Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
07-08-2018
#1
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Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
My 02 has 130k mikes and over the past few years the power windows have failed, starting with the rear windows (driver side first) and later the front passenger window. Driver window still works. The rear one got stuck in the open position so a year or so back, I opened up the door panel, used external source to power the window up, and disconnected it so my kids didn’t open them again. So applying external power made them work fine - so the motor etc are not the issue.
It’s worth noting that power locks all work fine, all doors.
A car guy friend of mine recommended replacing the master window switch on the driver door. I did that last fall - but it didn’t fix the problem.
I found a YouTube video of a guy explaining that repeated door open/close over time causes wear and flexion on the wire harness running thru the rubber boot to the door, so I recently took the door panel off again, disconnected the whole wire harness and pulled it out. I was hoping to see a bunch of cracked insulation and frayed wires but alas it looks fine.
It seems that the problem is somewhere upstream of the window motor itself and the wire harness that supplies the door. Fuses are good.
Any advice on where to go from here?
(I haven’t asked my mechanic to look at it, because where’s the fun in that?)
It’s worth noting that power locks all work fine, all doors.
A car guy friend of mine recommended replacing the master window switch on the driver door. I did that last fall - but it didn’t fix the problem.
I found a YouTube video of a guy explaining that repeated door open/close over time causes wear and flexion on the wire harness running thru the rubber boot to the door, so I recently took the door panel off again, disconnected the whole wire harness and pulled it out. I was hoping to see a bunch of cracked insulation and frayed wires but alas it looks fine.
It seems that the problem is somewhere upstream of the window motor itself and the wire harness that supplies the door. Fuses are good.
Any advice on where to go from here?
(I haven’t asked my mechanic to look at it, because where’s the fun in that?)
07-08-2018
#3
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Re: Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
Did you check all the door harnesses or just the one? And which one was it?
07-09-2018
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07-09-2018
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Re: Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
Do you think it would be worth pulling all the other harnesses?
07-09-2018
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Rep Power: 190 Re: Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
You should be checking all of them since you're having problems with all of the windows except the drivers window. However since the wires that control the other windows go through the drivers door you need to check there as well.
And where exactly did you check on the harness?
On my gold civic it was very obvious
This shows where the breaks were in relation to the harness connector:
And where exactly did you check on the harness?
On my gold civic it was very obvious
This shows where the breaks were in relation to the harness connector:
Last edited by Colin42; 07-09-2018 at 03:09 PM. Reason: added more
07-09-2018
#7
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Re: Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
The drivers door is usually the most used door on any car, so it stands to reason it would be most likely to suffer wire breaks from fatigue.
It also has the most wires going to it.
But I've had to fix/replace the drivers REAR door harnesses more often than the drivers door.
It also has the most wires going to it.
But I've had to fix/replace the drivers REAR door harnesses more often than the drivers door.
07-09-2018
#8
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Re: Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
You should be checking all of them since you're having problems with all of the windows except the drivers window. However since the wires that control the other windows go through the drivers door you need to check there as well.
And where exactly did you check on the harness?
On my gold civic it was very obvious
This shows where the breaks were in relation to the harness connector:
And where exactly did you check on the harness?
On my gold civic it was very obvious
This shows where the breaks were in relation to the harness connector:
i will open up the rest of the doors and see what those harnesses look like. Thanks for the advice!
07-10-2018
#9
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Re: Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
I had a break in the wire harness at the hinge area of the driver's front door that caused the rear passenger window to not work FWIW.
Check the driver's front wires for a break for any window not operable as mentioned above.
Check the driver's front wires for a break for any window not operable as mentioned above.
07-10-2018
#10
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Re: Power windows progressively failing - 02 EX
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