My Power Window Struggle / 1993 93 Camry

[granadaCoder]

My wife came home 2 days ago, and the front drivers side window was stuck.
Midway down.

I searched the forums and internet, and found a few articles.

The one (very good) DIY switch article.
And the many threads about the wires between the door and the body.

..

I took apart the switch.
WARNING: Do this on a clean flat table with good light.
Keep the finger switches UP (like it is in the car) when you pull the cover, so the springs and "butterfly"/"toggle"/"seesaw" things don't go all over the place.
I was lucky, and with the DIY article, didn't screw this up.

NOTE: The switch (internal workings) of the Drivers Side Front Window is significantly different than the others (for those of you who this one window out)

I ended up doing the clean and file at the DIY article. I filed the plastic finger switch down a little.
I put it back to together.
It worked for a few seconds. I got the window up.
THEN NOTHING?

Huh?

I took the switch back apart and there was one spring got off its perch, and shorted something.

CRAP. I was almost done. Learn from my mistake and be careful putting the switch back together. Actually, you should put it together, take it apart, just to take sure your "gentle touch" is gentle enough not to move the springs or butterfly/toggle/seesaw things.

Well, NO POWER to anything in the door.

I check all the fuses by the turn signal (the little door that opens up with the normal fuses behind it). All work. (using a test light).

I check the front fuses. No issues.

Well, I've learnt one thing with this camry. When you think you've found all the fuses, you haven't.

I google, and find out there is a 30 amp fuse above and to the right of the "normal" fuses near the turn signal (drivers left knee area).

I figure out I have to remove the main bottom panel below the steering wheel. I'm talking about the 7 inch by 24 inch main panel, covering up most of the stuff below the steering wheel. 4 10mm nut-screws and a small screw near the "normal" fuse box (by the drivers left knee area).

There is a 30 amp fuse that you can get now. Sure enough, it was blown.
So (at least in this 1993 Camry) this 30 amp fuse is the big fuse controlling the main power out to that switch.

I'm off to the part store for a big 30 amp fuse.

Hopefully, when I get it all wired back up, all windows will work.

I'm sure all this information is available somewhere in these forums, but I thought I'd outline what I experienced.

I think I'm gonna order a new switch, since we are planning on keeping the car for a while.
All the contact points in this switch are very "burnt". It just seems like a device built to wear out.


I'll try to report back the final outcome.

THANKS for all the previous posts. If you're reading this ( or other posts ) you should always pay-back and tell your experience. Sometimes it takes a few perspectives to help others (as others have helped you, or you wouldn't be here at all, right??).

..


I'm not sure of the exact/correct name, but this
JCASE HIGH AMP FUSE, PINK 30 AMP
when I googled it, shows the type/shape of the 30 amp fuse I'm talking about. As in, its not the blade type fuses that you usually see in late 80's,90's,2000's cars.

[granadaCoder]

I put it all back together.

Now the window (which was originally stuck) works (This was the FRONT DRIVERS).

BUT the 3 other windows don't.
They won't work from the main control in the drivers front door.
AND they don't work from their individual switches.

So I screwed something up, either taking the switch apart, or accidently shorting the system.

Geeze.

I'm ordering a new switch.

Anybody else got any hints??

This sucks.

[Kep]

Sorry to hear of all of your travails. You have been through a lot.

For what it is worth, if there is a problem in the driver side it can affect all of the other doors. The broken-wire-in-the-bundle is the most common culprit since they flex each time you open and close the door and the driver side is the one that you do that the most with. However, since you were working on the switch I would encourage you to verify its operation and the connections at the various wiring harnesses that you disconnected and connected. I expect that you are looking for a common ground that has somehow gotten disconnected or broken. I believe that there are two grounds coming in to the master switch. An interesting test is to bring a temporary ground wire to the door and connect it where the permanent ground wire is. If you get things to work you know that the problem is from that point back to the body of the car. Unfortunately, I don't remember which two wires (more) are the grounds. You'll need to check a schematic.

Luck,
Kep

[granadaCoder]

Ok. Thanks for the followup.

