WINDOW DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!

MY FRONT DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW IS STUCK DOWN. WHEN I HIT THE SWITCH THE LIGHTS DIM LIKE ITS PUTTING A LOAD ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. DO I NEED A WINDOW MOTOR OR A REGULATOR? OR IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? I REALLY NEED HELP, ITS DAMN COLD OUTSIDE.

opie1 said:

MY FRONT DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW IS STUCK DOWN. WHEN I HIT THE SWITCH THE LIGHTS DIM LIKE ITS PUTTING A LOAD ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. DO I NEED A WINDOW MOTOR OR A REGULATOR? OR IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? I REALLY NEED HELP, ITS DAMN COLD OUTSIDE.

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Must be a 97-01. You need a regulator which comes with the motor. You could pull the panel and push it up, maybe put a screw in the regulator to hold it up.

opie1 said:

MY FRONT DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW IS STUCK DOWN. WHEN I HIT THE SWITCH THE LIGHTS DIM LIKE ITS PUTTING A LOAD ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. DO I NEED A WINDOW MOTOR OR A REGULATOR? OR IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? I REALLY NEED HELP, ITS DAMN COLD OUTSIDE.

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What year XJ?

NOPE ITS A 89 AND I CAN TELL ALL OF THEM ARE LOOKIN WEAK. MY DRIVERS SIDE JUST DECIDED TO CRAP OUT FIRST.

ahhhh! my eyes! the goggles, they do nothing! :laugh:
could you turn off the caps lock? that's really hard on the eyes.

sorry my bad...

If you pull the panel off you might find something loose or you could tap on the motor to see if it frees up then. It is getting power if the lights dim.

If its getting power then does that mean it's the regulator? And if it breaks loose should i still put a new one on?

opie1 said:

If its getting power then does that mean it's the regulator? And if it breaks loose should i still put a new one on?

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The motor is siezed most likely and it comes with the regulator unless there is an aftermarket one. The fun part is it's riveted in the door. It's up to you if you can get it to work and don't want to replace it.

opie1 said:

NOPE ITS A 89 AND I CAN TELL ALL OF THEM ARE LOOKIN WEAK. MY DRIVERS SIDE JUST DECIDED TO CRAP OUT FIRST.

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First thing to do is unbolt the window from the actuator mount. One bolt near the window bottom center, I don't remember the size but relatively large 3/4" or 17 mm there abouts (don't loose the washer). You can the push the window all the way up. Get a coat hanger make a hook on the end, slide it down between the rubber wiper (inside) near the front, hook it under the widow then bend the wire down making an "S" type hook.
Then you have to figure out what the problem is, the coil is tied in a knot, the guide rubbers have come loose from the rails and jammed, the wires right at the motor have frayed from vibration (often under the insulation and hard to find). The coil (chain) actuator has broken, or the rubber extension has come off and jammed. Various reasons for this to happen.

I've had two XJ's that just decided to have their driver side window motor unplug its self. And by unplug I mean it was sheared. It's a really hard solder since the connecting is surrounded by the motors plastic motor housing. Mine was an 89 and also a 90. One wire is Yellow and the other is Blue....if you have both un connected you may wire them wrong but if you do then you'll just have to switch "roll down" to make the window go up.

Just my advice.

--Alex

Busted into it and got the window closed. Thank god! I disconnected the window and got it out of the way. I hit the button and the motor came to life, sort of. It ran real slow on the way up but it ran down like normal. I think the motor is bad. What do you think?

do you clean all the electrical termainals and get a voltage reading to check if your getting 12v to the motor? also run 12v directly to the motor and see if it goes faster.

IIRC 95 and 96 motors/regs work. Look for some used units. I have a thread out there somewhere with step by step on removal and reinstall

I think it was mentioned, the wires where they come out of the motor, there is a small plastic junction box. Within an inch or so of where the wires come out of the small junction box (it's maybe 1 inch by 1/2", black plastic box on the motor), the wires fatigue (fray) most of the way through under the insulation (probably from years of vibration). What you end up with is a few threads of wire to conduct the electricity. It makes the motor run really slow if at all. There are other spots, but this one is common. Sometimes the switches corrode and don't pass enough juice.
You have to take the motor and assembly out to fix the wire, unless your an elf with tiny hands. Cut off the funny spade connectors they have on there and about three inches of wire, crimp (or solder) on a pair of standard spade connectors and exit the opposite side of the junction box.
I also grease up the cable and cable guide and spray out the motor with air and contact spray. Sometimes grease and dirt gets into the brushes.
I've only replaced on motor since 1987, I've managed to fix all the others.
I also solder the electric seat wire and the power window wire together under the drivers side carpet and run an extra ground (solder a short piece of wire in and screw it to the chassis, I used the dash brace just over the drivers side kick panel) from the window harness in the same bundle of wires.
This almost doubled window speed, but does bypass the ignition switch in the circuit, the windows work without the key being on and the window lock doesn't work anymore.

Thank you for the abundance of knowledge you have all bestowed on my weak little brain. I'll have to try some of this stuff out, I think I can save the motor. I hope so anyway! Parts stores are pretty proud of those things.