Window won't go up...

Hi guys, a little help? 89 XJ. Just got back from fishing and the drivers window (electric) refuses to go up. Other windows work. Getting power to the switch cause the interior light dims when I try the window. I opened the panel and cut the plastic and got my hand under the glass to try to help it up. Didn't work... Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

jbt114 said:

Hi guys, a little help? 89 XJ. Just got back from fishing and the drivers window (electric) refuses to go up. Other windows work. Getting power to the switch cause the interior light dims when I try the window. I opened the panel and cut the plastic and got my hand under the glass to try to help it up. Didn't work... Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

Click to expand...

Yeah, the leads that go into the back of the motor get fatigued and open. At least mine did that. I managed to dig into the rubber potting shit where the wires enter the motor and solder it enough to work again. Actually a couple times over the years. I got a used motor/assembly recently but the repair is still holding.

Try moving those wires while you work the switch but WATCH YOUR FINGERS if the window starts moving!

jbt114 said:

Hi guys, a little help? 89 XJ. Just got back from fishing and the drivers window (electric) refuses to go up. Other windows work. Getting power to the switch cause the interior light dims when I try the window. I opened the panel and cut the plastic and got my hand under the glass to try to help it up. Didn't work... Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

Click to expand...

I had the same problem on my '92 XJ recently. The gear drive between the motor and the regulator mechanism was worn out so the only cure was to replace the whole motor/regulator assembly. The motor itself still worked but it wouldn't move the window up more than 1/4 of the way. It would go down fine.

most likely its either a bad motor, or bad regulator.... the best thing to do is replace both together.... you can usually find them pretty cheap at a boneyard, or on ebay... a local glass shop can do the installation, but its pretty easy to do if yo udecide to do it yourself

I am in the middle of this crap, too. If you buy a new motor from Advanced Auto Parts, be prepared to do some extra work and not get the core fee back. Their "oem" motor is not designed properly. The gear which drives the spiral wire in the regulator sits too close to the motor to touch the spiral wire, thus it doesn't work. There is enough clearance in the housing where the motor mounts to the regulator to add the old gear on the top of the new gear with a little drilling and welding. I need to drill mine out still. I would not suggest going this route. The frayed wires are/were my problem, and I didn't assume I could get a decent connection without disassembling the old motor. That seems to be a huge pain itself. I did not think about digging out the material around the wires. I would give that a shot.

If you just got back from fishing - did you get the carpets wet ? B/c I had a similar thing happen to my 93' and as soon as the wires that run under the driver's side carpet got wet, my windows stopped working altogether. Just try lifting the carpet and see if it's dry in there or not. If it isn't, dry it off and move the wires around a bit to get rid of any residual moisture on the wires.... plus, it might also be a kinked wire, so moving it around will help to re-establish the connection.

Good luck.

It's the motor/reg assembly. Go to the dealer, don't mess with VatoZone, NAPA or anywhere like that. If you have to take the motor off the reg assembly, it sucks. The dealer sells them as a single unit, for about $70, IIRC. Once you have the part it is about a 20 minute fix, YMMV.

HTH

I just got a motor/regulator unit from the classifieds. It was $10 for the unit $10 for shipping. Best deal I've seen for the combo, I installed it today and it works great...I can't remember his name though.

gavin

Urban Redneck said:

It's the motor/reg assembly. Go to the dealer, don't mess with VatoZone, NAPA or anywhere like that. If you have to take the motor off the reg assembly, it sucks. The dealer sells them as a single unit, for about $70, IIRC. Once you have the part it is about a 20 minute fix, YMMV.

HTH

Click to expand...

I called the dealers around here a few weeks ago and they said $280 for the whole unit, which is apparently the only way it is available. This was for an 89. Advanced Auto Parts doesn't even have the regulator...just the motor. Either way you go, you will have to grind out the old rivets to remove the unit. For as much time as I have spent on this damn thing, I would suggest just going to the dealer if you can't find a decent used unit. Oh, they said you need an adapter harness which is another 35 bucks. F that and solder the thing together.