glassbrain

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums but i have been lurking for a while. I didn't see anything about a faulty window so far so I'd figure I'd give this a whirl. I have a 2004 civic sedan lx. The back right window will go down but will not go up. I Can hear the motor running when it goes down but nothing happens when I try and put it up. I've tried it though the back switch and the front switch. Oh they are electric windows. Heres a little back story: I was stopped at a gas station and it was a little misty out (perfect time for it to bust huh?). The car was a little dirty. Here is what I tried so far with no prevail: I read someplace that the contacts can get dirty and to try pouring alcohol down the window to get rid of the dirt and then it would possibly work. It didn't. So i figured why not take the trim of the door off and check whats what. That's where im at now. I'm stuck at the water shield and I don't know if i can just take this one off and replace the glue with some gorilla glue or what. Then there's the main problem of the window itself. Could it be a motor problem and should i just replace it. Or could it be some sort of electrical fault or sensor fail. I really would rather spend $40 on a motor and have it be fixed then go to a shop and have it fixed for $200+ to do the same thing. Thanks for looking at my post!

Poopies

iTrader: (4)

You just kind of carefully peel the shield back like so:

That was my car back in November. It doesn't go back on as pretty as before but you won't see it anyway.
I would absolutely blame the motor and if you have the desire to change it yourself, you should! Good luck!

ezone

I sure wouldn't blame the motor unless I can PROVE it to be faulty. I'm betting it will run both directions correctly if one supplies power and ground to the motor.


My money is on the door wire harness, broken wire in the jamb. The harness is cheaper than a window regulator/motor.


But instead of tossing random parts at it, I'd diagnose to figure out exactly what is really wrong.

glassbrain

any specific glue? should i use some sort of caulking so if i run into a problem later i could just take it back off? Thanks for the advice for the motor though!

kinakoes2

I'd just tape it back, maybe with a solid performer like Gorilla tape. That plastic is intended to prevent moisture from entering behind the door panel though, so make sure it's completely sealed up.

Not sure if there are commercially-available sticky goops to restick what you tear off (my dad's Frontier uses a semi-tack glue for its plastic vapor barrier that can be pressed back into place, though).

I had to go into the Frontier's driver door to replace a dead motor (and I did diag it as the cause), but found in my teardown that part of the reason the factory one died so quickly, was that the plastic barrier had not been glued properly on the line, allowing grit and rain splash to enter the bottom edge of the seal hence the door cavity, and degrade the remaining glue further. After removing the OEM rail and lift mechanism, it was so seized up with sand and corrosion that I could barely move it by hand. The new one was more sturdily built, had a bigger motor with better vents, and a better-designed rail with more weatherproofing and less friction -- $85 vs. $175 from Nissan (quote was $375 installed, which I nearly laughed into the receiver as I hung up).

In your case though... I'd definitely check the usual wire harness shens per ezone -- abraded insulation causing an intermittent ground, corrosion or moisture in the connector. Because if you swap the motor and the harness issues persist, you're at square one again.

glassbrain

awesome! Ill look for the tape that sounds like a better idea. My next break I'll look at the harness.