regulator so you have open access to the motor. I'll have to look thru my old chassis manual to see if it has a pic. John
 
Thanks. I read the article, but can't see how the roller guides disconnect from the window glass frame and I can't get my big ole Hoss hands in there anyway. I have had all this apart before and taken others apart, but never when stuck down. I have found that my safety switch doesn't work for safety and allows the thing to open and close when the tailgate is open:confused:, but I will look into that. I have tried just pushing it in and nothing. there are three wires that go to it, I wonder which ones to jump.

What about that lock off lever on the regulator?

Thanks!!
 
bigsal said:
Thanks. I read the article, but can't see how the roller guides disconnect from the window glass frame and I can't get my big ole Hoss hands in there anyway. I have had all this apart before and taken others apart, but never when stuck down. I have found that my safety switch doesn't work for safety and allows the thing to open and close when the tailgate is open:confused:, but I will look into that. I have tried just pushing it in and nothing. there are three wires that go to it, I wonder which ones to jump.

What about that lock off lever on the regulator?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
light blue is positive power coming in. Blue white is up and blue black is down. That's what I am trying to do now, and it is raining on me here in Az!!
 
inkpot said:
light blue is positive power coming in. Blue white is up and blue black is down. That's what I am trying to do now, and it is raining on me here in Az!!
Click to expand...
BaZinga!! I think I've got it. I lifted all three blue/black wires off of the terminal strip, hoping I would find one loose or corroded. Actually, they were coated in dirt. If you have heard about our little dust storms, we get dirt into places that even water cant' get to. I wire brushed all contact surfaces on those wire connectors, put it back together, and it seems to be working real good. Before, I was getting at least 1 in 4 tries that would not get it to move at all. Tomorrow I will take them all apoart and coat them with a bit of dielectric grease to see if that will hold up longer.

To pull up the glass, you need to pull the track release pins. On the bottom of the glass is a full length track. On the bottom of that track is a 6-7" section of track close to either end that have the actuator wheels running inside of them. On the inboard end of those two small pieces, there is a little tab sticking out. It is the keeper pin to hold the small tracks onto the big one. You should be able to feel them with our fingers thru the access holes. Try to grab the end of the pin with a pair of pliers and just pull it out hard. Pull the pins towards each other. You may have to soak it in WD 40 or something to soften it up. With those pins out, then you can shake the small tracks loose from the big one, and then the glass is free to pull up/out. Now you can get to the wiring and the motor/gear setup in case it is broken. Have fun. John
 
Total thread hijack!

Yeah... I know all about the gears and wiring for the motor.... I appreciate that you got somewhere with yours....That always feels good and that beer right after is a proud one. Ha! :beer:
I have taken it all apart several times. My problem is that those little tabs on the metal sliders that attach the roller guides to the bottom of the glass... yeah.... the PO put those in upside down ( not me I swear!).... so the tabs are now facing towards the back of the tailgate, making them impossible to pull, hammer or grab. I'm pretty much ready to break the glass just so I can then start taking apart the gear box and replace the plastic gear with the new steel one I have. I do have an extra glass for that... so it wouldn't really be all that bad. I had several extra regulators and motors and gear boxes not too long ago. I saved a couple for this problem. Grncobra has the rest. I never had to disconnect the glass track from the roller guides though. There is always something new .. My last hope before the hammer comes out is that I stuffed a bunch of WD40 into the rubber that holds the glass into the metal track at the bottom in hopes that she comes all apart in the morning... then it's hammer time baby.

I did jump the wires on the tailgate safety and that did nothing. I am sure it is the gear. When I try the switch, I can hear the motor try to engage, but it is clearly stuck.

Thanks for your thoughts Inky!


"Patience is an annoyance, not a virtue. It is just a waste of time".- Bigsal
 
Funny you should suggest that. I just got that accomplished this AM. I went through the motor, put in the steel gear (the old one was fine). Actually, everything worked fine once I got it out (?). I also rebuilt the rear switch, and that all works great... but now the front switch won't work. I have opened it up, made sure it all gets contact..... Now I am focussing on the circuit breaker. I have bypassed the safety switch.... It all works fine from the back switch.... huh?

By the way, I rebuilt it correctly with the tabs all set up nicey nice. I even greased them a little.
 
Wooh hoo! Woo hooo!....:clap::clap::clap:

I knew this had something to do with the speedo cable I just replaced! Upon checking out the circuit breaker, found the black yellow wire had become disconnected! Must have happened with I was pulling the cable out.

I am not sure why this still allowed the tailgate switch to work, but hooking it back up allowed the dash switch to finally function... all is well now and all this work resulted in the tailgate switch working in both directions ( historically it did not make contact for the down position) and I got that steel gear in place. I guess I'll sell that plastic one that I have extra, since those steelies don't break.

Cheers all for the help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

KSDaddio
55 rear 1/4 window
Replies
8
Views
787
bobm
B
frismanis
Rear window
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
scrapdaddy
scrapdaddy
Rustypig78
WTB rear window track
Replies
2
Views
580
Rustypig78
Rustypig78
Megadoomer
Wing window UN-delete?
Replies
9
Views
536
Pighead
Pighead

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom