Drivers side window does not stop, but "ratchets"

Howdy,
Just got a 99 XJ for my son, and we are working through some of the bugs. I found the window lock out modification, which I will need to do, but one other thing that happens when you roll the drivers window up, it does not want to stop! Usually, when you roll the window up, it just stops, but on this rig, it makes a "ratcheting" sound like a stripped out gear, but the window does go all the way up. Is this a issue with the switch or is the regulator going out? I thought I would address the window lockout and this problem at the same time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob

Install a new or used power window regulator, or get the repair kit from Steiger Performance.

www.steigerperformance.com/ ..... click on Products

I have the exact same problem on my 99 xj drivers window

Tim_MN said:

Install a new or used power window regulator, or get the repair kit from Steiger Performance.

www.steigerperformance.com/ ..... click on Products

Click to expand...

Yep do this and you'll be set. Tons of write-ups on how to do it.

I don't know guys, I don't think the Steiger kit will fix his problem. The Steiger kit just fixes a broken window mounting bracket. Typically the symptom of that problem is you hear a snap/crackle/pop and the window falls into the door.

The fact that he can still roll the window up/down combined with his ratcheting sound seems more likely to be the impending failure of his regulator. The window is driven up and down using a worm drive and it sounds like the drive gear on the regulator is giving up the ghost. I'd suggest shopping for a new/used regulator. If you go used, look for one from a 2000-2001 if possible. If I recall they have a stronger window bracket to address the inherent problem that the above mentioned Steiger kit fixes.

Yep,
My window is still going up and down, but only when the window gets to top, it makes the ratchet sound. Once you let go of the button, the ratchet sound stops, and the window does stay up with no problem.

So, it is a regulator, not the switch?
Thanks
Bob

Not the switch... The switch either makes the regulator activate or it doesn't. With the exception of the auto down feature, the switch doesn't have anything designed into it to cut power when the window reaches the top or bottom.

Check this out on your good window... with the window all the way up, press the window switch in the "up" direction. You'll notice that your dash lights still dim since the window regulator is drawing power. It's just stalled out as it can't push your window any further. This also happens to be why the window brackets fail so regularly. They are held to the worm drive rod with a super thin piece of plastic. When the window hits the top (and you don't let go of the button) the regulator continues to try to force the window up which eventually breaks the wimpy plastic.

So:

Regulator activates = switch is good
Window rolls up /down = window bracket is good

The regulator is the only thing left in the equation... The ratcheting noise tells me that the drive gear on the regulator is probably worn to the point that it is not engaging the worm drive rod securely enough to stall out the regulator motor.

Not sure on the 97+, but on my 96 the worm drive rod was plastic. It was stripped, replaced it & all is good. JIM.

I agree with fyrfytr1717, it is the regulator. When I bought my '99 a long time ago, I had a trusted mechanic check it over before purchasing, and one of the windows had a "ratcheting" sound like has been said, the mechanic said it was the window regulator. Went back to the dealership, they put in a new regulator, and it has not once made that sound in the 5 years I've owned it.

My driver side(97) does this. I fixed the broken teeth issue using cotter pins seen here, so the window functions expect when using the auto-down. It doesn't know when to stop. I'm fairly certain it is because the plastic tube that the worm screw feeds into is broken.

With the door panel off I watched it in action. The motor would lower the window and the worm screw would hit the end where it should stop but keep going. With the broken plastic tube(the blue tube) the worm screw pushed past where it should. The ratcheting was the sound of the gears trying to grab the very end of the worm screw. For me it rarely seems to grab the worm screw and it will just make that sound and not move. If I hit the auto down and don't catch it right away I have to pull the door panel to fix it.

It's been that way for years so I'm saying the motor is fine and the switch is fine at least for me. Check what is keeping the worm screw from going past where it should with the door panel off.

My 00 XJ drivers side window just did this to me today. It has power. I went to put it up and it stalled momentarily and then I heard a sound like grinding gears, then it went up the rest of the way.

Going on what I have read from the good folk on , I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's the plastic piece that holds what y'all call the worm screw. I saw a company that makes a metal replacement piece, but their website is down. Any idea is there still in business.

http://www.steigerperformance.com/ Website doesn't work.

www.steigerperformance.com/ works today. At the bottom of the page they add some helpful free Tech Info:

There is also another type of failure which is quite common. What will happen is that sometimes when you operate the window switch, the window won't move, and there will be a grinding or clicking sound coming from the door. Usually this happens when the window is in the full up or full down position. (For example, when using the auto down feature, when the window gets to the bottom, the motor might continue to run and grind instead of the switch popping back to the off position.) If this is what is happening on your Cherokee, and the window is still going up and down with the window switch (the glass hasn't fallen down into the door and you can't move it up and down by hand) then the plastic piece in your regulator hasn't broken, and my repair kit will not help you. However, here is a tip that you can use to fix your window for free.

Basically what is happening for this second type of failure is that the spiral cable inside of the window regulator has been worn down by the gear in the motor housing. (Sometimes the gear itself will also become worn, but usually it is just the cable itself.) This almost always happens at the full up and/or full down positions. What you can do is to disassemble the regulator, pull the spiral cable out, flip it around and re-install it, "backwards", then reassemble the regulator. (Feel free to refer to the PDF installation instructions for my repair kit. Although the instructions are obviously geared towards installing my repair kit, they also show how to remove the regulator from the door and disassemble it, so they may be useful to you.) Flipping the cable around like this causes a fresh section of the cable to be aligned with the motor gear while at the full up and full down positions. Almost always, this will solve the problem.

Tim_MN,

THANKS!!! I greatly appreciate the advice! The noise happens when the window is almost all the way up. That's when you hear the grinding noise. I'll have to tear it all apart and take a look to know for sure what the problem is. Thanks so much for the great advice.

Well, as it turns out, that plastic piece was not broken. So, since I had it out, I removed it and replaced it with the Steiger part that I had ordered. I switched the cable around.

I put it all back together and it's still messed up. It won't roll the window down. I have to psychical grab the window and push it down. It goes down pretty easy. But, when I push the power switch back up, it rolls the window up just fine. So, I'm stumped. Any ideas would be very welcome. Thanks in advance.