Window rolling itself down

Not particularly. I live in Maryland. It is about 30 at night and 45-50 during the day.

 

Yes. On the armrest door handle with the lock switch. I removed the interior armrest and handle and found that the screw holding the lock microswitch was loose and the switch was wobbly. Tightening the screw up fixed the issue.

Unfortunately the window issue is back and the window switch lights staying on issue persists. I will pull the door card off tomorrow and look at the rest of the switches. But I am starting to think you are right about the window ECU. I found it today, but man it looks like a pain to pull out. I’ll start with the microwswitches and f that’s not it, move on to the window ECU.

 

So a quick update. The car had a bunch electrical gremlins of which I have exorcised 2 (maybe 3). To recap;


1) The door lock switch on the arm rest would not work.

This was an easy fix. The microswitch on the driver's side interior door handle had a loose screw. Tightening the screw realigned the switch. Problem solved.

2) The driver's side window would not drop when being unlocked with the key, when opening from the inside, or opening from the outside until the door was opened. When the door is then closed, it will drop a half an inch and sit there for 15 seconds before closing again.

I fixed the window not dropping with the key barrel. Again, it was a microswitch out of alignment. I realigned the microswitch on the key barrel from inside the door and the window will now drop when I unlock it with the key. I also tightened up the exterior door handle as the cable had a lot of slack.

The window will still not drop when the door handle is pulled from the interior or exterior. This is intermittent and will sometimes (maybe 1 out of 10 times) act appropriately.

3) The power window switches stay illuminated all the time and will drain the battery if not on a tender, leading me to believe that something is refusing to go to sleep.

This may be fixed as I went out to look earlier and it seems as though they are turned off. This too was intermittent though, so I am holding my breath.

So all in all, maybe 50% of the issues were misadjusted switches. I also unplugged and reseated all of the microswitch plugs in the drivers door while I was in there just in case there was a bad connection.

 

SON OF A!!!! So the window drop issue is back with a vengeance and the light switches stay on. I have noticed a clicking down near my knee occasionally, almost like a relay opening or a microswitch tripping. I will unplug the door and do some electrical checks at the connector next. Followed by taking the door apart again (sigh) and seeing if I can adjust the microswitch on the regulator. Although, I would find it odd if the window regulator microswitch kept the window ECU from sleeping.

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I think it is the same issue, or part that is causing the problem. There is a 100% correlation between the window switches going to sleep and the window working correctly. This morning, I went to get something out of the car. The window switches were on (stayed on all night) and the window did not drop when I oppened the door. When I closed the door, the window operated correctly. It closed and did not do the weird open back up thing. I looked, and the window switches had gone to sleep. Curiously, if I lock the door from the inside with the armrest lock switch, and then use the interior handle to open the door, the window drops correctly 100% of the time. If the doors are not locked and I use the interior handle, the window will not drop. Anyway, tomorrow I will look at the ECU and door connectors. I am hesitant to throw $300 at it by buying another window ECU until I am 100% sure that is the issue.

 

OK. I think I may be getting somewhere. If I use my finger to close the door latch on the door, the window exhibits the same behavior. Up, down, up after 15 seconds. This leads me to believe it is the door latch microswitch. On the pinout diagram you have provided it shows that the door latch microswitch is 7/15. How do I go about testing the signal there? See if there is voltage between 7 and ground? 15 and ground? Thanks.

 

Perfect. Thank you. I will check the door plug first as it's easier to get to. I am certain that the car believes the door is open and that is what is causing the issues. It would explain the window not dropping when I open it from the exterior door handle, It would explain why the window drops immediately after the door is closed until the ECU hits its 15 second limit. Strangely enough, the interior dome light and door open warning on the binnacle are operating correctly. Perhaps they are triggered by the plunger on the A pillar?

I am sure there is nothing wrong with the window regulator microswitch as the window drops to the correct position every time (even though it is late), regardless of how the door is opened.

 

Interesting. The f1 pump primes every time the drivers door is open. The door open light on the binnacle always activates and the dome light never fails to come on when the door is opened or go off when the door is closed. Starting to think you are right about the window ECU. More snow here tomorrow, I will have to get to it in a week or so.

 

Well I figured out the window drop issue. It is not an electrical gremlin, rather a mechanical one. I am not sure if this is better or worse. I found that the bracket that holds the rear of the window to the vertical track is loose. See the attached video. If I hold the top of the window and close the door softly so that the window does not rattle in its track, then it works as designed, 100% of the time. The window will not drop after closing the car door. It will also then drop correctly the next time I pull the exterior handle. If I close the door as you would normally do, with a normal amount of force, the window rattles, then exhibits the drop behavior. Anyone know what can cause this rattle? I tried to tighten the nut on the bracket but it was already tight. I also made sure the two retaining bolts on the regulator were tight. They were. Do I need a new vertical track, or bracket do you think?

 

Yes. With with correlation to the window drop issue. I checked the continuity at the door plug and all is good. I am now 100% convinced it is the loose and rattling window, although I have no idea why. The good news is that the bracket and guide are both less than $50 so I will replace them and see if that tightens up the window.

 

So it turned out that my problem was caused by a misaligned microswitch on the exterior door handle. I only found it when I went to replace the entire door latch mechanism. I found that when I removed the exterior door handle cable, the exterior door microswitch clicked! I was then able to remove the door handle and bend the microswitch back into position. What was occurring was that when I opened the door from the exterior, the cam on the door handle would release the microswitch, but not return far enough to depress it, fooling the ECU into thinking that the door handle was still pulled. Good news is that I get to return the door latch mechanism which wasn't cheap, and my fix was free. That was a frustrating 2 months! Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. When in doubt, check all the microswitches first.