Quick Stuck Power Window Repair
Even though Valley Auto Loans is widely known for helping individuals get a guaranteed auto loan, we also know a thing or two about the mechanics of a vehicle as well.
If your car’s power window just stopped working, your power window is stuck down and you need to get it closed, there are a couple of tricks that anyone can do.
Within a few minutes, you may be able to get the window to close without any tools or mechanical ability to do electric window repair.
Broken Power Window Repair Anyone Can Try
If you have no mechanic skills, we can show you “how to close a stuck power window” without any tools right where you are with a few easy steps.
As you read through this blog we will give you a better understanding of what the problem may be so the tricks we show you will be more effective in getting the window closed.
You also may be able to use your gauges to find the problem.
Close the broken window with no tools.
Check the power window wire harness and switch.
Reconnect the drive gear or cable with the window track.
Identifying The Car Window Problem
The solution for closing a broken power window will make more sense if you have a good understanding of what is wrong with your broken power window and will make it easier for you to get it to close with the motor.
I will start by explaining the most common power window problems that cause your window not to roll up and show you how to fix a power window stuck down temporarily.
- If your window went down then will not go up, and you have never had a problem with it coming off track or out of the track then we can narrow the problem to just three areas in the system.
- The driver door window gets used more times than any of the other car windows, so it is common for this window to give you trouble first. The driver’s door window is almost always related to problems with the window motor.
- The passenger door or other door window problems are usually centered around bad switches.
The major components of a power window are:
- The window track or drive cable.
- The window regulator assembly and the power window motor.
- The wire harness and the rocker switch that controls the direction of the window glass.
- In most cases, the drive motor is the first to go bad. If your car has an amp gauge or a voltage gauge (shown below) with an indicator needle in your dash instruments, this can aid in finding the problem.
If your vehicle just has a red warning light for the charging system, then you will not be able to do the next step, and you can move on down to “Close the window, try this first.”
Your Amp Gauge Can Help Locate The Problem.
First, let us see if the problem is in the motor or wiring. This sounds complicated but is easy to do.
With the engine turned off, turn your key on until the gauge powers up but do not run the car engine. Watch the gauge and press the window button up and down.
Watch carefully to see if the needle moves even the “smallest amount” without the window moving when you rock the window switch.
Your door window problem is in the power window motor if the needle moves when you press the window switch.
If the amp or volt gauge does not move, the problem could be in the window switch or wire harness for the window regulator. If this is the case, we will show you what to do later in this post.
To Close The Window, Try This First.
An electric car window motor has lots of little contacts running around the center shaft of the motor, and the contacts can short out or loose connection in one spot on the armature.
The car window motor will eventually have to be replaced, but for now, you may be able to close it with the window motor.
If you can get the motor to bump to the next contact on the armature, it will start running again until it is parked or stopped on that bad contact again.
To do this, you will need to jar the motor while you push the window switch.
We will show you how to do this without removing the door panel or use any tools. This can get the window closed and give you time to get the power window repaired later when it is convenient.
The easiest way to do this is to turn on the key to power the windows first and clear everything out of the way of the door. Then slam the door hard while holding the door window switch to the up position.
If you do not have any luck after several attempts, find a place in the center of the door panel that looks like it comes in contact with the inner braces of the door. (Usually just above the lower door pocket is a safe place.) With the door shut, push and hold the window up switch and hit the door panel with your fist or a blunt object like a thick book several times.
Use caution, so you do not damage any part of the door panel or break any plastic molding.
Usually, this will jar the window regulator motor that is mounted in this area behind the lower panel, and the window will go up.
Sometimes you can get it to move by hitting the door while you rock the window switch up and down.
If Your Car Window Is On A Circuit Breaker
Many new cars have automatic windows that will go all the way down and then shut off, so you do not have to hold the switch. These windows are protected by a circuit breaker, not a fuse.
This means that if there is a problem with the stuck window stop sensor, it will simply trip the breaker, and the window will fail to operate.
If this is your issue, you will just have to wait for about thirty seconds for the breaker to cool, and it will reset automatically, and then you can try again.
If the window starts up then stops again before it reaches the top, the circuit breaker is not getting enough time to cool down properly before resetting.
If you wait a little longer before you try to close the window, it will probably close without stopping.
If this is your problem, you do not need a replacement motor, and you may find the window works OK if you stop lowering the window just before it reaches the bottom of the track each time.
If this is the case, you can use the window without getting a window motor repair right away.
Broken Electric Car Window Wires or Bad Switches.
If the car window fix tricks above did not help, then you may have a broken wire harness or a bad window switch.
Most of the standard rocker switches have copper contact pads and paddles that sweep across the contact pads.
These have a tendency to get burned inside from sparking at the contacts and will eventually stop making contact.
Rocking the switch repeatedly will sometimes wear off some of the gunk and make a clean spot for the contact. If this gets the window to operate the switch will still have to be replaced soon, or it will lose contact and break again. (This problem is also common with power locks.)
On older cars and some new cars, there is a place where the wire harness bends back and forth when the door is open and closed.
Over time, the copper wires inside break and make a gap inside of the wire itself, causing power windows and sometimes the door locks to stop working.
This is more prevalent in older cars because car manufacturers have become aware of this problem and have designed harnesses to flex without severe bending.
To check your car for this problem, open the driver’s door and look at the door jamb where the door hinges are connected to the door.
If the wire harness that connects the door to the car body has a thick rubber grommet mounted in the door with the wires running through it, ( this could look like a black rubber hose), then the wires could be broken inside from being bent back and forth from opening and closing the door.
To Close A Window With This Problem
Turn the key on to power the windows, hold the up window switch without letting go and move this wire harness around with your other hand.
Use caution, so the door will not close on your hand.Move it up and down and in and out of the grommet.
If the window starts to close, you have a broken wire, and you may need to keep working on it until the window is closed all the way.
Then you will not need to repair the power window, but you will need to have the wires in the harness repaired.
If The Motor Is Running But, The Window Will Not Move
If you can hear the power window motor running or window regulator grinding, but the window glass does not move then you have a cable or gearbox and window track problem.
You can try lifting the window with one hand and running the motor with the other until the actuator re-engages in an undamaged spot.
This process sometimes takes two people because of the force needed to move or lift the window while the switch is pushed.
Once the window is rolled back up, do not open it again until you get the car window track repaired, or it could fall out of the gear again.
We hope these tricks have helped you get the stuck window closed. If it did you will still need to get the power window repaired, but you will not have to cover the hole with tape and plastic.
Often, the window will continue to operate normally but remember the original problem still exists and will need to get the broken car window repaired.
Hopefully, you have a better understanding of the problem, and this may help you in getting someone qualified to do your power window repair or replace the motor and track.
For many other “How To” subjects visit Valley Auto Loan’s resource page or our information blogs.
We try to help drivers with simple problems that they can fix themselves and save on repair bills and the incontinence of being broken down.
We also have a new car and used car buyers guides that everyone should read before shopping for a car or auto loan financing. Good credit or bad credit auto loans are made easy with Valley Auto Loans.
They will help you negotiate the best car price with the most experienced car dealers and help to prevent you from being taken advantage of. We also have payment calculator tools that will help you estimate your payments and loan term.
Valley Auto Loans is your go-to person for the best experience in selecting, paying for and driving your new car.
