[swegmike]

Recently, my 2gen v6 le camrys drivers side window won't go down although it worked earlier.
I was having problems where this window and all the others go up and down slowly when engine is running. They are the original power window motors.

When my drivers door was replaced due to rust, I decided to replace the window weather stripping since the glass had damaged it over the years due to it coming out of the track when going up. Thus, I got the great looking weather strip at the junk yard along with the regulator and motor. After replacing all of this, it moved up and down alot quicker although the motor when activated causes the inside sheet metal panel to bow/flex out while working. Over time, there was an intermittent pause with the motor going up or down and then the motor would continue moving the glass. There is no binding as far as I could tell.

Then one day, it stopped working and wouldn't go down. I took the panel apart and ohmed out the switch. All the open/close continuities of the this drivers door switch for the other windows is good, However, the continuity is open on pins (7,8) to pin 6 but good to pin 13. Power and ground on the wiring is good - gets 12 v etc.

Thus, took the switch apart and here are the pics. You can see the black burn marks on the drivers window switch that is is associated with the "auto" on the button itself.

 

[swegmike]

Here are the pics for the electronics. You can see that the resistors and such aren't burn't or damaged and they ohm out across their terminals.

 

[swegmike]

Here you can see that the switch was cleaned up to remove all the carbon burnt soot. Also some of the contacts below the other window switch rockers (looks like V in the pics) also had carbon soot which was also removed. Perhaps this extra carbon on the contacts was causing the other windows to slow down going up/down because of the slight resistance caused by the carbon. The other pic shows the window lock button inserted before reassembly of the button assembly onto this switch. It makes reassembly very easy. The lock button just pops off so that the switch itself can be detached from the button housing and inserted into the slot in the electronic housing.

To clean the soot off, I used engine foamy bright and Q-tips. No sandpaper was used.

Be aware there are 5 tiny springs (shown in the pics taken from above) that help each of the buttons return back to position and also makes contact with the plated circuit board in the button housing (see the turned over button housing pic) that you don't want to loose.

Now pins (7,8) to pin 6 has continuity when switch activated for up position along with (7,8) to pin 13 for the down position.
All other switch contact verified along with the lock switch and door lock rocker switch.

I'll need to ohm out the motor windings and/or take the motor out to see if it works to eliminate anything that might cause the motor to pause on the way up/down. I have a dorman 742-600 motor on order to see if this makes any difference in the window speed going up/down, pausing and flexing of the interior metal panel that the regulator is bolted to.

 

[white90dx]

Another fun thing to check out:

Who wants an auto-up drivers side window?

Here's the thread on MR2OC: http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=35827&highlight=auto-up+window If you don't want to sign up for the forum, you can get most of the information off this link: http://mr2.gordaen.com/mods/10/index.php The Camry power window master switch is a bit different...

www.toyotanation.com

-Charlie

 

[swegmike]

Just came across a video on youtube that shows their switch in worst shape than mine. This person used a big file, but foamy engine brite and Q-tips work better. You can use an awl to poke/scratch the carbon off the various button contacts that the video shows as being temporarily removed to clean.

A great video on how to fix the power window motor and what caused it to act up to begin with - a dirty switch.

 

[swegmike]

website doesn't exist anymore. http://mr2.gordaen.com/mods/10/index.php

Maybe try this?Can we have full auto up/down power window switch?

 

[white90dx]

Oh, too bad. Basically, the driver's window switch has a 5th position (up up) that can be physically enabled by grinding a bit of plastic. Then, a diode can be places on the PCB that enables to auto-up feature electronically. The controller chip has both functions, but the 'up' feature is disabled for the US market... thanks, lawyers...

-Charlie

 

[swegmike]

Although the above links don't show the steps to do the drivers autoup window switch mod, there was a list of suggested links below the thread that TN provided. One of the links still works with all the necessary pics to do the mod. Of course my switch has the necessary two holes as shown in the pics.

Auto-up drivers window

I came across this thread on an auto-up driver's window by Charlie and wanted to give it a try on my 1990 Camry: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/102-1st-2nd-generation-1983-1986-1987-1991/345819-who-wants-auto-up-drivers-side-window.html It looks like Toyota designed these cars to have both...

www.toyotanation.com

Based on the pic of the schematic of this area of the switch, this FSM is more detailed than the FSM I bought. It shows the internal componenents, amplifier,, resistors, capacitors etc that make this the timer part work, vs. my generic box as shown in my FSM. I wonder if this FSM is for a newer Camry but it can't be to new since Toyotas FSM's are on line now.

Update: I bought a 1n4003 diode and my windows auto-up and auto-down now for the drivers window. Although the solder joints isn't that great, you can see it soldered to the outside of the circuit board andd which way the cathode (the bar) goes. I just ground down the switch tabs by hand on a coarse sanding disc.

