Power window lowerin very slowly, blew the fuse

[jangell]

My driver's side power window motor died (it was one of the newer designs, which I put in around 15 years ago), so replaced it last weekend.

Today I noticed that the window was going down very slowly, before it stopped completely and the radio lost power. Blew the fuse.

I replaced the fuse, and the window is still moving very slowly, if at all. I think it's binding somehow. What's weird is that it goes up fine, but going down seems to be an issue.

When I mounted the new motor, I had a lot of trouble getting it to attach to the drop window part at the top of the door. I almost had to pry it on to get the hole on the post, then cinch it in place with the nut. This did not feel right. It felt like it was misaligned somehow, but there aren't a lot of alignment options here.

I'm wondering if I I just need to tilt the whole assembly, maybe by adding some washers to the bracket arms at the base of the door until the window moves more freely, but it doesn't seem like I should have to do that.

Before I take apart the door and see if I can figure out how to loosen things up, has anyone else seen this kind of thing before? Is there anything I should look for?

Thanks!

-- Joe

[MrChocky]

On a related note, the windows in my project car have updated DPI regulators, but the windows are very poorly aligned, so happy to hear any commentary on fixing that.

[painterdave72]

when i put new doors on my car i had to rebuild all of it.. to do the window adjustments.. just loosen the tracks enough to move slightly and run the windows up and down watching what they do.. they should sort of adjust themselves to close to where they need to be.. just make sure the middle of the regulator tube does not push on the door skin.. its a very finite adjustment to get it to not do that...u can physically bend the middle of the tube a little bit if need be .. .Dave..

[jangell]

Cool, sounds like it's possible to tweak it then. Are there any instructions for the track adjustment (like where everything is in the door)? The workshop manual is rather sparse about it, assuming I"m looking in the right place.

Thanks!

-- Joe

[painterdave72]

its 4 bolts for each track.. 2 that hold it to the door and allow it to move front to back and 2 that piece the 2 track pieces together and let it move in and out...

[jangell]

Turns out it was a much simpler problem. The power window motor I got had a harness, and I put blade connectors on the end and plugged them into the existing harness. There was a small bit of the blade that was still exposed, and it was shorting against the door itself. This explains why the window went down easily (that wire was ground for window down), but would move very slowly and blow a fuse when going up. With the door apart I could see sparks from the short, which made it very easy to track down.

I wrapped it in electrical tape and it's fine now. Should have done that in the first place.

Thanks!

-- Joe

[MrChocky]

Turns out it was a much simpler problem. The power window motor I got had a harness, and I put blade connectors on the end and plugged them into the existing harness. There was a small bit of the blade that was still exposed, and it was shorting against the door itself. This explains why the window went down easily (that wire was ground for window down), but would move very slowly and blow a fuse when going up. With the door apart I could see sparks from the short, which made it very easy to track down.

I wrapped it in electrical tape and it's fine now. Should have done that in the first place.

Thanks!

-- Joe

You might want to use harness tape instead. Usually a better choice for areas like windows which may be exposed to the environment. Regular electrical tape can fail pretty quickly.

[jangell]

That’s a good idea. I actually have some and didn’t think to use it. I expect I’ll have to door open again soon enough and I’ll replace the tape. Thanks!

— Joe