window switches

ARdoller

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so over the past few months ive been having issues with my driver's side window switches, where sometimes they'd work, other times they wouldnt, and about a month or two ago, they started getting to where they would work consistently as long as the door was all the way open, then about a week or two ago they stopped working open or closed, but rather they had to be completely open, then i had to pinch and/or pull on the rubber wireway in the door jamb to make them work. now they dont work at all on the driver's side.

today i decided to take the door panel off and cut open the rubber wireway to see if there was a knick or cut in one of the wires, because going by the characteristics of how it was working, i was under the assumption it was a wire shorting out somewhere in that wireway.

well i noticed that unless you completely disassemble the switch module, the only parts of the wire loom you can access is whats in the wireway, about 4" of what sticks out of the bezel hole, and just being able to touch the wires behind the Hood release. i couldnt find any nicked or cut wires but at the same time, i was very limited to what i could see and access.


does anyone have any suggestions as to how to access the rest of that wire loom without having to completely dismantle the switch module (which would be a bitch and a half to remember all of which wires go to which terminals), or a different solution as to why the switch doesnt work? i think first thing im going to do is check the continuity of the switches, but i find it rather odd that both the driver and passenger window switch dont work at the same time (which made me believe it was a common wire between the two that was causing the problem).


just to make things a little more clear, the passenger door window switch works fine, and both of the door lock switches work fine.
 
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MR.ADAMS

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I'm curious as to whether this is a common problem. I have had similar issues with my vehicle since I bought it, but it has never gotten bad enough for me to warrant taking the door panel off.

My problems are the Dome light activating for about 1/8th of the swing of the door, and the auto-down feature being hit or miss in functionality. I have always assumed there was some type of pinching issue causing this as well.
 

ARdoller

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yea. if it was any other electrical problem that didnt affect the driveability of the car, id probably just ignore it and live with it, but 1, i hate using the AC, so i always drive with my windows down, and 2, ive already been ticketed for my window tint. so if i dont have to have the windows up, theres no reason to.
 

crash549

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when you take off the door panel and the switches there is another connector toward the back side of the door. i noticed with that unplugged the drivers side switch would only work the passenger window and the locks. check that connector and make sure everything is fine with that first and it may be a simple fix. good luck buddy.
 

ARdoller

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you talking about the brown connector down at the bottom of the door panel underneath the door lock arm thing? i had to undo that to get the door panel completely off the door, so it was plugged in, to begin with.

all the connectors behind the door panel were plugged in before i removed the door panel, since you have to undo all of them to take the door panel off... so i know they were plugged in since i had to undo them.
 
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crash549

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i get that you had to undo them. i was just saying to check the connector or the wires for a problem.
 

gq916

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I'm having problems with my passanger side switch. It only works from the driver side..the passanger cant put the window up or down themselves...gets kinda annoying sometimes =)
 

RDJ

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I'm having problems with my passanger side switch. It only works from the driver side..the passanger cant put the window up or down themselves...gets kinda annoying sometimes =)

This is a different problem than the op is having. I would wager yours is the switch.


To the op: yes it is a common problem and it is not limited to the Mustangs. and it is not the switch. it has something to do with the motor itself. There are several threads about it on here.

the way to check if it is the common problem is to hold the button down and slam the door. if that works it is likely the door motor. I had this issue on my 02 GT and Ford finally replaced the motor
 

ARdoller

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it would make no sense to be the the window motor. if it was a motor, only one of the windows wouldnt work. both of the windows work, its a matter of i cant control them from from the drivers side (which coincidentally you can only control the driver's window from that side) if it was the motor, the driver's door passenger window switch would work regardless.

its not a matter of which window works, it a matter of which set of switches are working. i can put the passenger window up and down all day using the passenger door switch.

when they were working sporadically, from the driver's side controls, both of the windows worked at the same time, and both of them did not respond at the same time. its not like when the bank on the driver's door was malfunctioning, only one of the windows was moving.
 
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RDJ

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Then you are correct, it is not the "common" problem I was talking about and does sound like the switch.


it would make no sense to be the the window motor. if it was a motor, only one of the windows wouldnt work. both of the windows work, its a matter of i cant control them from from the drivers side (which coincidentally you can only control the driver's window from that side) if it was the motor, the driver's door passenger window switch would work regardless.

its not a matter of which window works, it a matter of which set of switches are working. i can put the passenger window up and down all day using the passenger door switch.

when they were working sporadically, from the driver's side controls, both of the windows worked at the same time, and both of them did not respond at the same time. its not like when the bank on the driver's door was malfunctioning, only one of the windows was moving.
 

MR.ADAMS

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I just remembered that my drivers side door tweeter will crackle right around the same time my dome light flickers when I swing the door...
 

ARdoller

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that sounds like an isolated problem with the grounding to the devices on the door, if you are having a common problem between two or three devices at the same time, especially when none of them are electrically inter-connected beyond the grounding.
 

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