Solved My power window is sluggish in the winter.

[joshhemming]

The driver side window works fine in the Summer but as soon as the weather turns cold it becomes sluggish, especially going up. Sometimes it comes to a complete stop halfway up and I have to manually pull it to get it moving again.

I've lubed the gears inside the door panel with white lithium grease. Is there anything else I could do to make it work more freely?

 

[BrooklynBay]

This happens occasionally to my driver's side window on my 1995 van. It works fine when it's raining but binds or twists when it's dry. The guides have to be lubricated in addition to the gears.

 

[RangerX]

What do you use on the guides, Brooklyn, grease or something else?

 

[BrooklynBay]

I haven't taken off the panel in a long time so I just deal with it. You could use grease on the guides just like the gears. WD-40 could be sprayed into it without removing the panel while the glass is down for a temporary repair. I've never tried garage door guide lube grease or spray, but I assume that it might be good too.

 

[rkh58]

I use the WD-40 silicone garage door lube and it works well. Put the windows down, couple squirts your good to go for a few months.

 

[PrettyPenny]

Can you guys think of any reason why the above solutions wouldn't work on a Ford Focus? My husband drives a 2000 Ford Focus and the drivers side window has gotten very sluggish and often seems like it is not going to make it all of the way back up. We have already replaced the tracks on two of the other windows and I just can't put anymore money into this car right now.

 

[don-ohio]

Get some silicone lube spray(that's what I use) or as was suggested,WD 40 and spray with the supplied straw nozzle down the tracks that the edge of the glass runs in. Might help. don-ohio

 

[PrettyPenny]

Thank-you Don! I don't have any silicone lube spray, but I do have WD-40. I am going to try that when he gets home, and if that doesn't work I will pick-up some of the silicone lube spray. I hope this works! You don't realize how often you use the windows until you get scared they won't come back up again.

 

[mk3509]

Power Windows

My garage mechanic told me to try spraying Silicone spray in the window tracks. It worked for me.

 

[don-ohio]

You're welcome, Pretty Penny! Silicone Lube spray gets my vote. don-ohio ^)

 

[PrettyPenny]

Sent hubby to get some silicone lube spray on his way home last night and tried that. It worked like a charm! He was so happy that he can actually use the window without worrying about it so much. Thanks guys you are awesome!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for letting us know that it worked!

 

[joshhemming]

You can mark this as SOLVED. I picked up a spray can of Johnsen's Multi-Purpose silicone lubricate at Kmart for $2.00, put the red straw on it and sprayed the window channels. After a few rotations up and down the window started operating smoothly.

I've still got something wrong because when I first start driving nothing happens when I push the driver side DOWN button. I can hear a faint clicking of the relay or motor inside. Repeating a few times will result in the window operating normally. The passenger window works fine. I suspect the motor is getting old and sluggish.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You might have to open the door panel to spray every part of the window channel to lubricate it completely. I'm going to mark this thread solved.

 

[Icuff4cash]

To do it right you need to remove the unit. A pain in the butt. My window was like that. It's rivited in from the factory so you got to drill the 4 rivets out. I had to clean the whole unit with brake clean. Mine wasn't the tracks but from years of goop the 2 big gears were gummy and rusted. Once cleaned and rebolted its twice as fast as the other window. You can't clean it secured in the door . I'm no Aerostar expert like some I'm a 3 month rookie but I would have never found the goop clogging the gear with the unit in.

 

[joshhemming]

"To do it right you need to remove the unit. A pain in the butt. My window was like that. It's rivited in from the factory so you got to drill the 4 rivets out."


Thanks...doesn't sound like fun. I've removed the window motor itself before but never the whole regulator assembly. I had to drill a hole in the naked door frame just to get a socket on the motor mounting bolt.

I may continue to limp along with this intermittent problem until I HAVE to do major work in the door.

 

[Icuff4cash]

It's easy drill out the rivits. I could not beleive the waxie crap jamed in the gears you could never clean mounted in the door. I had to cut a 1x1 inch hole in the door at the bottom to get at 1 nut after drilling out the rivits. They were 4mmx1" bolts. It was a crap job no room to work. I'm looking on a brake job then transfer case swap summer in Vegas and Sunday starts monsoon season beside 110-115 temps rain a years worth in 8 weeks flood city