 

[swegmike]

OK, everything seems to be working so far except having to fix the broken lock tabs for the drivers door window trim so that it stays attached. I'm still looking for replacement plastic parts. (see the post I added to the how to remove for door painting). I've also updated my previous post here to say that the auto-up/down now works based on the earlier post of adding a diode - one I could get quickly is the 1n4003 from hobbytown (they work with radio shack since radio shack is about 200 miles away and they are only 40 miles. Got part alot quicker than buying thru amazon that will take about 1.5 months to get at the present).

Earlier in this post, I had to clean the driver door window switch due to window not going up and an open due to carbon soot (see above). Moreover, the drivers door window motor was taken apart due to the window binding and the motor winding showing open resistance from motors wire connectors (not attached to window switch when measurements done). As I took old motor apart came across the following problems. 1). not enough grease to lube the cogged wheel and motors jack screw. 2) cog wheel center axle stuck/binding due to grease. In both cases the grease was dried out and hardened. I couldn't turn the cogged wheel by hand even when motor jack screw with the motor winding removed. 3). the ground (green) wires motor contact brush looked ok, but when touched, I could feel a dimple in the surface brushes that touch the motors commutator whereas the battery red wire motor contact brush felt ok. The pics shows the difference for the contact brushes vs. what my eyeballs didn't see. There is plenty of motor brush left and the springs still flex back and forth to hold them against the motor winding commutator. (note: Toyotas design is well done vs. the cheap contact brushes that have to be bent to make contact).

You'll notice in these pics and those to follow, that I added arrows and text to explain and point to different areas in the pics.

 

[swegmike]

Some more pics show the old drivers door power window motor taken completely apart. If I regrease everything, and add the rubberized jelly I dug out for the two wires that attach to the housing and reseal the cover back on with RTV, everything should work again. The only issue then would be for how long would the motor work due to the ground side motor contact brush having a dimple. I could take a round metal file to see if it could be ground smooth to fix this problem.

 

[swegmike]

Now heres the new DORMAN motor 742-600 driver door motor pics. I show the old and new motor side-by-side to show how the housing doesn't have the cutout. This causes a very tight fit when the regulator with motor are bolted back onto the drivers door. I show a pic with text pointing to it along with text stating I had to elongate the hole to the left of it so that the bolt could be put back in without stripping it.

I also show a pic of the new cable supplied (3 were part of the package but only one needed using the correct connector). Then another pic with text stating that the red and black wires that attach to the new motors connector had to be switched else the window goes up instead of down when the drivers door window switch is selected to go down.

 

[swegmike]

The DORMAN 742-600 motor doesn't come with the three holes pre-threaded to hold the regulator mounting bolts. So I tapped them to 6mmx1.0. The only problem is that the original bolts were smaller diameter around 5mm. Oh well! I was still able to bolt it onto the regulator using some spare 6mmx1.0 bolts as used to hold the regulator onto the interior of sheet metal of the door.

The new motor is completely in, the driver door switch fixed and modded to go auto-up and auto-down, the regulator tracks lubbed with silicon grease, and the front/rear rubber windows channels sprayed with silicon spray. After all this does it work like new? No. Although the window goes up and down and doesn't strain as much anymore nor is it really slow when going up, and comes down quickly, it still goes out of the window track intermittently on the way up. Approximately every 3 to 4th down/up of the window. The motor doesn't get hot either. Thus I must, move and hold the window in its track near the door lock. It's been adjusted numerous times, but will slide back and forth horizontally about 1/8 inch front to back when the window is raised about 2 inches from the bottom. It starts to come out of the track in the guide at the door lock and then tilts slightly down in the front window guide. Holding it in place while going the rest of the way up will then stay in the track. If I start the window back up to about 2 inches above the bottom of the window opening and stop, and then wiggle the window either horizontally or in/out (that is pushing the window edge towards the outside of the car) back and forth around the door lock slightly, it will easily pop out of its window guide.

Note: My passenger door, and the two rear doors stay in their window guides perfectly. They also can't be slid back and forth horizontally regardless of where they are - at the bottom or somewhere inbetween. So part of the solution is to figure out why the passenger door works so good and adjust the drivers door accordingly. Also, I had replaced the drivers rusted out door with a used one and when the window still came out of track, I then got a great window channel rubber, regulator and front channel guide from a used car at the junk yard. Although the used rubber channel isn't damaged like my original, this made no diffrence in keeping the window in its window guide. Why did I get the used regulator and front window channel off the used car? Because, the window channel rubber was in great shape so I assumed the regulator and front window guide was the reason and got them! In the end, the window still came out of the window guide track.

