DIY electric window repair

In detail: do-it-yourself electric window repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Electric windows (EP) - this is one of the elements of the vehicle, contributing to more comfortable driving. Like any other component of an electrical circuit, electric drives tend to break down periodically. What to do if the car window regulator does not work and for what reasons these components break down - read below.

What to do if the right one does not work or both ESs fail? The windows can break, making them unable to raise or lower the windows. It is possible that the EP is jamming or wedging, but before you repair and disassemble the system with your own hands, you need to understand its structure. The unit itself works by controlling electric motors installed in the vehicle door and designed to raise and lower the glass.

The system itself includes the following components:

  • electric motors;
  • switches located in the doors;
  • wiring;
  • glass.

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General arrangement of the EP system

Why doesn't the power windows work or only the right power window doesn’t rise? In order to understand exactly why the malfunction occurred, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the principle of operation of the unit. Typically, such a system has a trapezoidal design, which allows the glass to be raised and lowered by pressing the switches. The buttons themselves can be located in all car door cards or only in the driver's door. It is also worth noting that an electric motor is mounted in each door, which functions in two directions.

In addition, each system is equipped with a special relay, the purpose of which is to control the voltage supplied to the electric motors of the structure. Depending on the vehicle, some car models can be supplemented with automatic switches that are installed separately for each electric motor. The use of such structural elements makes it possible to ensure the normal operation of the entire system if the window regulator works poorly on only one door.

Video (click to play).

So, we smoothly approached the issue of malfunctions. What if the window regulator cannot go up or down? Before you remove the window regulator, disassemble and repair it in your car, let's look at the main reasons. If the rear windows or front windows do not work, the cause can be both electrical and mechanical.

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Detailed design of the EP system

First of all, if the window lifter stops working, it is necessary to diagnose the safety element responsible for the functionality of the system. If you realize that the power window does not work because of the fuse, then you just need to replace it. But if the fuse is working, then it will be necessary to measure the voltage at the terminals of the electric motor. Such a task can be accomplished using a conventional 12 volt lamp or using a tester.

If you find that the driver's window or any other door does not work due to voltage, then you need to check further:

  • wiring;
  • relay;
  • system control unit.

Sometimes the car owner thinks that the window regulator has broken down if, after opening the glass, it automatically starts to close until the key turns in the ignition lock. As a rule, in this case, the problem lies in the contacts, which should be cleaned up.Much less often, but it still happens that the repair of power windows includes the replacement or repair of the button.

If, after measuring the voltage, you understand that there is current in the system, but it does not go down or, in principle, the window lifter does not work, most likely the problem is mechanical. As a rule, in this case, the device is interfering with something, so you will have to disassemble the door and look for the reason. Much less often, the reason lies in a failed electric motor (the author of the video is the channel In the garage at Sandro's).

How to raise the glass if the electronic board is broken - there are several options:

  1. Purchase a window regulator repair kit and repair the device, and then fully use the system.
  2. Try to take the glass from both sides with your hands and pull it up. If the glass falls after being lifted, then you will have to disassemble the door and substitute a support of the appropriate size under it.
  3. If you can't lift the glass with your hands, you can take a fishing hook on the line and lower it into the door card. You need to try to pry the glass and lift it.

Window lifter repair may include different stages depending on the breakdown. In this case, we will tell you how to repair the window regulator by replacing its electric motor, as mentioned above, this problem is one of the most common.

The replacement process is considered using the example of the Lada Kalina car:

  1. First you need to buy a new electric motor, which is sold in a gearbox housing. The door trim is dismantled - this operation cannot be performed in the cold, since the trim is fixed with plastic caps, which will quickly break.
  2. Unscrew all screws and other fasteners securing the inner handle.
  3. All wires must be disconnected; for greater convenience, you can dismantle the speakers. After these steps, the glass is unscrewed, which is fixed in the guides. In order for the glass to sink to the bottom, it is necessary to unscrew four more screws, for this a key 10 is used. There is a shutter at the bottom of the glass unit, it must be removed.
  4. Directly the power window itself is mounted on nuts and guides, the electric motor itself is fixed with three more nuts. The unit can be pulled out through the access holes in the door. If you take apart the gearbox, the electric motor will crumble in two. In general, the gearbox must be dismantled and replaced with a new one, reassembling in the reverse order. Lubricate the gear cable before use.

