[ToyotaRIMD]

Need your guidance on 1999 Camry power window motor or regulator diagnosis?
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Thanks for your input to my earlier threads.

1) My 1999 Camry power window acts weirdly. I am able to bring down the window quickly, but I find difficult to bring it up.


2) The other window came down, but did not go up. As I pressed the switch, I hear motor rotating sound. :frown:

It moves little by little. It moves little. If I press the PW button , it will not respond. I need to wait for awhile to move up little. The mechanic suggest to change the PW motor and another mechanic suggest to change PW regulator + motor together.


I did review some old threads on this subject, where they suggest to look into door boot for cracked wires. There were some links to photos/videos, but those were broken.


Is there a way to test with multimeter for voltage/continuity to isolate the issues (broken wire, bad switch, bad motor etc)?


I did check the flow in connector comes to window switch after removing the connector from switch. I find 1st two pins shows 12V, but other pins shows 0 .





Thanks for sharing. :nerd:

 

[qqzj]

Just get an ebay motor and regulator combo to begin with. These items on 4th gen Camry are not very well designed/built. Mine is 17 years old and I have replaced three out of the four. And the front driver side is dying again. So OEM is not necessarily much better than eBay stuff, which only costs less than $30 each. Highly recommended.

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks for your reply/sharing.


How did you determine that is Regulator combo issue? Is there a specific diagnostic to follow?


For 2nd window:


"2) The other window came down, but did not go up. As I pressed the switch, I hear motor rotating sound."


What is the cause for this? Is it regulator or motor or both?


I did check in rockauto. They are selling Motor's without connector. Is it easy to re-use the old connector in existing one with new one? Are those connectors clip kind or hard soldered one?


Good to hear from you about your Ebay parts experience.


I did find many items of this kind in Ebay. There are mixed opinions to buy from EBAY.


How long your Ebay part serve? Did you return ebay parts, because it was not fitting with holes or not working reason?


Do you mind sharing Ebay seller info (via PM, if you do not want to post here)?


Thanks for sharing.

 

[BMR]

I've purchased several window regulators from 1A Auto on eBay. They're not the cheapest, but they're not expensive either, at ~$40 each for the complete assy including the motor. I just recently had to re-replace the driver's door reg after ~8 years. The cable frayed and started making ugly noises. Your Camry's regulator is the scissor-type, though. So the cable failing isn't a possibility for yours.

They also have a website, if you'd prefer to not use eBay: https://www.1aauto.com/

If you wanna go with OEM, Toyota of Cool Springs has them for ~$70-100 + shipping, depending on which one you need.
https://parts.toyotaofcoolsprings.c...-l4-gas-engine/body-cat/glass-front-door-scat

 

[qqzj]

Sorry, I did not even bother to properly diagnose. These things are not supposed to last forever. Once you decide not to use OEM parts, ebay motor/regulator combo is not that expensive. So it is a no-brainer to me. The only risk is whether the ebay parts will work well. Here is the complete story of my experience with ebay parts. You can see that I don't dislike the product or the seller even though the product is not perfect.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...eeded-install-ebay-rear-window-regulator.html

Thanks for your reply/sharing.


How did you determine that is Regulator combo issue? Is there a specific diagnostic to follow?


For 2nd window:


"2) The other window came down, but did not go up. As I pressed the switch, I hear motor rotating sound."


What is the cause for this? Is it regulator or motor or both?


I did check in rockauto. They are selling Motor's without connector. Is it easy to re-use the old connector in existing one with new one? Are those connectors clip kind or hard soldered one?


Good to hear from you about your Ebay parts experience.


I did find many items of this kind in Ebay. There are mixed opinions to buy from EBAY.


How long your Ebay part serve? Did you return ebay parts, because it was not fitting with holes or not working reason?


Do you mind sharing Ebay seller info (via PM, if you do not want to post here)?


Thanks for sharing.

 

[slavie]

Had similar issue in mine - the motor will go down, but going back up was a challenge to say the least. I would have to raise it an inch, then wait a minute.

What I think is happening is this: these are "simple" motors (as opposed to stepper motors in some other cars), and the switch relies on resistance to stop. The motor does not know when it's open or closed, the switch stops it when the window hits a stop and motor resistance spikes up. On the flip side, when the motor is about to die, it starts drawing more and more power to the point that the switch thinks it's too much and stops (as it the window is closed). Waiting a minute for things to cool down reduces resistance some, allowing you to move the window a bit more.

I replaced my motor with an OEM used one from eBay for $25 shipped, and that window now works better (faster, smoother) than all my other windows!

The aftermarket motors are same per side - left front and back is same, right front and back is same (motor ONLY, the "scissor lift" is different). The difference is that they have to be wired differently - 2 pins flipped from front to back. I actually bought a rear window for my front, with the hope of getting a "fresher" motor as rears don't get used as much. I had to remove the pins from the connector and flip them, other than that it bolted right up.

As for your other side where you hear the motor - it could be stripped gear or regulator. I would just purchase the whole assembly, it's only like $10-15 more.

Hope this helps while it's still fresh in my memory! (from yesterday...)

 

[luvmy98camry]

A stepper motor based window regulator would be pretty expensive to build without much value.

A stepper motor would need an expensive driver and limit switches as sensors at the minimum. Each motor would also need to be calibrated.

Do this 4x times per car and the costs of the car add up quick.

Just look at the costs of the damn stepper motor base thttle body/idle valve designs on modern cars.

Most window regulators follow a simple current line sensor design - a motor that's not rotating will essentially be a short and draw significant amount of current than a motor that's running.

Hence, the "limit switch/stop" has to be a simple current line sensor.

As soon as the current draw exceeds the typical current expected, power to the motor is cut.

The problem with these regulators are the little gears that break/wear.

