Power Window Switch Symptoms
- The driver side window would go
down, but it would not come back up.
- At first, a slight 'tap' on the
window switch would make it work again, so the window would come
back up.
- I took the switch out and tested it
with my multi-meter - tested good.
Final Failure
After a trip of about 700 miles for
the Christmas holidays, the switch went into 'full failure mode' -
that is, tapping and even hitting the switch with a screwdriver didn't
get it working again. I finally had to disconnect the connector,
as shown below, and jumper the correct pins to power and ground to get
the window to come up again.
The good news is that the switch was showing signs of failure earlier,
and I had ordered a replacement from eBay over the holiday. I
believe it was actually Christmas day when I ordered the part.
Good thing I did it then, because it failed on Dec. 27, as we were
pulling back into the driveway from our long trip
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Here is the bottom side of the driver's
switch panel. Getting to the switch is easy. Just push a
putty knife or thin screwdriver into the back of the switch panel and
lift up on the back. You will see retainer clips on each side,
so wiggle the panel and it will come up. Just be gentle so that
none of the plastic parts break.
If you look closely, you will see the
plastic retainer (one on each side) that hold the switch into the
panel. Just slip a putty knife between the retainer and the
switch to release it. It will drop right out of then panel.
Remove the connector by pressing in on the key (shown in the picture).
Putting in the new switch is the reverse
of removal. Put the switch in the panel until the retainers snap
in place (I had to push pretty hard), put the connector back on, and
replace the panel in the arm rest. |
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Since I am a "failure analysis" type of
person, I wanted to know why and how the switch failed. So I
took it apart and took a few pictures.
This first picture (above) shows the top
of the switches, with just the rocker tops removed. Note that
the contacts that carry power (+12 volts) to the window motor when the
switch is used are a bit burned. You should be able to click on
the picture to see it full size, in a new window.
These next two pictures (above) show the switches with the contact
bars removed. If you click on the images you can see them full
size. I noted that there are small pads at the bottom of each of
the power contacts except for the one for putting up the driver side
window. I did not look any further, but I assume that pad is
burned away. One other note: When I used some small jumper
wires to put the window up manually, I noticed that these wires got
very warm quickly. So there must be a good amount of current
flowing there. No wonder that these contacts show this kind of
wear after 8 or 9 years of use. |
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