Image - DIY electric window repair

Image - DIY electric window repair

For more information on how to replace a window regulator in a car with your own hands, find out from the video below (author - channel In the garage at Sandro's).

During the operation of the vehicle, one or both of the electric lifts may fail. What to do in such a situation? The window regulator may fail, because of this, it will not be able to lower and raise the glass, at the command of the driver. This could be caused by a wedge or a jammed mechanism. One of the solutions to the problem is to repair the window regulator. How do you get this job done? What are the elements of the device? What malfunctions do car owners face most often? Let's consider these issues in more detail.

In order to properly repair the window regulator, it is worth understanding its design. The mechanism works by means of two electric motors, which are installed in the doors of the car, and perform the function of raising / lowering the glass.

Generally speaking, the following elements are included in the power window:

  • Electric motors.
  • Glass.
  • Wires.
  • Switches (installed in the doors).

In order to understand the causes of the device malfunction and to repair the window regulator, it is important to understand the principle of operation of the device. As a rule, such a mechanism has a trapezoidal design, which allows the glass to be raised and lowered by pressing the switch button.The location of the buttons mentioned may vary. They can only be installed in the driver's door or installed in all doors. In addition, a bi-directional motor is installed in the door cavity.

Each system is equipped with a special relay that controls the voltage supplied to the electric motor. In some machines, circuit breakers are installed that are provided for each of the electric motors. Thanks to such details, the normal operation and reliability of the system is ensured. In the event of a malfunction of one window regulator, the rest continue to carry out their tasks.

Now let's move on to a more important issue - the causes of malfunctions. What to do in a situation if the glass does not rise or fall? Before disassembling the mechanism and repairing the window regulator, understand the probable causes of the problem. If the front and back devices do not work, the problem may be hidden in the electrical or mechanical part.

First, check the fuse that powers the power window mechanism. If it burns out, it is enough to replace the faulty element and check the system's performance. In the case when the check showed the integrity of the fusible insert, measure the voltage at the input of the electric motor. To do this, use a multimeter or 12 volt light bulb.
Next, check the following items:

  • Power wires.
  • Relay.
  • Mechanism control unit.

There are situations when the window lifter, after lowering the glass, automatically raises it back until the key is in the ignition lock. Many people take this situation for a breakdown. In fact, the cause of the malfunction lies in the contacts that are dirty and need to be cleaned.

In more rare cases, repairing a window regulator involves replacing or refurbishing a button.

If the checks have shown that there are no problems with the power supply of the glass lifting and lowering device, the reason may lie in another plane - mechanical. As a rule, the windows do not work due to the appearance of some kind of physical obstacle. In this case, disassemble the door and find the reason. Sometimes the problem is caused by a malfunction of the electric motor.

To raise the glass in the event of a breakdown of the window regulator, use one of the following ways:

  • Buy a new kit and have the window lifter repaired. This allows the system to be fully operational.
  • Grasp the glass with your hands, on both sides, and then pull it up. If the glass sheet is lowered immediately after lifting, disassemble the door and place a suitable support under the glass.
  • If the previous option does not work, attach the hook to the fishing line, then lower it into the cavity of the door. Your task is to pry off the glass and try to lift it.

Video: Repair of an electric window regulator on a VAZ 2114

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One of the options for repairing a window regulator is to replace the electric motor of the mechanism. Practice shows that this problem is one of the most common, but you can fix it yourself. The replacement algorithm is considered on the example of the Lada Kalina car.

  1. Buy a new electric motor that comes with a gearbox in a housing.
  2. Remove the door trim. Remember that it is forbidden to do this work in the cold, due to the risk of damage to the plastic caps. The latter, under the influence of cold, become brittle and break. Image - DIY electric window repair
  3. Remove the screws and other fasteners that hold the inner handle.
  4. Disconnect the wires and make your job easier by removing the speakers. Image - DIY electric window repair
    Removing wires from the door
  • Unscrew the glass fixed in the guiding elements. To lower the blade, unscrew the four screws, with a ten key.There is a curtain at the bottom of the glass unit - dismantle it.
  • Note that the window lifter is held in place with nuts and rails, and the electric motor is secured with three more nuts. If desired, the unit can be reached through the technological hole provided in the door.