Going down, the strain on the gear is not as much as the strain on the gear going up.

Just douse the whole mechanism in CRC white lithium grease from time to time (without getting any on the glass)

This is what I do at $30/pop and all my customers are happy. The hardest work is taking the damn door panel out.

 

[luvmy98camry]

For you electrical engineers here that "motor that's not rotating will essentially be a short and draw significant amount of current" is the Stalling current. I know, I know, I have to use the right terms, but I am just learning!

 

[slavie]

A stepper motor based window regulator would be pretty expensive to build without much value.

A stepper motor would need an expensive driver and limit switches as sensors at the minimum. Each motor would also need to be calibrated.

Do this 4x times per car and the costs of the car add up quick.

Just look at the costs of the damn stepper motor base thttle body/idle valve designs on modern cars.

Ya ya. Have you heard of Germans? I guess not. Germans over-complicate things because they can - a wise man once said. My Porsche has a stepper motor for the moon roof as well, because, you know, why not!

 

[qqzj]

Ya ya. Have you heard of Germans? I guess not. Germans over-complicate things because they can - a wise man once said. My Porsche has a stepper motor for the moon roof as well, because, you know, why not!

Seeing that both Ford and Chrysler shut their car business in US, the German may have made the right choice. Because if they don't, they will be sliced and diced by Toyota and Honda just like Ford and Chrysler. I guess GM is the biggest winner now since it will have a monopoly on the rental market.

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks for your replies/suggestion.


As you purchased the Window regulator from EBAY, did you find good installation steps to put the regulator in from EBAY?


I did review couple of videos from YOUTUBE, some suggests different steps.


I find in various threads folks talks about fragile door handle and removing it little tricky without breaking it.


Do you mind posting videos links for that worked for your Window regulator replacement?:


1) Door panel removal that shows correct steps to address door handle removal?


2) Taking out and putting in the window regulator, that shows correct positioning of Glass piece, removal sequence of bolts, taking the seals from water proof cover etc.


3) How do we put the seal back into water proof cover?


Thanks for sharing.

 

[qqzj]

I did find a few good youtube video on removing door panels. But no luck for installing the regulator. So I just went ahead and did it myself. It is not hard. Do it slowly and you can figure out the rest. I do not remember the seal is ever a problem.

 

[luvmy98camry]

I find in various threads folks talks about fragile door handle and removing it little tricky without breaking it.

Buy that $5 trim removal plastic (blue or yellow) toolset from HF. Don't use screwdriver.

Be patient

3) How do we put the seal back into water proof cover?

Look at one of my threads. I'm too lazy to find it. The experts here suggested how to take it apart without tearing and the 3M paste to use to put it back.

If you are careful enough, you will not only save the sheet but be able to stick it back like new.

Ya ya. Have you heard of Germans? I guess not. Germans over-complicate things because they can - a wise man once said. My Porsche has a stepper motor for the moon roof as well, because, you know, why not!

I have worked on quite a new BMWs and MBZs. I won't say over-complicated, I would say more featureful.

For example, the brakes are more complicated because their design allows more stopping power and better ventilation/cooling.

It required me to look around a bit to get the whole system in and then understand how everything came together to provide more stopping power and better ventilation/cooling.

I am interested in knowing more about the stepper based design - how do you know it's a stepper and not a geared motor?

steppers have very poor torque and are really meant for accurate positioning.

Where can I read more? >

 

[insightbrewery]

I have worked on quite a new BMWs and MBZs. I won't say over-complicated, I would say more featureful.

Liar

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks for your replies. I did find on internet conflicting info about grease use in window regulators. As we know, Toyota 1999 Camry regulators have metal & plastic component, what is the correct grease to use for rails/tracks?


Will lithium grease damage plastic components?


Thanks for sharing.

 

[insightbrewery]

Thanks for your replies. I did find on internet conflicting info about grease use in window regulators. As we know, Toyota 1999 Camry regulators have metal & plastic component, what is the correct grease to use for rails/tracks?


Will lithium grease damage plastic components?


Thanks for sharing.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Honda-08798-9013-Silicone-Grease/dp/B00GD49GTS

Used it for years on everything ever since I got my Insight (coupe-hatchback, so long doors and giant window glass that overtaxes the regulators). Works great.

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks for your replies. I find CRC heavy duty silicone spray. Is it same as the one in url?


Am I able to CRC heavy duty silicone spray to lubricate Window regulator metal/plastic components?


Thanks for sharing.

 

[insightbrewery]

Thanks for your replies. I find CRC heavy duty silicone spray. Is it same as the one in url?


Am I able to CRC heavy duty silicone spray to lubricate Window regulator metal/plastic components?


Thanks for sharing.

Dunno, the Honda stuff is more of a paste.

 

[slavie]

Thanks for your replies. I find CRC heavy duty silicone spray. Is it same as the one in url?


Am I able to CRC heavy duty silicone spray to lubricate Window regulator metal/plastic components?


Thanks for sharing.

Toyota recommends their white lithium spray, but any lithium based grease should work. Equally as important, clean out the rubber window tracks, as those are usually the ones that provide the most resistance. Rubber dries up, drags more, that sort of thing. I'm not sure what kind of grease, if any, you should use on the rubber bits, but at least clean them out well.

 

[luvmy98camry]

Liar

Ha ha, are you saying I've been brainwashed too much by the Bimmerfest guys? >

Toyota recommends their white lithium spray, but any lithium based grease should work. Equally as important, clean out the rubber window tracks, as those are usually the ones that provide the most resistance. Rubber dries up, drags more, that sort of thing. I'm not sure what kind of grease, if any, you should use on the rubber bits, but at least clean them out well.

Had a question about that rotten dried up rubber - what's a way to replace them?

Buy OEM?

How much would those be? :surprise: