My Driver's side window yesterday just stop working. The switch feels broken as feel looser than the passenger side. Should I try to takle teh repair myself or should I just have it fixed? How do I know what the problem is? How exactly does the door panel come off?
My 355 window switch come out by sticking a plastic slotted tool (like the ones you take your radio out with) on both sides to depress the latch. IT will slide out with about 4 in of slack. You can jumper the switch to see if the window will work. If so, then replace the switch. You can take the door off but may not be necessary. Remove the screws around the door (small black ones). Then remove the panel behind the side view mirror, the scew under the door handle, then lift and unsnap the door. Remember this is for my 355, but I hear they are the same. Carmine
I tried repairing my switch. Lasted about 6 months. Your failure sounds just like mine did. Just get a new one from Ricambi America. It's a 5-minute job to repalce it. Bob
You don't remove the door panel to remove the switch. Just pry the switch out. I did without any tool in the parking lot when my passenger switch got stuck. I don't think they are serviceable, but a new one is around $35. They have a 4 wire slide in connector in the door. If yours won't come out easy, just use a small flat head screwdriver to get the switch out and see if it can be reconditioned. It is possible the spring inside is stuck and you can get it to pop back into use. Good luck. BT
My 348 has had a "floppy" power window switch for years, but it still works just fine. Have you checked to see if your window works when you open the door, or wiggle the wires in the door jamb? You might have one of the infamous broken wires/pins. I HOPE it's the switch, easier to fix!
Oh no. I thought the window wouldn't work with the door open. At least mine hasn't. So I am assuming that it is the wire problem. I bought a new switch anyway - but maybe I'll need to replace the wires as well. That does require taking off the door panel right? Is there wire kit or something? Man...I had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy. When the switch comes in tomorrow, I'll update as to what the problem is.
Matthew: Just open the door, find the wiring bundle covered by the rubber bellows by the hinges, and peel back the bellows where it connects to the plastic twist connector. You can then see the wires where they go into the holes in the plastic, where the wires should be attached to the pins. You MAY have an obvious problem in that area. You can't hurt anything by looking, it's easy. Two minute job.
Thanks Jeff. I'll do that tomorrow. If I peel back the rubber, will it set back in place...is it connected to the twist in knob? Also, the switch doesn't light up. Is that an indication of anything?
Ok. I did it. The white cord pops out of the receptial. Once I put it back in I can roll down the window, but it pops out once I take my finger off it. Is there an easy way to make the wire stay in place?
So your switch might be OK? The wire is supposed to be crimped onto a pin, and the pin is supposed to be locked onto the plastic twist connector, so that the male and female pins make the electrical connection to operate the window. If your wire isn't attached to the pin, you have the following options: 1) Figure out a way to get the wire recrimped/soldered onto the pin (if the pin is otherwise intact). 2) Pull the old pin out of the twist connector and replace it with a new pin, with the wire solidly attached to it. 3) Remove the pin entirely (both sides) and "hardwire" the circuit through the twist connector, making new connections on each side. There are several threads here about doing this job. In my own case, I "hardwired" all of the wires, eliminating the pin connectors. So far, it has worked fine, but it's a fairly involved job. Edit: This is what my car looks like with the pins eliminated and solid wires running through the twist connector. You can no longer disconnect the wires by pulling apart the connector, but who cares unless you are planning to remove the door? There are extra holes in the twist connectors, so if you need to hardwire only one wire, you wouldn't even have to remove the old pins. Just snip the wire on either side of the connector, and run a splice wire through one of the extra holes, then crimp or solder it in place. Image Unavailable, Please Login
It doesn't hurt to have an extra switch Chances are good you will need it before too long. Glad you found the problem. I had my mechanic replace all the pins with through wired connections like Miltonian did. I haven't had any problems with the wiring since then. BT
The switch can be removed pretty easy with a plastic pry tool. There should be a couple inches of slack to unplug the switches so you can clean them on the work bench. I started with checking the ohms on the switches after a good cleaning and some stab 22. Then carefully clean the contacts in the car without getting electrical cleaner on the leather. Have a plan to clean it off fast if over spray lands on the leather. I checked the voltage of the 12v leads coming to the switches, and the ohms again. Most read out at near 0. One had a bit of resistance but still worked fine after plugging them back in to the switch. The switches are very expensive if available at all, so hopefully cleaning them will keep them working for a long long time. 348 window switch Image Unavailable, Please Login , and mirror switch
