2000 Impala Power Window Switch

[DesignedFailure?]

The driver's window switch on my 2000 Impala (100k miles) would move window down but not up. A friend and I took apart the driver's side switch pack and found extreme charring on the silver contact under the metal rocker strip.

We found failure, and the most charring, in the most used switch (driver's) and almost pristine contacts in the rarely used rear window switches. Obviously, there is a design or material flaw at work here.

Using contact cleaner uncovered a nearly welded away contact. We put an extra bend in the metal rocker strip so the switch pressed it into the contact and it works fine now.

We concluded the rocker strip was designed or produced with an incorrect bend which caused it to just about meet the contact point, arcing with each push of the switch. (And I thought I didn't own a welder!)

One needs only a few handtools, contact cleaner, and some patience and the switch can be made good as old in an hour or two. Much more betterer than spending $100 or more for a new switch.

I await response from Chevrolet.

[Gems]

Excellent failure analysis! You sound like an engineer (like myself)... Only an engineer would do a failure analysis and corrective action down to the detail level you just did... Good work...

[zoemayne]

Nicely done. MAny people just rpl parts.

[crazy Jim]

Excellent work! My dad taught me to fix/modify parts instead of replacing them when I was a kid way back in the seventies. I love making stuff work and not spending a bunch of cash.

[obd2scannerman]

Believe me when I say I doubt they planned it. They can't even plan their way into profitability.

Cars last way longer than they used to. Things made by humans will break.

[pepsi314]

This has happened to my Impala. Same window, same problem. I bought a new switch on Ebay and it broke as soon as I installed it. Fortunately, I got a refund.

Thanks for the advice. We noticed that cleaning the contacts helps sometimes, but I've since just wedged a small piece of paper underneath the switch so no one can lower the window until I get it fixed. I've had a dealer tell me the motor has to be replaced...at the tune of $385. I know little about car repair, but even I knew if a window goes down, just not up, it isn't a bad motor.

[luarg2]

I had the same problem last Summer. I did the exact same procedure and noticed the charring on the contacts, after a good cleaning & bending the contacts alittle the problem was solved and I could roll my drivers side window up and down but now the passenger window will roll down but not up... I'll open it up again this summer and play with it.

[Stubby Standard]

Thanks for the input. I was able to fix my window with your explanation.

I don't know the right terms, but one idea....Take the internal components from the Drivers switch and swap them for one of the rears. I put the worn internal components that I adjusted in the switch for the rear switch and put the better condition pieces in the drivers side since it gets more use.

2 questions though...1) what kind of contact cleaner did you use? 2) The toggle that I adjusted seems "looser" than the others. Can this be corrected?


Thanks for saving me cash.......