94 Thunderbird electric window problem on driver side

My 1994 Thunderbird driver side electric window suddenly will not work. Passenger side works normal. Door lock, electric rear view mirror, and interior lite on bottom of driver side all work. Checked fuse panel and all is normal. Removed black triangle shaped panel where switches for window and door lock and door handle stick through and there are no broken or pulled off wires from the switch. The driver side switch "clicks" when pushed and the voltage guage on the dash "jumps" but motor does not respond on driver side only. I removed and lifted off the large inside door panel, peeled back the plastic waterproof material and have the door panel balanced on a stool from below. I want to check for loose/or disconnect wires into the motor but at this point the diagram of where the motor should be from my old Haynes Repair Manual for 1989-1997 Ford Thunderbird-Mercury-Cougar does not match what I have. The motor seems to be not assessible so I can check the wiring.

Can anyone help me at this point? I realize that the problem could be in the switch even though it "clicks" and sounds normal but the connections into the motor or the motor itself could be the culprit in my thinking. I just can't see at the moment how to check that motor. The car has 164,000 miles and obviously that door has opened and closed thousands of time jarring the components. :rofl:

You Need New Window Lift Gears They Sell At Autozone For About 8-20 Bucks .

Have you tried using a multi-meter to test the switch or to see if there is voltage going to the motor ?

Have you tried using a multi-meter to test the switch or to see if there is voltage going to the motor ?


Good suggestion-I will test it in the morning; the wires going out of the switch are fairly complex looking since it's a double switch that controls the passenger side also.

David, If the voltmeter moves when you push the switch then power is going somewhere. Check to make sure you have about 12V on one of the wires going to the switch when the key is in the accessory position. This is your main feed wire to the switch. If you can't hear the motor turning when you push the switch then it's probably stuck. If you do hear the motor turning then see SAM2COOL's post. Out of the switch find the two wires that go to the motor. With the switch pushed in one direction, one of these two wires will be the 12V feed to the motor and the other is the return to ground. When you push the switch in the other direction, the polarity of the two wires reverses. The wire that had 12V on it the first time will now be the return to ground and the other wire will have 12V on it. With your voltmeter connected to these two wires you will see around +12V with the switch pushed in one direction and about -12V when the switch is pushed in the other direction. If you see these voltages and the motor doesn't turn then it's time for a new motor. If you don't see these voltages then the switch is bad. You can try spraying into the switch with tuner cleaner that you can buy at the hardware store. This may clean the contacts so the switch will work again. I don't know if the color code is the same on a 94 and 97 but for 97 the main feed is R/LB and the wires going to the motor are Y and W/BK. The BK wires are returns. There is also a W/P that is the feed to the lights.

I'd expect the motor is shot, or at least the plastic gears. Since you see the volt meter jump (I suppose you mean jump down), power is going somewhere.

Window lift motors are not very difficult to replace, although if you've not done one yet it can feel intimidating. How does that slogan go? JUST DO IT!

There should be three holes in the inner part of the door where you can remove bolts, at least it was like that on mine -- even though Haynes said I'd have to drill out rivets (I got lucky!) The first few times I've replaced my motor it was less than $30 (last time around 2000 or 2002). Most recently, the prices were more than double! Lucky for me, I have a LLT warranty. I think that means it is "Limited to the LifeTime of the retail outlet where you buy the product," no? :)

--Mark

http://www.marksatterfield.com (http://www.marksatterfield.com/)

It is probably the motor and I have changed mine with one from the junkyard. 2 1/2 years it has worked fine and cost $25.00, and not that tough to replace.

You Need New Window Lift Gears They Sell At Autozone For About 8-20 Bucks .

Yours is the 1st response I believe pertains to my problem.

I would love to find a tutorial on this vehicle. My motor is riveted in place.

I also made the mistake of removing the motor testing it (not under a load) and put it back together. I believe the internal gears of the motor are shot. It will not roll up or down the window, just noise.


Anyone that has helpful info please reply. I'm going to remove everything as I bought a new driver side motor. I did hav to drill out the rivits. Went back with bolts, used loctight and ground the end of the bolts off.

It's gonna be fun re-removing everything.

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PS on the question of replacing the gears inside the motor would you recommend this to save a few bucks? Once I take out the driver motor I;ll have one to play with. If it's got plastic gears inside I can see they would were over time.

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I changed my Odometer gears. Maybe I'll start another thread. It was very easy.