Power windows. Or should I say stationary windows

[dashhho]

When I bought my truck the passenger window switch did NOT work. I could open the pass window from the drivers switch so permanent child locks was okay with me. Now my drivers window is struggling to operate. It takes a few presses but it will eventually go up/down...something is having a hard time working (it groans and I think something is trying to do...something in there). I will take the door panel off tomorrow to see what is up. Any bets on what it may be? Or troubleshooting tips?

 

[RobbieD]

I'm not familiar with anything past the 1994 model year, so this is general advice.

Mechanical: Clean any old dried grease from any moving parts of the window regulators that you can get to, and relubricate. I use white lithium grease, in the tub and spray as needed. Of course you'll be looking for any parts obviously broken or worn.

Electrical: You have to have power AND ground at each motor to make it move. Motor (thus window) direction is simply reversing these polarities.

To check the wiring I like to unplug the motor and put an old-school test light across the two wires on the harness connector. Key on, work the switch and a brightly lit test light is good. Hold the button and wiggle it; if the light dims or goes out look at cleaning* or replacing the switch. For the passenger side, you need to check BOTH switches this way (passenger circuit starts with the driver switch and goes THROUGH the passenger switch).
* Use plastic-safe spray contact cleaner. If you're careful switches can be disassembled, cleaned and reassembled.

While the switch is pressed and test light is lit, grab, move and shake all of the windows' wiring harness that you can get to, especially where the harness approaches and enters the door. The wiring harness to power accessories in the doors in flex areas, like in the door jamb, are susceptible to fraying and breaking, often inside the insulation so it's hard to see the break. While moving harnesses, you're watching for the light to dim or go out in order to find problem areas.

Pay attention to grounding wires. Find where your window harnesses are grounded and make sure that they are clean, not corroded and solidly connected. Typically (like on my older stuff) a ground wire will exit the harness somewhere and be bolted to the body structure.

the passenger window switch did NOT work. I could open the pass window from the drivers switch

For example, that's a classic description of a bad ground on the passenger side.

The motors don't last forever, but if everything checks out mechanically in the regulators and electrically in the harnesses to the motor, you're in a much better position to justify spending the money on new motor(s).

Your truck (assuming it's '05 in your sig) does have differences (so called "improvements") than my older junk, but what I've described is just basic troubleshooting, which should get you started.

The best investment you can make is get a Ford EVTM (Electrical Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual) for your year model truck. With patience, they can be found very reasonably on eBay.

As these trucks get older, things need attention (just like people). Do a good job going through and resolving these issues, and the windows should be good for you for a good while to come.

Good luck!

 

[dashhho]

I'm not familiar with anything past the 1994 model year, so this is general advice.

Mechanical: Clean any old dried grease from any moving parts of the window regulators that you can get to, and relubricate. I use white lithium grease, in the tub and spray as needed. Of course you'll be looking for any parts obviously broken or worn.

Electrical: You have to have power AND ground at each motor to make it move. Motor (thus window) direction is simply reversing these polarities.

To check the wiring I like to unplug the motor and put an old-school test light across the two wires on the harness connector. Key on, work the switch and a brightly lit test light is good. Hold the button and wiggle it; if the light dims or goes out look at cleaning* or replacing the switch. For the passenger side, you need to check BOTH switches this way (passenger circuit starts with the driver switch and goes THROUGH the passenger switch).
* Use plastic-safe spray contact cleaner. If you're careful switches can be disassembled, cleaned and reassembled.

While the switch is pressed and test light is lit, grab, move and shake all of the windows' wiring harness that you can get to, especially where the harness approaches and enters the door. The wiring harness to power accessories in the doors in flex areas, like in the door jamb, are susceptible to fraying and breaking, often inside the insulation so it's hard to see the break. While moving harnesses, you're watching for the light to dim or go out in order to find problem areas.

Pay attention to grounding wires. Find where your window harnesses are grounded and make sure that they are clean, not corroded and solidly connected. Typically (like on my older stuff) a ground wire will exit the harness somewhere and be bolted to the body structure.

For example, that's a classic description of a bad ground on the passenger side.

The motors don't last forever, but if everything checks out mechanically in the regulators and electrically in the harnesses to the motor, you're in a much better position to justify spending the money on new motor(s).

Your truck (assuming it's '05 in your sig) does have differences (so called "improvements") than my older junk, but what I've described is just basic troubleshooting, which should get you started.

The best investment you can make is get a Ford EVTM (Electrical Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual) for your year model truck. With patience, they can be found very reasonably on eBay.

As these trucks get older, things need attention (just like people). Do a good job going through and resolving these issues, and the windows should be good for you for a good while to come.

Good luck!

Thanks Robbie. Appreciate the good info.

 

[RobbieD]

You're welcome and I hope it helps. As I'm sure that your model year had differences over what I'm used to, I hope that you get some more input from those that are more familiar with the newer trucks.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

You might just need a new switch. My F150 did driver side window started to struggle, had to push switch hard. I changed the switch and works perfect again. My problem was window down on rainy day(s) got it wet.

 

[dashhho]

Well the drivers side weatherstripping was getting caught and jammed in the door. Now its all mangled - got to figure out how to deal with that. The unlock/lock switch had some corrosion so that might be going soon.

Will pull the pass door panel off tomorrow.

 

[sgtsandman]

If yours is like my 1998 was, there is a bolt holding the bottom rear portion of the track in place. Remove that bolt and the rest should pull out. I think I remember there being screws on the window mechanism that holds the glass in place. Unscrew those the pull the glass. It's been a number of years since I've had to deal with it. So I don't remember the exact details but it wasn't hard from what I remember.