Power Windows Again...

I have been trying to fix my power windows, I have found a bunch of great posts on possible causes and fixes.

This is what I think is going on: I had a bad window lock plug at one point, then lost the windows all together, so I think its a grounding problem.

What I've done so far: I used a suggestion to use red splicers and jump a wire between the window lock wires (just to eliminate that problem) and checked the ground; connection which seemed fine (the ground connection that I looked for was called G302? near the right rear taillight above the fuel fill pipe). Next I found a post from Boatwrench on a thread entitled: "Power Windows don't work intermitently ... ?", where Boatwrench gave a great explanation of finding the problem:

Boatwrench said:

My suggestion:
Remove door panel and disconnect harness from switch.

Take a test light & put the alligator clip on a known good body ground, like a screw or bolt into a body component. With ign in 'Run' position use the probe on a fuse to make sure you have a circuit and a good ground.

Next probe the Tan wire, it should light, while still lit grab the rubber boot between the door and the 'A' pillar and shake it a little. The light should stay lit. Then probe the Red wire it should also light, shake the boot again and there should be no change. If the light flickers that's a sign of lost continunity and a break in that wire.

Now, take the alligator clip and put on a fuse terminal, poke the probe abainst a body panel (where a scratch in the paint won't show) it should light. Next probe the 16g black wire at the harness and it should light, shake the boot and it should stay lit.

Click to expand...

The the tan wire lights up, but the red one doesn't. Does this mean that I need to replace the red wire? Next I am going to test the ground (but is this neccessary since the red wire is bad anyway?).

I am new to working on my Jeep (2000 XJ I6 4.0L 4x4 135,000miles), but am eager to learn; any methods for helping me diagnose the problem would be greatly appreciated.

So I just checked the ground and it's fine; but many of the other wires going into the plug do not light up. Does this mean they are bad and need replacing?

...Actually I think there might be a problem with the ground afterall; I put the aligator clip of my continuity tester on the tan wires terminal and checked the ground against the door (it lit up), then I put the continuity tester through the black ground wire and shook the boot between the door and the body; the light was light but was dim, and when I shook the boot it flickered bright and then went only dim.

I think that I am going to have to replace some wiring, but I just want to make sure that I am fixing the right problem...

I had problems with my windows working on and off. They then would work slowly when they did work. It was a broken ground wire why it did not work, check that first. I ended up replacing all the wires with 12 gauge wires so I could put a little more amperage through them and the slow window went away.

I think you're on the right track. If you suspect the ground's bad, replace it. Once you do, keep checking the other wires.