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    Dismantling the gearbox

    If the gearbox is disassembled, the electric motor will split into two parts. It is best to remove this subassembly and install the new part by reassembling in the reverse order. Before checking and operating the mechanism, the gear cable must be lubricated with grease. This completes the window regulator repair.

    Comfort in the car is provided not only by all kinds of systems, which are becoming more and more, but also by fairly simple mechanisms, such as power windows. After all, any budget model that does not provide air conditioning, navigation, and the audio system consists of only a few standard speakers, is necessarily equipped with mechanisms for raising and lowering side windows.

    On cars, electric and mechanical power windows have become widespread. In the former, the glass is raised and lowered by an electric motor, which ensures ease of use and ease of control. The driver or passenger just needs to press the appropriate button to move the side glass down or up.

    In power windows, the driver ensures the movement of the glass using a special gearbox, which is manually driven into rotation. That is, to lower or raise the glass, it is necessary to rotate the handle installed on the door. Windows with this type of drive are less convenient to use, moreover, they are practically superseded by electric ones.

    Window lifters are of several types, differing in design:

    Moreover, these differences relate to the actuators of the lifts, that is, with the help of which the lifting and lowering is performed. The second component is the drive mechanism.

    To consider possible breakdowns of the power windows, let's look at their design.

    Let's start with the drive mechanism, as already noted, it can be of two types - mechanical (aka manual) and electrical.

    1. Mechanical is a small gear reducer. A cable actuator is usually used with this type of drive. Therefore, such a gearbox consists of two gears that are meshed with each other. The pinion gear is small in size, and it is it that the driver rotates by means of the handle mounted on the door. The driven one is much larger in size, it is a drum for winding the cable. Due to the different sizes of these gears, a relative ease of opening and closing the glass is achieved.
    2. In the electric drive, a gearbox is also used, but already of the "worm-gear" type. There is a worm on the shaft of the electric motor, which is meshed with a gear. The drive motor itself is of a reversible type, that is, when the polarity is changed, its rotation side changes, which allows the use of just one element to both lower and raise the glass. Such a drive is used with all types of actuators.

    - window handle; 2 - handle lining; 3 - power window handle socket; 4 - window regulator mechanism; 5 - upper rollers; 6 - screws for fastening the pressure plates; 7 - pressure plates; 8 - lowering glass brackets; 9 - lowering glass; 10 - cable; 11 - lower roller; 12 - bolt; 13 - tension roller

    Now, with regard to the executive mechanisms. The cable type can be used with both types of drives. Moreover, for mechanical and electrical mechanisms, their design is different, and significantly.

    We will consider the design of a mechanical drive and a cable actuator using the VAZ-2107 as an example.In addition to the gearbox, it includes 4 rollers between which the cable moves, with ends fixed on the drum. One of the rollers is tensioning and ensures the proper tension of the cable for the entire period of operation, since in the process it is stretched.

    Two rollers are upper and they are connected by means of tension plates with glass brackets. Because of this, when lowering or lifting, the rollers move with the glass. The last roller is the lower one, it is fixed and it is fixed on the door.

    A cable is laid between these rollers in a special way. Moreover, it is not looped back. When lifting or lowering, the end on one side of it is unwound from the drum of the gearbox, and the other is wound. Thanks to this, it is possible to move the upper rollers, and with them the side glass.

    In an electric drive, the cable actuator has a different design. It includes a guide at the ends of which rollers are installed. The electric motor with a gearbox is placed slightly to the side of this guide. The drive cable is laid between the guide rollers and goes to the gearbox drum, where it is fixed.

    In the area between the guide rollers, a slider is attached to the cable, which in turn is connected to the glass. When the electric motor is turned on, one side of the cable begins to wind on the drum, and the other to unwind. Due to this, the cable moves between the rollers, and with it the slide with the glass.

    The linkage actuator works in a different way. There is a lever, at one end of which a semicircular toothed sector is made, connected to the driven gear of the reducer. Its other end is connected to a strip on which the glass is planted. The lever from the sector side by means of a bracket is connected to a fixed plate fixed to the door.

    There are actuators that include two levers in the design, and the second plays the role of an auxiliary one.

    The third type of actuator is rack and pinion, while there are several types of it. One of these mechanisms has a fixed guide with a toothed sector along its entire length. This sector meshes with the gear of the reducer. In this design, the motor with a gearbox is movable and they are connected to the glass. That is, when turned on, the motor with a gearbox and glass begin to move relative to the rail.