So the solution to all of this besides replacing the window regulator (although I have a new DORMAN regulator for both drivers and passenger front doors still sitting in the box along with a new dorman drivers power window switch) will be described below once I get the info organized to post. Stay tuned.

Also in doing research on this, apparently newer cars need to do a power window motor reset. This is done to make sure the motor shuts off when the windows gets fully closed. Typically one needs to hold the power window up button about 5-6 seconds to keep the motor running after the window reaches the top. They call this the power window motor reset!

 

[swegmike]

Article on replacing a camry window step by step -but for later model.
How to Replace the Door Glass, Glass Guide, Window Regulator, and Regulator Motor on a Camry (With Video)

Articles on window reset
How to Reset Automatic Windows | YourMechanic Advice
Adjust window end position?
Camry Power Window Reset, window initialization — Ricks Free Auto Repair Advice

 

[white90dx]

Also in doing research on this, apparently newer cars need to do a power window motor reset. This is done to make sure the motor shuts off when the windows gets fully closed. Typically one needs to hold the power window up button about 5-6 seconds to keep the motor running after the window reaches the top. They call this the power window motor reset!

Yup. The auto window system on the gen2 Camry is just a current-sense chip and a relay that get released a short period after the motor stops (current draw rises when an electric motor stalls). Modern auto window systems need to know where they are so they can drop the window a bit if it detects something in the way of the window (pinch detection) - but they have to close correctly in normal use.

-Charlie

 

[swegmike]

There are two areas that I had to align on the drivers front door by measuring and matching the good passenger side power window.
The first area is where the outside window trim is attached and the spacing between the vertical post for the mirror and the inside panel.

a. To adjust the vertical post for the mirror panel and the inside panel, I used a 3/16 inch drill bit as a measuring tool to set the gap. Since my gap was less than 3/16 inch, I used a pry bar to help increase the spacing by about 1/32 inch. One must ensure that this spacing is not just denting the inside panel, but is increasing the spacing. See picture and the marked text in the pic.

b. Then I had to align the outside window trim metal holding tabs to the same dimensions as the passenger side front door window in 5 spots where each of the window trim snaps snap onto. I used a regular measuring tape from the rolled up window to the inside edge of the window trim metal tabs. The thickness of the spot welded metal sheets is 1/16 inch. The pic if zoomed in will show the measurements for each of the 5 positions shown with arrows and green numbers. note: these are as large a font size I could use in microsoft paint. My original distances from the glass were about 1/32-1/16 inch smaller causing the rubber seal on the window trim to squeeze together between the glass and the trim. Due to the age of this rubber getting hard after 30 years, I believe it to be part of the problem with the window glass coming out of the track when being rolled up/down due to tight fit causing binding.

I had planned to use a tie rod remover as a wedge to help with increasing this spacing, but when I tried to pry, the glass moved inwards and would have resulted in the glass breaking. Thus, I used a shop rag and linemans pliers to get on each of the number positions below and bend the window trim metal edge outwards until the measurement was reached. While I was doing this I had also bent the metal between the numbers to the same numbers but in a straight line to give the tappered increase in the measurement i.e. going from 5 to 6 then 6 to 7/16 inch.

The widths are as follows.
position:
1. 5/16 inch
2. 5/16 inch
3. 6/16 inch
4. 7/16 inch
5. 7/16 to 8/16(outside edge) and the vertical post for mirror.

Putting the window door trim on temporarily, the rubber doesn't appear to be as tight a fit any more although the end near the vertical mirror post shows about 1/16 inch gap vs. the passenger door. This is ok for now, unless I can adjust something to make it fit better.

 

[swegmike]

The next area to align the glass is to adjust the regulator equalizer bar and the front window guide. Also all the bolts holding the regulator on were tightened to 48 in-lbs max and the bolts holding the glass onto the regulator were tightened to 60 in-lbs. If tightened any more, one will start to strip the bolts and threads on the regulator. Yep! I did that and had to get more bolts and retap to 6mmx1.0 threads.

So to adjust all these, one needs to lower the window down the lowest position and make sure the window glass is sitting in both the rear and front window guide slots and firmly pushed to the back of the rear window guide. Then grab the front windows guide and pull it back as tight as possible to the front window glass edge and tighten the two bolts to 48 in-lbs. There will still be some horizontal front-to-back play (about 1/16 inch), but I couldn't remove this play vs. my passenger side front window in the same adjustment position. In the end, this extra play didn't cause any problems, but maybe over time it will.

The next thing to do, is press down on the regulator equalizer bar to the bottom where the bolt still can go thru to be attached. There are two bolts here. At first I thought the correct adjustment position was where ever this equalizer bar decided to come to rest when the window was lowered all the way down and then bolt it down. But, I just pressed down on this equalizer bar and tightened both bolts at the bottom of the vertical slot for it.

