Attn electrical geniuses!

[4agerolla]

Not long after i took delivery of my soarer (12 months ago) the passenger window has "intermittently" (read: basically never) worked from the driver side control. The passenger side one works fine.

Ive tested to see if current flows from the drivers side with a test light, and it does, yet the window remains motionless. Ive tried it with the window lock on and off too.

Even stranger is that if i push UP on the passenger side and DOWN on the drivers control for the passenger window, it stays still (understandably under normal circumstances)... but why doesnt it work independently from the drivers side!!!!!

Its got me rooted, so if any electrical geniuses out there (not me ) has an idea why, im all ears!

Thanks in advance

Chris

[rob1]

dry joint?????????????

[4agerolla]

dry joint?????????????

what do you mean by dry joint??

[Cuzzo]

Its where the soldering comes loose from vibrations or something else. It looks very much like its soldered but its not contacting all the time. Maybe clean the switches out with some CRC cleaner or circuit board cleaner.

[4agerolla]

hmmm ok thanks ill give it a shot... just seems odd that the switch passes current, yet it doesnt work

[MRMOPARMAN]

where did you test for current from? at the back of the drivers switch, or from the window motor?

sounds like you have open circuit in the loom, since theres power going from the switch.

when you press the drivers and passengers window switches at the same time, it will lok the window up, the passenger switch on just about every model ive seen all runs through the drivers switch.

grab a wiring diagram and see if theres any connectors between the drivers switch and the motor, that will make it easier to look for breaks.

[MacroP]

Most likely it could be a bad contact in the master switch. Can it be disassembled easily? Normally a bit of fine wet and dry will clean them up plus a small dab of petro jelly(vaseline) also helps too.

Out of curiosity, which model Soarer do you have? I have the electrical schematics for the 30 series so I'll post a pic of the window control if that's what you have.

[4agerolla]

where did you test for current from? at the back of the drivers switch, or from the window motor?

sounds like you have open circuit in the loom, since theres power going from the switch.

when you press the drivers and passengers window switches at the same time, it will lok the window up, the passenger switch on just about every model ive seen all runs through the drivers switch.

grab a wiring diagram and see if theres any connectors between the drivers switch and the motor, that will make it easier to look for breaks.

Tested it from the drivers switch.. havn't done it at the motor... but wouldnt there be only one input to the motor, not one from either side of the car??

As you said ill see if i can find a wiring diagram and work from there...

Cheers Mate!

[4agerolla]

Most likely it could be a bad contact in the master switch. Can it be disassembled easily? Normally a bit of fine wet and dry will clean them up plus a small dab of petro jelly(vaseline) also helps too.

Out of curiosity, which model Soarer do you have? I have the electrical schematics for the 30 series so I'll post a pic of the window control if that's what you have.

I pulled the switch apart last night and the contact seems to be ok.. havnt given it a clean though.

Its a z21 so unfortunately your diagram wont be of help! Thanks though

Chris

[MRMOPARMAN]

yep, usually there is only 2 wires, power and earth. you've checked theres power coming out of the switch, which there is, now see if its getting to the motor itself. yeah its kinda hard to say without a chematic to look at to see how the p/s and d/s switches are interconnected

[river]

Hi,

Yep, there should be two wires going into the motor. The switch works by swapping over the earth and +ve to the motor, to allow it go forward (window up) and backward (window down).

Check the voltage at the motor when you play with the suspect switch. If the switch is okay then you may have a problem with the wires going from the switch to the motor. The wires are colour coded, so check the colour from the switch and (hopefully) these colours will go through the door pipe-thingo and probably into a socket under the dash. Check the socket is firmly conencted and see if you can trace the wires through to the motor.

Playing games by making one switch up and the other down - to cancel out each other - usually places a high current across the contacts of the switch, and this can burn out the switch contacts. This happened a lot with the older electric window switches of the GT Celicas in the 70s, and the Crowns also had the same arrangement.

seeyuzz
river

[MRMOPARMAN]

a common place for electric window wires to break is where it does through the door jamb where river said, as wiring gets brittle over time, doors opening and closing with the wiring moving to suit can make them break, even though the plasitc on the outside is still in one piece.

also while your checking connectors and stuff just be sure when you plug them in that the terminals arent pushed out of the plug. ive lost count how many headf*ck electrical problems have been caused by something as simple as that