Power windows not working

Tiny
IR472
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 CHEVROLET 1500
  • 5.0L
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 198,000 MILES
Was working on replacing the door hinge pins on my driver side door when the door slipped off of the holder and it fell off its holder. The button housing was pulled down and upon further inspection, the power window motor power clip was pulled off from the motor. At this time the passenger side window still worked but the next day it stopped working.

I checked to make sure there is power going into the housing which means the fuse is okay. From there I checked the power at the clip which goes into the motor and there is power there. From there I assumed the motor had gone bad, but I bought a new motor and plugged it in and that did not function either. Any tips please I am stuck?
Tuesday, September 11th, 2018 AT 7:21 PM

14 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,464 POSTS
Very likely the drop damaged the drivers side switch or harness. The passenger window gets its power from the drivers side switch through the yellow wire. They also share a common ground that is switched to make the window go up/down. The ground is easier to check, turn on the interior lights, if the window switches light up, the ground to the switch and motor are okay. Can you control the window from the drivers side at all?
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Friday, September 14th, 2018 AT 8:23 PM
Tiny
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Thanks for the reply!

I purchased a new motor and button housing and it does not work. I did notice that the switch is getting power and adjusting the ground when I press up and down but once I plug in the into the old or new motor it stops switching the ground. Tested it all the way to the red and yellow wires and the plug that goes into the motor.

Even tested the new motor off the battery and it works. Passenger window stopped working shortly after.
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Sunday, September 16th, 2018 AT 5:25 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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Okay, that sounds like a bad wire that is not capable of carrying the full current of the motor.
Take a wire and jump battery power directly to the switch on the yellow wire and a ground wire to the black wire. See if the switch operates the window now. If it does then the issue it a bad wire. Could be in the harness between the door and body.
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Sunday, September 16th, 2018 AT 7:35 PM
Tiny
IR472
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I found the ground wire broken and repaired it but it is still not working. Also, the yellow wire goes into the power lock connector is it still the same one powering the windows? Only thing is that wire shows no damage.

I was thinking of cutting the power and ground and using direct power from the battery at least to double check my ground and then have it narrowed down to the power wire.
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Friday, September 21st, 2018 AT 2:42 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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Hmm, wiring shows power locks have an orange power feed for the two door. Attached diagram.

You could try jumpering power, that was the last part of the earlier post, that would let you check if power applied at the passenger side yellow showed at the other side, same with the ground. Just be sure to use a fused jumper wire in case it is shorted for some reason.
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Friday, September 21st, 2018 AT 3:03 PM
Tiny
IR472
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Added some pictures

I got my multi-meter working and was getting 10.2 volts at the brown and blue connector which is of course the reason it is not working.
The yellow wire has two splices to it, the orange one leads back to the switch and into the power lock clip and the purple maybe my alarm. I checked the voltage right at the yellow and it was up to 13. So is the orange supplying the power?

I did not get a chance to try jumping the ground off the battery yet to see if maybe that will help.
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Friday, September 21st, 2018 AT 7:02 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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Yes, the yellow/orange wire supplies the power. I would try following this guide is can show you how to see what is going on.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/electric-window-repair

Please run down this guide and report back.

Cheers, Ken
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Monday, September 24th, 2018 AT 1:08 PM
Tiny
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Everything shows ground and power at the switch, but the volts are low at the blue and brown connector showing (10.2 volts).

I checked the volts are the orange splice and it showed 22 volts ( is that high for that wire) and where the black/purple and yellow wire splice it shows 22 volts. Also, the orange wire shows 22 volts at the connector. (I did notice the second orange wire which should be the power lock for the drivers side.)
So I moved the wires around and no breaks than I have not repaired (ground was torn and the tan wire was tearing a bit).
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Tuesday, September 25th, 2018 AT 6:25 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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What is all that wiring too? Aftermarket alarm? I would take that out I have had nothing but problems with them.
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Wednesday, September 26th, 2018 AT 10:39 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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Nothing on there should show 22 volts. That will damage the components easily. Is that voltage with the engine running or off?
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Wednesday, September 26th, 2018 AT 11:04 AM
Tiny
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Yeah, should be the alarm the black/purple but so far no issues with that.

The volts where not as high as 22 volts the previous times I checked them, it read 22 volts at the wire splice and at the connector (orange wire) yesterday. I think I was getting 13 volts the other day

I am going to start looking at the convenience center (D4) spot to see what the volts read there. Thanks for the help so far guys.
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Wednesday, September 26th, 2018 AT 5:14 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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Can you wire the alarm out of the system to see if the problem goes away?
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Thursday, September 27th, 2018 AT 10:01 AM
Tiny
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I checked the power at the convenience center and it shows 10.2V at that D6 wire. It looks a little bare there from what I have seen in other trucks. Any ideas of where to go from here?
I kept checking all the fuses which are good is there anything there that looks wrong?

This all came from the door falling and pulling the switch from its holder and pulling the terminal from the window motor, not sure how that lead up to this.
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Saturday, September 29th, 2018 AT 11:17 AM
Tiny
KEN L
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It sounds like you have a short in the wiring harness in the door to the body. Can you pull and push on the wiring to see if things change?
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Saturday, September 29th, 2018 AT 11:44 AM

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