Power window issue...need electircal advice

[yakko]

Buick 02 LS

Power windows (all four) quit working. Making a quick tapping noise when driver's side button is pushed.
Changed master window switch with used one. Didn't work.
Changed used with 'new'. Worked for about five minutes and now back to tapping noise. When the windows did work, they were very slow as if not getting much power.

Windows did not look to be 'sticking' at all while they worked.
Also, power locks 'seemed' to be having an issue where they wouldn't lock, but this seemed to correct itself. Is there any connection between the power locks and the power windows?

I was beginning to think that something may be wrong with the driver side motor, but that it worked for a few minutes confused this line of thought.

Any advice or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[BNaylor]

It could be one of the motors causing the circuit to load down most likely the driver's since it is used more than the others. If the draw gets real bad then the power window circuit breaker will trip. You could check the 12 volts with a multimeter (DMM).

[yakko]

I just spoke with a mechanical friend of mine and he says there is a relay that controls power to the power windows. Can anyone verify this and if so, tell me where it is located?
Or is he full of it?

And when I went back out tonight to go to work, the windows worked again...but slowly. So it seems to be intermiddent.

[BNaylor]

There is no separate power window relay at any of the fuse and relay boxes. The only thing that might be classified as a relay is the express down module but that is part of the left front window switch assembly at the driver's side door.

What is common between the power windows and the power door locks is the 12 volts from the IGN circuits. The door locks are controlled by the body control module (BCM). As a guess you could have a bad ignition switch assembly or there is a intermittent short in the wiring which would take some troubleshooting time and a GM wiring diagram.

[yakko]

Okay...solution time. Sort of.

I've been fighting with this thing for quite some time, and I know others have also. So here's what I found, and I almost don't believe it myself, so if you've got the same problem as me, give this a try. If it works...awesome.

Spray lube the door hinges. Go ahead and do all four. I know, I know it sounds stupid, but after three window switches, they all had the same symptoms and it went away after spraying the hinges...
each one made a tapping sound as if there was a relay chattering. I'm told (and he could be lying to me) that the windows are grounded at the door hinges and spraying them with some kind of spray lubricant and then opening and closing the door to get it worked in...well, it worked for me and I kind of still don't believe it. I've seen stranger things, but...

[yakko]

Now that some time has gone by, let me add to this a bit.

The problem is coming and going. More going now. I've relubed the hinge often, but it only helps a little. I know it's the door hinge now for certain though, because a lot of times when it is 'chattering' like a relay, I can open my door (which moves the hinge) and the window will start working again.

So obviously, the ground goes through the door hinge. In looking at my driver's side door hinge (the top one), it is rusted very badly. I have tried a few different things to try to clean it out, but it's in a tight spot so to speak. I'm gonna use this as an excuse to get a dremmel and see if that will work well enough.

Hopefully this helps someone narrow down their issue a lot faster than it took me to find.

[yakko]

EUREKA!!!!! I'VE FIGURED IT OUT!!!! AFTER OVER TWO YEARS OF NOT HAVING WINDOWS WORKING, I'VE FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT!!!

Okay...are ya ready? Here it is!!! (drum roll......) The solution to the chattering window switch is...... loose ground connection. Really. Pretty anticlimatic, ain't it?

What I did today (believing it was a bad ground connection at the door hinge) was run a new ground wire, through the door, into the hinge area between the door and the body, and to the hinge bolt on the body side of the hinge. This worked for me for about two tries and then stopped working and went back to chattering. I went to check the connection where I had cut the original ground wire and when I did that, the window started working again. I played with it for a few seconds and realized that depending on how I was holding the window regulator box in my hand would determine if the window was working or not. Yeah, loose connection. Not off, not broken, just wobbly. And at the moment, I didn't see a 'good' way to tighten it back down so what I did (and we're talking about the black wire going to terminal 'B' by the way) was cut a little piece of wire and shoved it in there as good as can be and then taped it up a little to keep pressure on the connector. I know it's not going to last forever, but I'm just so excited I at least now know what it is and I'm sure it'll last for a good long while anyway.
I hope this post helps some people not go through the headaches that I went through.
I can't wait to go through a drive thru!!!!