Some more power window problems.. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Some more power window problems..

Peter Griffin

Member
Joined
June 21, 2007
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
City, State
Fort Worth
Year, Model & Trim Level
'96 XLT
Ok guys and gals you have been great with all the help you have given me about my windows. I have still yet to fix the problem and I have a little more info on them.

Once the windows are working and the car is running they will not give you any problem till the car is turned off. Upon re-start they might or might not work. If they choose not to work, none of the switches will operate any window. The window lock switch has no effect. The door locks work just fine. Hitting bumps and the like has no effect. I have tried curbs to no avail. The windows will decide to work again when they damn well feel like it. It could be minuets or days.

A friend of mine told me there might be a switch or relay in the ignition switch that could be the culprtit. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





likely problem is either power saver and accessory delay relays... check them with a meter to see if they are operated / operating AND that they are conducting voltage thru their contacts.... OR just throw some money at them with a replacement.... which may or may not resolve your issue.... since it could be wiring... hence the meter checks.
 






I have purchased those 2 relays but I can not figure out from the diagram where they are located. The owners manual says they are under the dash but the picture looks like they are under the hood right in front of the driver. The Chilton is'nt much better. Any idea? Thanks.
 






I do believe they are in the center of the dash... behind the radio console area.
 






they are under the dash with a plastic cover above gas pedal but first check fuse 26 if that doesn't help 22 thru 28 where the drivers door opens is a good start.
 






My driver's window on my '96 XLT has been doing some weird things. After the car sits for a long while I start it up and lower the driver's window...no problem. When I move the window up it is really jerky, i.e.-up-stop-up-stop-up-stop. I can hear a relay clicking under the dash so I don't think it's that. Does the window circuit have a circuit breaker, possibly opens & resets due to a heavy current draw? I know there's a fuse but if it blows then it's completely dead. All of the other windows work perfectly. If I hold the switch while it's jerking up then it goes completely dead along with the other windows but after a minute it starts working again. Also, after driving it a couple miles the driver's window works up & down perfectly. I need some expert advice as to what the problem could be.
 






Just saying - try this 1st as it's easy.

Many wiring issues with Gen 2 Explorers can be traced to the Drivers Door wiring loom - LOWER CONNECTION.

It's that big black cylinder you see when you open the drivers door.

The LOWER CONNECTION wires commonly break from the wear/tear of the door opening & closing.

Pull back the rubber accordion insulation and look for brittle wire casings and or broken wires.

NOTE: Not my video - but you get the point.

 






Thanks "fast_dave" for the response. I don't think it's a broken wire, if it was then it would be completely dead. My problem occurs whether the door is opened or closed. I checked the wiring diagrams and noticed that within the motor itself there is a circuit breaker. I'll remove the motor and check it to see if there's any binding in the motor or the tracks. Sure seems like a circuit breaker tripping and resetting.
 






Thanks "fast_dave" for the response. I don't think it's a broken wire, if it was then it would be completely dead. My problem occurs whether the door is opened or closed. I checked the wiring diagrams and noticed that within the motor itself there is a circuit breaker. I'll remove the motor and check it to see if there's any binding in the motor or the tracks. Sure seems like a circuit breaker tripping and resetting.

No problem.

Just to clarify - in my case, I had a wire where the outer insulation was cracked enough to let water/moistue in, BUT, the outer insulation held the wire together - giving it - to the casual observer - that the wire was OK.

Upon closer inspection of the wire, when I bent it so as to open the crack and to see inside of the insulation, the copper wire strands were cracked AND corroded with a "blue fuzz".

This created a condition were the split ends of the wires were sometimes touching (allowing the window to operate) and there were times that they weren't touching (not allowing the window to operate).

The most annoying aspect was that there was no pattern to the window not operating correctly, so it took me awhile to find it.

I'm just adding this to the thread because it's so easy (and cost free) to pull back the rubber accordion, inspect the window switch specific wires, and to rule this out.

ALSO STRANGE with my case - my wire was damaged close to the part of the wiring harness that enters the drivers compartment! One would think that it would have been damaged at the end of the harness near the big black plastic cylinder, where the wires get a lot of wear and tear from opening and closing the doors.

So, to clarify, in my case, I had to pull back the rubber accordion from the Drivers Compartment pass through to find the damaged wire. Let me tell you, that was a beeotch and a half to splice and repair...

The sum this all up, the lower harness wires are a known weak point on the Ex, and through the years on this forum I've seen other Ex's have the same exact problem.

Good luck and report back - there ain't nothing more annoying then hunting down electrical problems! :)

PS - I see you're in Hawaii where you're 24/7 next to salt water laden air AND it rains a lot.

I had this problem in the PRK (Inland) and it doesn't rain all too often - just saying ;)
 






Much easier if you remove door. Just four bolts. Heavy so best to have two people.
 






Back
Top