Update for equalizer bar based on FSM: The FSM states "Adjust the equalizer bar up or down and then tighten where dimension A=B are equal."

I assume the FSM adjustment applies to the rear windows too. I didn't go back and take everything apart to do this adjustment. I could compare it to the good passenger window to see where that adjustment is at.

 

[swegmike]

After doing the above adjustments, the following had to be done to eliminate the window coming out of its slotted window guide on the rear part of the window when it was being raised about 2-4 inches above the bottom of the window.

I came across this on autozone about how to adjust windows. It states that some windows need shims to control how the window tilts in or out on the vertical. These shims are controlled by a jack type screw to finely adjust/tune the window position. However, it also adds shims to the outside door shell near the center and between the shell and the glass, besides the jack screw at the bottom where the windows is attached to the regulator. The other position is to put a shim on the lower part of the front window guide rail between the rail and inner sheet metal that the bolt goes through. In this case, it pushes the front window guide rail towards the outside of the car. This will cause the window when going up to move to the inside and stay in the rail vs. going to the outside of the window guide.

Since my camry doesn't have fine adjustment jack screws for adjusting the window, other sites stated that the plastic/nylon attachments on the lower part of the glass that the bolt goes thru to be attached to the regulator are really shims. Autozone says shims can be added in 0.062 inch increments to adjust the window vertical tilt in/outward relative to the door. See black-n-white pics taken from autozones website along with reading the information in the link that goes with these. Note: The Toyota FSM doesn't mention using shims to adjust windows.

So I went to Truevalue and got a metal fender washer of around 1/4inch (6mm) with outside around 1 1/4 inch and 1/16 inch thick, and also a nylon one (since fender washers will rust over time). I then put the metal washer between the original plastic with bolt stud and the regulator mount and tightened to the 60 in-lbs. This allowed the window to go up and down to my hearts content without going out of the window guide track either start/stop or in auto mode. To make sure, I also added the nylon washer to the middle plastic with bolt stud and torqued the regulator mount to 60 in-lbs. I didn't add a smaller washer at the bottom of the front window guide between the guide and inside sheet metal where the bolt goes in.

So see the black-n-white autozone pics with weblink
Repair Guides

Also see my pics of the metal shim at the rear of the window regulator, and the middle (note pic doesn't show shim that I did add later). The pics have notes attached using microsoft paint.

Also note: I show the parts that would go on each of the three holes for the window. Originally I thought these were used only to protect the glass from breaking once the nut is bolted down on the regulator, but these really act as the original shim for the most part. Also the parts have the window stops, including the front of the window as shown in one of the pics. I've had dealership bodyshops in the past when fixing this door not put the L shaped window stops at the top of the inside door panel sheet metal and I had to get them from my spare used doors in storage to fix it since they aren't available anymore. Thus, when doing any door work, I take everything off now so they can't loose it. Hopefully, they don't damage or loose the glass itself one of these times.

 

[swegmike]

Now as a final test, I drove down the highway at 70 mph and rolled the window up and down in auto-mode and also in stop/start at different points of going up and down, and the window never came out of its track. I've attached a final pic to show the window all the way up and that the rubber around the window isn't being distorted and is correctly holding onto the window.

Update: After doing the test drive, I reattached the inside door panel and found spare outside glass window trim plastic snaps. I then had to add additional shims to the front window guide as shown below; however, I forgot to take a pic of the nylon washer 1/4 hole, 3/4 inch outside diameter and about 1/16 inch thick nylong washer (wont rust) to the lower front window guide bolt. This will push the front guide towards the outside of the door. The added benefit is to close the side-to-side channel gap that the window sits in creating some resistance so that the window can't slide horizontally front to back and to further reduce the window coming out of the window guide. Even though without the outside window glass trim and inside door panel, the glass stayed in its slot, when these were added, the hardened rubber of the inside panel was pushing the window slightly outside(but not completely) such that the glass bowed the rubber on the way up for the first 3-4 inches before settling back fully into the rubber channel. Thus, the slop was reduced down to about a slight 1/2 inch bowing of the rubber on the way up. I'm afraid if I put a shim of to much thickness that it will cause binding for the window on the way up that the motor will have to overcome. Thus, for now this is the best that can be done and unless one looks for it, one won't know its occurring.

Ive also attached the glass window trim pics of the yellow plastic retaining snap that has a center locking tab that breaks off during removal. These aren't available as a separate part number. It'd be nice to find an outside source for this part so that it can be gotten to fix broken locking tabs in the future. Four are needed per window glass trim piece.