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My powers windows and seats came back to life ( still need to swap the butcher fuse box)
came to the connection been loose , work for the all morning,decide to secure the box to go for a ride ,since we have a decent day
Long story short secure the box and windows and seats are dead again
Power to the wire and can hear the circuit breaker when I turn the car on ,or when I plug the wire
Any suggestions?
Thank you
68 Oldsmobile 98 4doors
Logic would suggest once you secured the fuse box, you lost power to the windows/seats therefore, I'd examine the area where you secured the wire(s) into the fuse box. Use a test light (circuit tester) and begin at a known good location where you have power then work your way along the length of each wire until you can identify the area/wire which no longer has power. Quite simple.
Can be purchased at any big box store (e.g. Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, etc.) or any automotive parts/supply store.
Having reviewed/assisted on your previous discussion RE: FUSE BOX (below). You seriously need to begin with a correct and functionally operating fuse box. If you haven't upgraded that fuse box, all bets are off.
In my ‘66’s, there’s a power relay in the driver’s side kick panel which provides voltage to both the power seat and the power windows. Worth investigating whether it’s on its last legs. If water / wear got in over the years, the contacts could be worn/burnt or otherwise not functioning.
The permanent fix is a new relay. The quick fix is polish up the contacts.
I have power up to the windows switch,but go down to 0 when I pick the buttons up or down and nothing happens
power at the breaker to red and white and one pink
No power to middle pink ,bad breaker?
Thank you
If both the power windows and the power seat don’t move when you switch them, it’s very likely the relay behind the driver’s side kick panel. These may be getting rare now. If you can’t find the correct one, get a few and try ‘em out by jumping the connections. There may be some aftermarket solutions to - dig around looking for Olds, Caddy, Pontiac and Buick relays.
If only some functions are not working, that’s generally broken wires. For example if the seat still moves, then the breaker is o.k., but if the windows don’t you may have broken wires in the door jamb conduit. Usually by this age, the rubber boots are broken enough or gone so you can see the actual window switch wires and tell if they’ve been repaired or are broken.
It should be possible to wire in a modern relay, but you'll need to figure out the pin out of the old one and figure out how to map it to a new one. Also you'll need it to be fairly high amperage since you're moving electric motors against springs and weight. I believe the old relays were rated at around 40 amps, that's a good starting point for a modern replacement. More amperage won't hurt if you find one that works.
Joe P or someone here may have made a diagram of how these things worked. Basically the GM ones were an energized magnetic coil which, when it got power, closed a high amperage switch. These days I think the design is completely different. You might check out Painless Wiring for modern relays. I know they sell them, I bought a kit for my accessories I've been very happy with. Basically I was trying to lighten the amperage load on 56 year old wires from modern electronics that GM never contemplated. I think I did a thread on it last year, look under my login if you're interested.
You can also check out ebay, junkyards and other sources for used GM ones. These will be hit & miss - they're just as old as yours and have probably been used just about as much. If you go this route get 5 or 6 in hopes of finding 1 or 2 good ones.
Also oldsobsolete.com might have a new old stock one that would be the exact right thing, but they are generally pretty pricey.
The original relay has a pink, orange, and red wire. Pink is the ignition wire to energize the relay with the key on. Orange is the power coming from the circuit breaker under the hood. Red is the wire that supplies power to the accessories (windows & seat). The original relay is grounded through the case. First, you should use a test light to see if you are getting ignition and battery power at the relay on the pink and orange wires respectively. With the relay case grounded, also test for power at the red wire on the relay with the key on. If there is no power at the red wire with the relay case grounded and the key on then yes, you probably need a new relay. It would be easy to wire in a modern relay, you just need to run a ground wire and place the other three wires on the correct pins (I could post a diagram if you wanted to go this route). However, original replacement relays are available. If you type "GM power window relay" into ebay, you will see many listings that will work. One thing to keep in mind is that GM used a few different pin orientations/ plug styles on these relays. You will need to see which one you have before ordering.
See example images below for the difference in plug styles:
Last edited by Loaded68W34; Mar 5, 2023 at 04:59 PM.
