Here's one that's got me baffled.

My 98's rear power windows "suddenly" stopped working last summer. Wierdest thing is that when the temp was about 65, the windows would work. When it got above 75, it's a good thing the AC worked, because the rear windows sure didn't . BTW the rear window will work with it's own controls when the temp is low, but not when it's hot. There's gotta be something in the connector thats wonky??

I just went out to the car to snap a pic of the master switch so you know what I'm talking about. So I tried the rear windows. Now both of them don't work again. BTW it's 85 and climbing out there. This is totally nuts!!

I've checked the wiring from the Master switch back to the doors and there's no breaks that I can see. I changed the master switch just for good measure, still the same thing.

Has anyone out there run into this problem or know how to fix it? I'm not taking it back to GM because they ripped me off last time and didn't fix the problem I took the car in for.

 

It is probably similar to the problem that the 88s, Intrigues, Buick LeSabers, and Buick Regals had. The power windows would stop working because the gear that drove the window up and down is plastic. It would get too hot and warp causing the motor not to work properly. A friend at work had her Buick Regal fixed for about $300 a window. I think the new gears are metal.

 

Interesting, but why just the rear windows? The front ones work perfectly no matter what temp.

 

Hmmm... I'm not sure about that one.

 

What year is the car?

 

Sorry bout dat chief! It's a 1995 Regency Elite. Power everything including digital dash, level ride, yada yada.....

 

I had a problem with my power windows when I first bought my Cutlass where I couldn't operate any two windows at once without blowing the fuse. It turned out that the windows should have been fed from a circuit breaker under the hood on the fire wall and not a fuse in the fuse block. I re-fed the power to the breaker and now all is well. Since your windows are not blowing a fuse the way it sounds maybe the front ones are drawing a bigger load and overheating in hot weather (maybe just getting old or the lube on the window mechanism is getting sticky) and they are blowing the breaker which resets when it re-cools. I have heard of people carefully taking these regulators (motors) apart already to when the start to slow down and get dirty and carefully clean them up to get better operation. It is funny that both of the front and not the backs are acting up. Maybe there is a connection problem with the fronts that is causing them to blow the breaker in warm weather or short. Good Luck. Electrical problems are not always easy to solve.

 

Hey Doug, Thanks for the tips. BTW the front ones work perfectly. It's the back ones (that don't get used a lot) that are causing the problem. What's this relay (breaker) reset thing? Never heard of it. Where would I find it? Maybe I'll try taking the door panels off and seeing if the regulators need lube. Didn't try that yet.

 

One cheap easy way to see if the motors are getting juice and trying to turn is with the engine off and the dome light on, hit the window switch to see if the dome light dims a little. If it does, the mechanism is either jammed or the motor is just too weak. If no dim whatsoever, either the motor is open or bad wiring or switches...
While not a complete diagnostic, this can at least give a clue or two before pulling door panels...

 

The car has 8 courtesy lights that go on when the door is open or the dash switch turns them on. No difference in brightness even when the car is not running. The switches are good and so is the wiring. Like I was saying earlier, the windows worked at about 65 degrees temp. Now the drivers side rear is working again with lower overnight temps. So I ran it up and down a few times just to see whether it's binding anywhere. Nothing that looks or sounds wrong. I'm not an electrical guy, so maybe you could let me know how I would check ( I can use a multimeter) for an open?)

Anyway, I bought a whole set of doors for this car (complete with glass, regulators, motors door locks etc). So I'm going to pull the pw motors from both the replacement doors and see if changing them out will work. Its not a high priority right now. Gotta go back to work next week so this will probably be a weekend project. Thanks for your input. If its the motors I'll post and let you know.

 

It does sound like some electrical contact in the motor itself.
Replace one with your spare and see how it goes before doing the other one...

 

Will get you a test procedure for checking the window motors without changing them monday if you like.All you will have to do is pull out the switches to axcess the wiring to the switch and we can pinpoint where the problem is.

 

You could test the spare motors you have by putting it in your bench vise and putting 12V to the motor to see if it moves. If it works then just switch the motors out. IF you still have a problem you know it is in the switch or wiring.

 

Maybe you should put 12 volts directly to the motors you already have in the door. That would save a lot of removal time. If they work with direct power than its not the motor.
I had trouble with the motors in my starfire. I took the motors apart and lubed the gears lightly sanded the contacts and now they work fine. i figure I cant break them if there already broke

 

if my memory serves me correctly, the newer power windows have a reversing feature that prevent little fingers from getting caught in them. maybe it's a sensor like that

 

Ok, this morning it's only 63 degrees outside. Start the car for the trip to the office. What the heck, I thought I'd try the rear windows. Both of them rolled down and back up. So I played with them for a few minutes like a kid with a new toy. Up down up down up down etc till I was tired of having so much fun. (yawn) My thinking was that if the windows just needed to have the lube on the regulators and gears "massaged" a little, this might do it.

At work, one of the mechanics suggested that if I used a heavier gauge wire to the motor, there would be less resistance in the heat and the motor should work all the time. Didn't make sense to me because these cars were marketed to cold climates (like here) and hot climates (like Texas and Nevada) so the wiring should be able to withstand the test of whatever.

Crunch time. 1600 I'm out at the car. Fire it up. Temp gauge says it's 86 degrees outside. I wonder if..... WTH???? The rear windows worked even in the heat. So I rolled them down and up a few times just to test my luck. They kept going. Did find one thing though. The switch at the right rear door panel either isn't hooked up right or something because it's not working. The other one is fine. Going to try it again tomorrow and see if today was just a fluke. Crossing my fingers, cause in my opinion Olds should work like a finely oiled machine every time.

 

That is odd. Maybe it is just the switch or something...

 

If they stop working again disconnect the wiring connectors to both rear switches install test light between the dark green and the purple wires on the left rear window wiring connector, try to roll up and down the window from the main switch panel when you do the test light should come on in both directions if not we have a problem in the wiring to the front switch panel. The same can be done for the right side rear window using the light green and the purple wires. This checks the wiring from the front switch to the rear switches.

 

Yup, according to the wiring schematic my mechanic printed for me, those are exactly the ones I had planned to attack first. Thanks for the tip. BTW this problem seems to be intermittent. Today one window worked and one didn't regardless of temp. I think it might be the motor(s) but I'll try these suggestions everyone is giving first before trying to replace them. Anyone know off hand if the motors are riveted in or bolted?

 

Ok, update time.
Got my doors back from the body shop. All the power window motors are intact. Good news. The window motors are held in by 3 10mm nuts. Relatively easy in/out. While the doors apart, shoot some contact cleaner on the connectors and use a toothbrush on them, then squirt them clean and let them dry. Reinstall new motors, re-connect the connectors. I suspect they were a little loose too at the start, but they're good now. There is power to the motor and both switches and the window is working properly now. Thx for all the tips and support.