'00 Window driver side window won't roll down, door won't lock

[pb1998]

Hi everyone. We have a 2000 Winnie with a drivers side window that will not roll down and a door that will not lock or unlock. The door lock has been broke for over 18 mos. and the window just stopped working about 6-9 mos. ago.

We checked the fuse, it was good. All of the other windows and locks work fine. So we do not know if this is a motor issue or what. We are complete novices and need to be told in a very plain way, how to go about checking to see what the source of the problem is.

We would like to be able to fix this ourselves, as money is tight!

Thank you for any help!

[wiswind]

What happened to my '96......on the driver's side door....and then 5 years later on the passenger door......
The rail that the glass rides up and down in......at the back part of the door.......broke off.
It has spot welds that can break.
I bought a new one at the Dealership.....and it is held in place by 2 bolts.
You remove the trim panel on the inside of the door......and you can check and see if the slide rails that the front and rear edge of the window glass rides in are in place.
Not an expensive repair if you buy the part and replace it yourself.

Another thing to check is if the "regulator"....which is the mechanism that makes the window go up and down......the part that the motor drives.......needs some lubrication.

[mark_gober]

Pb,

I was just involved in this exact scenario. Door locks had not worked for quite some time (made a buzzing sound when actuating) and the window just stopped working.

Ford is notorious for crappy window motors (always has been). Depending on how tight cash is, I'll give you a few options.

If you are eating rice & beans and turning your undies inside out rather than washing them, you can probably get your window working free. (but it's temporary) What happens is the brushes just wear out and now when you push the button, the motor isn't making contact with the brushes. If you remove the door panel, you can lightly tap on the motor and it should start working. Having said that, know that the problem will return. I prefer to tap on the motor when the button is being pushed.

If you're finances are a bit more tolerable, you could just replace the window motor. Now, when I did mine a few months ago, I purchased it from RockAuto.com and the motor could be had for around $49 bucks. Alternatively, could purchase the entire window regulator set w/ the motor for $45. I chose the $45 route. Now, in retrospect, the motor would have been much easier to replace. You have to drill out the rivets to remove the regulator. In order to remove the motor, you just need to drill the sheet metal out thats right in front of the bolts that hold the motor to the regulator.

While I was in mine, I did replace the door look actuator. (also purchased at rockauto for cheap). That procedure was a bit more detailed and frustrating. There are linkages everywhere and it now seems to be binding somewhere so I need to tear it apart and go back in to see if I can fix it. My advice to you is to consider how much of a pain the door lock thing is. I lived with mine for a while and only changed it because I was replacing the motor. If you can live with it, I would. If it drives you crazy, change it.

Mark

P.S. PM me if you want me to send you the alldata.com description of how to change the regulator or motor. Good luck.

[wiswind]

I have some pictures posted that the link in my signature takes you to.......there is a series on the window motor that shows where to drill.

[tums]

My advise would be: to troubleshoot you will have to have free acess to the inside of the door. Then try to find out, if the window would move in its rails or is stuck completely (got years ago the same like wiswind, the rail coming loose as the welding-spots rusted away).

If it would not move at all - fix the rails first and get the window free.

Then take a bulb (10-20watts - it must draw some current, no LED) and connect that to the motor/actuator on the lines activated when switching on. If it lights up the trouble is within the little machines.

If they can be repaired is a question of equipment, skil and enthusiasm . Up to now I only had to repair the motors on the rear windows. If you take them apart you will find inside a little pill, which is some kind of a fuse activated on high current, in other words electronics to shut off the motor when it stopps. The problem with it is the connecting, it is just clipped in and it can be faulty (oxidised) - the motor would not run (or not run under load).

My guess is that it is the same with the front-windows. If so, you could get rid of that problem removing the pill and substitute it with a strong bulb, it must be so that it stays dark as the motor is operating and lights up when it stops (take care: on "normal" operation it must just not light up) - I would suggest to go to all this however only if no spare is available: comparing invested time to money spend.

[12Ounce]

All the above is good advise, but on the '99 and on the '00 I would advise starting first with the panel mounted switches. The whole bezel containing the switches lifts directly out of the door panel. The switches are notorious for being troublesome. Mine needs some attention just now also.

The switches are cleanable/repairable to some degree ... just terribly small to work on. You may have some luck swapping switches about ... just to see if they are indeed the problem.

[pb1998]

Hi everyone! I just now saw everyone's great advice-I took for granted that AF would email me all of the replies!

First off, thanks to each one of you for your help, it is much appreciated. Secondly, the hubster and the father-in-law took the door panel off a few weeks ago and "jiggled" the motor, etc. and voila, it all of a sudden started working again.

Yesterday however, I tried to roll the window down again and it had stopped working. All of the other switches work on the switch panel as well as all of the other windows. My hubby said when they were messing with the motor, it was quite a challenge just getting it back in. He hesitates to take it off again!

I am sure we will get around to it one of these days, as annoying as it is, at least it doesn't make the car run bad.

Thanks again so much-we'll be looking into all this info!