Power Windows Suddenly Stopped Working--Again

[mweiss]

Early last week, I drove my 98 Explorer and used the power windows. They were fine.
Last weekend, I wanted to roll up the driver side window and discovered that suddenly none of the windows worked.
I checked all the fuses and they are good.
So I took the switch panel apart, thinking the master switch went bad, as I remember the last thing before the windows stopped working is my elbow inadvertently bumped the master switch. Taking the panel apart broke the plastic fasteners that hold the switch panel to the door armrest, so I had to epoxy and drill and screw things back together, but simply disassembling it caused it to start working again. I was going to try to check voltages, but the assembly is molded together and the wire connections did not appear to be accessible.
Anyway, I put it together 2 days ago and it was working.
Today, I drove the vehicle and the windows all stopped working again.
I was planning to put this vehicle on the market this month as the registration expires on the 30th and our insurance expires in 1st week Dec. But I can't sell it like this. Not sure what to do at this point. I already wrecked the door panel trying to get it apart.

 

[Turdle]

Start by dis assembling the inner door jamb connector, follow wires thru door jamb and you'll probably find a broken wire, black with a blue stripe if memory serves. It was made just a tad short in the factory so jumping in a 3" length of wire, solder and shrink tube will fix it well enough.

 

[mweiss]

Where exactly is this connector? I see a rubber accordian boot between the door and the vehicle body which probably has wiring in it.

 

[EB4X]

/\ Examine the wires inside the wire boot....carefully open up boot and look for stressed / damaged wires...that's where you should find any damaged ones....

 

[fast_dave]

@mweiss

Left Click On & Read Post #5 at this blue colored link to the right: Windows and wipers

 

[mweiss]

The mystery deepens.. I went out to the vehicle today to check the wiring harness, but first started the engine and tried the windows. They all work today!
I tried slamming the door, wiggling and squeezing the rubber boot where the wires pass through, but could not trigger the problem!

It's literally like it works on odd days of the week and not even days! What is going on here?

 

[J_C]

^ As has already been stated (fast_dave's linked topics which also have useful pictures), the broken wire will intermittently make contact and lose it again, since it flexes every time the door is open or closed, plus copper has a coefficient of expansion, vibration can abrade away corrosion, etc.

You just need to do as others have, pull the boot back and find the wire, and with all not working I would look at the black ground wire in particular since the driver's, even though it uses the light blue/black wire the others do for normal operation, it is also fed by a red wire for one touch down so if driver's window has neither operation mode working, it's *probably* either the ground wire, or you have both of the latter two wire colors broken.

The wiring diagram for that is among those linked in my sig, named power-windows-(something).pdf

 

[mweiss]

Trying to get this thing open, but not having any success. I tried to lift the tab shown by the upper arrow, but could not separate it--seemed like it would break off if I pulled harder.
Then there's the lower part marked with the second arrow. Do I cut this tie wrap and slide the boot down? Then what is the upper plastic part and is it important to remove?

 

[J_C]

Yes, cut the wire tie and slide the boot down. It will be easier to do, the warmer it is. The upper plastic part is a connector, you don't need to disconnect it if you find and have clearance to repair a faulty wire, but disconnected (which may also be easier/safer with the plastic warm rather than cold/brittle) you may have better access, and going a step further, even better access with the door taken off after it is disconnected.

Above when I wrote cut the wire tie, with some finesse you might be able to use a pick, miniature screwdriver, or x-acto knife to pry the wire tie's little internal lock tab up while sliding it open and non-destructively remove it, and "maybe" be able to reuse it, since the end is sticking out where you have access to do this already, but it is probably brittle from all these years too so I'd only try to reuse it if you don't have more wire ties lying around, and it may not have enough slack to reuse anyway, be too hard to get the boot pinched together with it cut off to exact length as it is.

 

[fast_dave]

@mweiss

At the TOP of the black plastic Drum is a plastic cap.

Pop off the plastic cap, and you'll see a flange bolt - it's 10mm, 12mm or 14 mm from memory.

Lefty-Loosy and it'll separate the top drum from the bottom drum.

HTH -

 

[mweiss]

I pulled apart the boot and the wires look undamaged.
Also tried popping off the cap and unscrewing the 10mm nut. I gave up after about 100 turns. It's not coming out--possibly what it's threaded into is spinning.
Could not get the boot pulled back up around the back side of the plastic assembly.
Tried the windows and locks again, and today nothing works.
In the past, the door locks worked even when the windows didn't. Now nothing works at all.
Very frustrating!

