power window glitches

[wambus]

I have been making progress on my/my son's Supra regarding suspension parts and other safety inspection related issues. Problem now is the driver's side window and stuff on the hatch. I am assuming that like my wife's old Voyager, the wires going through to the doors are cracking and then actually breaking and will need to be repaired in some fashion. Is this the norm or are window switches or motors prone to failure at some point? Just trying to determine if I need to run a continuity check on ALL the wires. If wire replacement is called for, what method do you all recomend? I actually spliced the wires in my wife's van in the openning between the door and the pillar- was not pretty and I will not do that here. I was thinking of butt splices in the door and under the dash with a new wire pulled through using the old one. Any suggestions? No AC - need to open window and would like to just get to it ainstead of figuring out HOW to do it...

Thanks

[bgrieger]

I've never seen the wires have a problem. The switches however are almost guaranteed to fail at some point. They carbon up on the contacts over time. The solution is to very carefully disassemble and clean, or replace. It is not a hard job, but tedious as everything is spring loaded in there. If you don't take it slow you have the insides of a switch sprayed all over the room.

[wambus]

It just seems odd that it is just the passenger window - both switches. The driver window operates perfectly. For a while i could reach over and use the switch on the passenger door, but not now...

Any special tips on the switches, other than avoiding "SPROINGGGG"?

[Jeeves]

Originally Posted by wambus

It just seems odd that it is just the passenger window - both switches. The driver window operates perfectly. For a while i could reach over and use the switch on the passenger door, but not now...

Any special tips on the switches, other than avoiding "SPROINGGGG"?

Those switches are nightmareish. They are the epitome of 80's design. Overly complex, 12039123 tiny pieces, and parts that fail often. I've actually got the plastic clip from a $1.29 mechanical pencil holding my passenger switch together.

When you get it open, be VERY careful to note where pieces come from. You've got copper rocker arms, small springs, plastic pieces, etc. Real quick here're my notes.

The pieces that often get corroded/fail to function are in the base contacts and the rocker arms.
[img]http://www.**********s.com/supra/windowswitch.png[/img]

I'm also not drawn some parts intentionally, as they'd get in the way. You'll have lots of little screws, a plastic cover or two, and the actual rocker switch will snap out too. etc.

Often the tips on that copper rocker arm get dirty or nasty from arc-ing. In mine, I took a dremel with a wire brush tip, and cleaned both bits till they shined something fierce. They've worked great (minus the window coming off the track) since. I also did the same things to the copper contact points on the bottom half of the switch. Applying a little lithium grease to the sliding white pressure point (which resides in the stem of the switch itself) will add a little life and make sure that it doesn't get stuck in its track.

Note: With the driver side controls unplugged, the passenger side won't function.

[wambus]

Many, many thanks for that tutorial! Maybe I can just put a residential style three-way switch in there in stead..... Would one switch being bad cause the other not to function - as though it was unplugged?

[Jeeves]

The problem is that the switches rely on each other to function and as I've mentioned they're overly complex (including their wiring). I'd love to find a newer model vehicle and retrofit in the window controls, but I feel my desires might be unrealistic.

One switch being bad could cause the other to fail, but when/where is tough in that case. Personally, I'd go through, clean all the contacts and such, check wires as you do it, then plug it all back in. Often this tune up will fix many issues and if it doesn't fix them will give you an idea where to look next.

[wambus]

I did the repair on the driver's side only (so far). The passenger window works fine now. You weren't lyin' about the complex switch - resistors on a circuit board.... I was working over a small dish pan and little parts kept dropping off like fleas from a dead dog. I think the hardest part was getting the driver's window rocker switch pin free - fear of breaking the mounting tabs there...

[Jeeves]

Yup. It's definitely early 80's technology right there. I've got super glue and makeshift parts in all sorts of places for those bloody switches.