I've gotten so frustrated with this thing, I can't think straight.

The temp-ground solution is a good thing to try.

Of course, I gotta figure out which color or number (1-14) the original ground is.
I have a PDF I downloaded, so I think it will tell me the wire-color.

But yeah, the temp-ground test will definately show me which fork in the road I'm on. Thanks for getting my mind straight.

..

My A/C compressor blew 2 weeks ago...and now the windows don't work.
Talk about a catch-22.
I think you had the "melted compressor goo" post as well.

[Kep]

Yep that was me. I am in the middle of cleaning out my AC system (can't afford new condensor & evaporator) and replacing my compressor. I figure in another couple of weeks I'll have AC again. Next is tracking down (hopefully not) a potential head gasket leak.

Remember, multiple grounds to the door.

Kep

[cruisn76]

Have you checked the WINDOW LOCK button on the master windows switch??

maybe when you put the whole thing back together you might have pressed it in??? Usually the WINDOWS LOCK button locks all but one window, which is the drivers window. Worth a try

[Kep]

^+1

Kep

[granadaCoder]

I'll try that suggestion as well.
The weekend is finally here, so I can pee around with it.


http://www.**********s.com/camry/camry94wiring.pdf
Page 156 of 307 is the Power Window.

Looks like the ground wires are blue (?)

I guess I'll find out soon.

Thanks.

[granadaCoder]

Me. I win this week's award.

.........

When I took the switch apart, apparently the little spring for the "lock out other users" switch flew out (unbeknownst) on me.

I didn't know it existed when I put it back together.

Thanks to the clue above, I was like "Let me check the click switch". Well, there was no "click" like there was before (this is the lock-out-button).

So I went back to my desk, and looked around. And there, in a little 5" x 7" x 3" red box I have for my drill bits, there was the little spring.

It took a bit, but I got it all back together, and the "click click" returned to the lock-out button.

Man. I think when I saw that spring that got loose, I got so focused on the fuse and stuff, it didnt' occur to me that I doomed myself by killing the lock-out switch. Hind sight it makes perfect sense,...if you want to lock-out the other windows, somewhere you gotta break the circuit. And killing the ground wire to the other switches makes perfect sense.


So I can now put everything back together.

Lessons Learned:

Always use a clean flat desk or table when taking apart switches or anything with springs. That pretty much saved me, because I at least knew my spring had to be somewhere on my desk since it was missing.

The 3 windows (not the drivers front) GET THERE GROUNDING THROUGH THE MAIN POWER WINDOW SWITCH. Again, its obvious now, not so obvious in 97 degree heat when you're frustrated.

So if you have the 3 non-primary windows not working, checking the ground wires is a good place to start. They could be ripped in the area between the door and car body as well (as previously noted by Kep).

A test-light can do wonders for diagnosing this thing.

At the end of the day, outside of my brainiac moment of messing-up the grounding system.
I took the switch apart.
I cleaned the dirty contacts.
I put it back together, making sure the springs AND (duh) the lock-out switch were correct.

I used the DIY post to figure out that I could grind down some of the plastic on the drivers side front toggle switch.

I tested the harness. My 1993 Camry had a green and red wire (#1 and #13 if my memory is correct) which operated the drivers side front window.
Using the test light, I saw the switch was working correctly when I used the toggle switch.

Hindsight says I should have tested the green and red wire BEFORE doing the plastic filing. Maybe the cleaning helped it. Maybe the filing helped it.

After seeing the insides of that switch, IMHO that thing is doomed to eventually fail. It's almost like a "point ignition system" on a 1960's distributor. Contact points that arc, blacken the contract points, and eventually wear out.

So while I'm not overjoyed I bought a new switch (should arrive today), I'm not disgusted either.

Good luck. I hope my drama will at least help someone in the future.

My 1994 Corolla has manual windows. I'll NEVER say to myself "I wish it had power windows".

Thanks guys for the tips. They got me going in the right direction.

..

[cruisn76]

Good job.

Now that will cost you some cookies and milk.