98 Montana: PW switch problem

[aamirmali]

First of all, great forum...

My 98 driver side window switch does not work for driver's window. It goes down, but not up. Replacement from GM is $160 CAD. I don't want to spend that kind of money on a 98 daily driver.

I am thinking of putting a simple toggle switch (I don't care about express down feature).

Does anyone know what (color) wires feed to disconnect from the switch and connect to toggle switch...

TIA

['97ventureowner]

Welcome to AF! Glad you found us and like it. These switches are a common problem on these vans, especially now as they are getting older. I ended up having to replace my switches in both my Chevy Venture vans, a sister to the Montana. I bought both of these switches online from a GM dealer at a real good price, (around $50). They were a heck of a lot cheaper than my local dealer. I would give you the names of some of these dealers I have used but unfortunately I am not at my regular computer at this time and I have their website links in "My Bookmarks". I will come back later and post some sites you can try to locate one. Have you checked any of your local salvage yards? They can be a good source for these. The drivers side window switch also acts a master switch in that it also controls the passenger side window as well, that's why the parts are a little more expensive.

[aamirmali]

I have tried a lot of salvage yards...but this seems to be a hot item. Most of them don't want to separate these from the door...

Did you find links in your bookmark?

['97ventureowner]

One site I have used in the past is www.car-part.com . I looked up a switch for a '98 Montana and found a bunch ranging in price from $30 to $150. I tried to put up a link to the results page for you to see, but it won't let me. If you check out the site you just enter the info on your vehicle and what part you need. A page of results then appears and you can go through it.
I found 2 other sites in my favorites, one link was no longer valid, and the other one : www.buy-oem-parts.com did not list a switch. I'll keep looking and post any of my findings here. ( I might have to go into my filing cabinet and look at old hard copy receipts to get names of businesses I've dealt with that might carry the switch.) Try looking on the car-part.com site and see what you come up with.

[aamirmali]

Update: I just connected the wires from driver side to the passenger side window. Now both windows work with the passenger side switch ( on the driver door though). Cost = $0.