Driver Door Stuck Open,then Closed

[denisew]

I did search this first, but nothing quite answered this for me. Today, I packed up the kids to go shopping, rolled down the windows, and got to our destination. I closed all the windows except mine. It would not go up. So we went back home. I took the little panel off where the controls are, checked to see if the wires were loose or corroded. Nothing there. When the hubby got home, we removed the door panel to check connections. All looks good. So then we put an ear to the motor. The window is stuck in the DOWN position. When you push the button to close the window, you hear a single click. If you push down, as if trying to open the window, there's no click. We did this to the other 3 windows, and hear that single click, whether opening or closing. So we quit for the night, lost our daylight, and ran down my battery in the process. Gave the truck a jump, shut the door, and TA-DA! The window decided to close. Now it just won't open again. We left it all alone. I did not want to leave my window open all night. Anyone know where to start with this mystery?

[Chris Stewart]

That window closing was your GM electric motor "last chance"....works with starter motors too. After repeated attempts at getting the starter to start the engine, hold the keyswitch down and bang the starter with a hammer to get the last start out of it.
You might as well look for a new window motor.

[denisew]

Arrgh..went out there the next day to mess around with the truck, the battery is dead. Totally dead. That's never happened. Something drained it all the way down overnight. Would a bad window motor drain a battery like that?

[DAB77]

the problem is most likely a broken wire in the rubber boot between the door and the door frame.A very common problem with GM cars and trucks. Remove the door panel,(you should probably wear gloves) firmly pull each wire one at a time(not a little tug)once you find the broken wire,remove the kick panel on inside of the car and pull out the other end of the wire.trim back both ends past any corrosion, solder a section of wire onto one of the ends that you pulled out,seal with heat shrink or insulation tape,thread this wire through the boot and solder and seal the other end. If you want to check the motor, remove the wire connector from the motor(or cut the wires, you can solder them back together when you are done)use 2 jumper wires , 1 will be attached to battery positive the other to a good ground. If the motor is good the window will move, if you reverse the connections the motor will reverse. please let us know what you find.

[denisew]

OK...turns out the battery is NOT dead. I did look for any cracks in the wiring and found none. Now, there is 1 dark blue and 1 brown wire that go directly from the door's window switch button to the motor itself. On the way back, should I just follow those 2 wires, or do they change colors when they pass thru the door into the body? And where do they go from there? I can't find any diagrams showing where to find them once they go thru that door boot and into the body. Can't test anything with a tester till husband gets home. I want to at least check the wires for something abvious. Also, just wondering if these pass thru the brake light switch at any point. My brake lights sometimes go out. If I jiggle the switch on the brake peddle, they go back to normal.

[DAB77]

not connected to the brake lights at all,you need to adjust your switch..now for the window..if you have a test light,** unplug the connector at the motor and connect one end of your light to the brown wire end and the the other end to the blue, operate the switch, if the test light lights then the wiring is good..if it lights,connect the ground side of your test light to a good ground,connect the end of your light to the brown or blue wire and operate the switch. testlight should only light in one direction, up or down, change your light to the other wire and it should light in the opposite direction of the first wire...if the light did not light during the first test at the plug** and lit in only one direction during the last test, the wire that did not light the test light is the broken wire

[denisew]

the only tester I can find is a 2 wired tester,red & black, 80-500v,ac/dc with what looks like a christmas light at the top. would this work? any others would be in the garage, lost in a pile somewhere.

[DAB77]

no, sounds like one to check home outlets with. you need a 12 volt tester. you can get one for a couple of bucks at your parts store or most hardware stores