What Stops Your Electric Window From Working

It can be very frustrating to jump in your car on your way to work, push the down button on your window, and nothing happens. 

Even if you have air conditioning in your vehicle, it’s not the same as that blast of wind as you pull down the road. Never mind the fact that a broken window is inconvenient at toll roads, ticket offices, or just to shout at the guy in the car next to you. 

Of course, the most common failure point is when you’ve just arrived at the drive-through and it’s pouring with rain, the last thing you want to do is open your door or get out.

The alternative is a window that is open and won’t go back up, that makes parking an issue and driving in the rain unpleasant.

One thing is certain if your electric window has stopped working you need to know why, where you can get the parts to complete an electric window repair, and how to do it.

Top Tip: Before you do anything else check the fuse panel on your vehicle, you don’t want to take the door panel apart just to find the fuse has blown. 

The Mechanism

The most common issue with a power window is connected with the motor and the regulator.

Each window in the car has its own small motor in the bottom section of your door. This is controlled directly by the switch in your door.

The motor is connected to the glass via a cord and flexible rubber mounts. This is referred to as the regulator. The glass itself sits in mounts which slide up and down bars bolted inside your door. The movement is controlled by the motor pulling or pushing the regulator.

This means that the motor takes the majority of the strain and is the most likely part to break.

However, it should be noted that the regulator does the majority of the moving, which is why it can also break.

Aside from the fuse and a potential problem with a switch, these two components are the most likely to break. The only issue is whether your window will be stuck open, closed, or halfway.

If your regulator breaks it is likely that you’ll hear the motor trying to move the window up and down, it will sound like whirring or clunking. 

In this instance, you’ll be able to replace just the regulator. 

However, if there is no sound and there is power to the motor in your door, then it’s likely the motor has packed up. In this case, you’re better off replacing the motor, although you may prefer to replace both parts to ensure the other doesn’t break shortly after.

In fact, replacing the window mechanism is surprisingly easy, what can be time-consuming is getting the door panel off to gain access to the window mechanism. For that you may need to consult your car manual, you don’t want to break the panel replacing the window mechanism.