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Rear power window problems.

S

scheuvront1993

New member
Hello all. Today I finally decided to diagnose my rear power window problems. They haven't worked since I bought the car. So I pulled off the rear passenger side door panel. Right away I noticed the switch wasn't even connected, and also there was motor at all on that side.. I suspected similar on the driver side, but I got the panel off and to my suprise there was a motor there, however, the switch was also unhooked. I hooked it up and tried it, but the window will not go up and down. The motor engages but the window will not move. So just a couple of questions.. first of all, why the heck would someone just unhook the switches? What could be gained by unhooking them? It seems like they didn't know what the heck they were doing. The panels are missing clips and screws and what not. Also does anyone know of a good video showing how to change the motor and regulator, or perhaps a good write up? Thanks for all the help.
 


Regulator replacement is fairly straightforward. If you'd like a vid or walkthrough to be suggested, telling what kind of car you have comes first. On 97-03 GPs you need a T30, clip removal tool and not much else. Wiring was probably undone with windows in up position to prevent accidentally hitting a switch and having a regulator that goes down but not up go down. The side with motor that does not move may have had a screw put in it or something to prevent it from operating. Motor may have been left off the other side because it was removed for testing and found to be bad but never replaced or reinstalled. Of course a switch may have been unhooked due to a short, or to serve as child "protection" or "security" in somebody's world, if not equipped with window lock at the master switch.
 
idrivejunk said:
Regulator replacement is fairly straightforward. If you'd like a vid or walkthrough to be suggested, telling what kind of car you have comes first. On 97-03 GPs you need a T30, clip removal tool and not much else. Wiring was probably undone with windows in up position to prevent accidentally hitting a switch and having a regulator that goes down but not up go down. The side with motor that does not move may have had a screw put in it or something to prevent it from operating. Motor may have been left off the other side because it was removed for testing and found to be bad but never replaced or reinstalled. Of course a switch may have been unhooked due to a short, or to serve as child "protection" or "security" in somebody's world, if not equipped with window lock at the master switch.
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Hey thanks for the info, and I apologize the car is 2000 Grand Prix
 
No worries. Heck I don't know much about sedan rear doors honestly. I've been into them plenty but my 97-03 GP experience is mainly with coupes. This Dorman instruction page for coupes differs from our cars only in removing the trim panel, the rest is similar or same although you are working on a rear door. I recommend replacing the reguator and motor assembly in the case of trouble with either.

http://www.dormanproducts.com/DigitalAssets/Document/741-809_IS.pdf

Since you have door panels off already, its cake. Use some tape to hold the glass up if the seal does not do that, unplug motor, unbolt glass, motor, regulator and remove. Reverse to install. Yes its all floppy but just be gentle when bending the cables as you install the new part.

If a jammed regulator's current position can't be changed to align with the window bolt holes in the door shell, it will just be harder to unbolt the glass. In this case, the regulator can be unbolted first to relieve tension holding the glass up. Also, lots of parts stores carry replacement clips for the door trim panel but they may be longer. In my experience, the longer ones can rub the glass if installed on the top row. So maybe snip the tips off any longer replacement clips if needed there.
 
I always use tape as I've never had any of mine hold the glass up. Not a good time when the glass slides down onto your hands inside a sharp as hell door skin. Better safe than sorry. Shouldn't take more than 30 min per door. 20 if you've replaced a few over the years, lol...
 
Well, I finally replaced the passenger side rear regulator and motor today. I just used cheapies from eBay. Prime Choice, to be exact. I've bought things from them before and they usually seem to be a pretty good value. I bought a set of hubs for a cavalier through them one time and they held up awesome, until one day I was swapping the wheels and I let the jack down to allow the hub rest on one of the wheels and the hub broke, lol. I never had a problem on the road though. Anyhow, the install was easy as heck, very simple and it only took 20 mins. It's the first one I've ever done and I was surprised how easy it was. I could have done it faster if I had all the tools with me. I have run inside a couple of times for more tools. I will be doing the other side as soon as it comes in the mail!
 


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