 

[fast_dave]

The bolt is a "capture" bolt. It doesn't come up as you turn it - rather, it pushes the bottom part of the connector down until it disengages. Once the connector is separated, you can straighten our the rubber boot, cut loose the wire tie that holds the boot to the plug, and peel back the boot. With the door on the vehicle it is kind of tight , but workable. If you need more space, you can dismount the door by unbolting it from the hinges. However, it's heavy so you gennerally need two people, and something to support it's weight while you are unbolting/bolting it. Marking the bolts means putting marks on the door and hinge so that you can bolt it back exactly as it come off to preserve it's alignment with the body and latch. Good luck.

@onefordfan replied to @bobflood

"Thank you Bobflood, I was looking at the wiring harness that is in the door jam and couldn't figure out how to release the boot. The "capture bolt" was the key to getting the harness out. Once I released the wiring harness, I was able to find the broken wire. Fixed the break and now the windows work like a charm".

@mweiss SEE ABOVE^^^^^^

Post #17 & #19 at the LINK below

Check out the whole (3) Page thread - you might have t follow those wires pretty deep to find the problem (lots of pics in the thread)....

LINK: Power window problems fixed ( with pictures)

 

[Turdle]

Your windows probably work door closed and quit door open.
You just need to dig a bit deeper.

Follow above, and llok at post 43 here.

Power window problems fixed ( with pictures)

Sunroof, windows, dome light And your question/comment is??????????????????????

www.explorerforum.com

 

[mweiss]

Tried it with the door closed. Nope, windows still don't work.
And to add to the frustration, the windshield wipers stopped working today. Checked the fuse that was blown last time and it's not blown.
Methinks there's many gremlins in the electrical system. Such is the fate when you let a vehicle sit parked for several months I guess.
Current status:
Electric locks work.
Wipers DON'T work.
Windows DON'T work.

Earlier today, I pulled and reinserted the 10A fuse and the wipers worked ONCE. Checked afterwards, and the fuse is NOT blown. But the wipers don't work.

 

[J_C]

Your wiper motor could be bad, or one of the relays, or the multi-function switch, or even the GEM module though it is less likely.

Another thing to check is the contacts in the connector, in the steering column to the multi-function switch. They can pull out the back of the connector and lose contact. I'm sure there's one or more topics with pictures of this having happened.

Attached is the fr. wiper wiring diagram, there are others including windows linked below in my sig. Grab a multimeter, probe for where power stops along the circuit.

 

[joney]

Don't know if you've looked a this; 2nd gen issues? Try this first! I'm going to try it also.
I'm about to get into the wire bundle in the door as I found a broken one going to the window switch, but now my rear wiper switch stopped working, and my washers never squirt. Also going to use electronics cleaner on the relays for the window wash circuit, probably get one new to swap out. Yes, my vehicle sat close to a year right before I got it in March. Have to think, with the humidity cycles sitting outdoors, these must get somewhat corroded after years of parking outdoors.
UPDATE: the turquoise wire with internally corroded wire ends, seems to have been cut long ago. I re-connected the ends: seems this was the One-Touch function I didn't previously have...don't care about it one way or another. The Pink/Gray wire end appeared to have been cut (on a slant), never found the other end. So nothing in the door wire bundle proved relevant. Window switch works fine, (I'd skipped the last step, plugging the window motor back in !)

 

[joney]

Your wiper motor could be bad, or one of the relays, or the multi-function switch, or even the GEM module though it is less likely.

Another thing to check is the contacts in the connector, in the steering column to the multi-function switch. They can pull out the back of the connector and lose contact. I'm sure there's one or more topics with pictures of this having happened.

Attached is the fr. wiper wiring diagram, there are are others including windows linked below in my sig. Grab a multimeter, probe for where power stops along the circuit.

Thanks much also from me! 2nd Gen Wiring diagrams are a boon for me.

 

[mweiss]

I'm going to check that connector you mentioned on the firewall, as soon as the weather gets a little warmer.
Yesterday, I had to move the vehicle and when I started the engine, the wipers came on. So I also checked to see if the windows work and they did! Everything was dead two days earlier.
The vehicle had been sitting pretty much all summer, so maybe some connections got corroded.
If tomorrow's weather permits, I'll take a closer look at the firewall connector above the HVAC motor.

 

[J_C]

When a function doesn't work, you have the opportunity to use a multimeter to probe for where power stops in the circuit.

 

[fast_dave]

Yet another recent thread on the subject "Driver Door Wires" - figured I'd link it to this thread as it's pertinent.

@Kidd7 shows (pics) and explains how bad and far reaching the corrosion is that got past the micro-cracks on the wire insulation.

LINK: Drivers door wire connector