Update to my 93 accord window motor

[steve747]

Hello again. Intermittent faults are a pain. 2 days ago my drivers window didn't work. It was stuck in the up position. Now it seems to work ok. Trouble is if I put the trim back on and it doesn't work again. Anyone have any ideas how to solve this?

[Martin77]

So when trim is off it works OK and if the trim is on it doesn't work. Is it always this way? Maybe its a connection issue.

[steve747]

Thanks for your reply. The trim is still off. I took it off in the first place because the window stopped working. I'm concerned if I put it back on then it won't work again. I don't think the trim has anything to do with it. It might work perfectly for the next couple of weeks then fail again. Any ideas what to check?

[Martin77]

How handy are you with the multimeter?
Intermittent fault is the worse and you can only diagnose the problem when you have the fault. Something to look out for is bad connections as the connector might be rusted. This may not fix your issue.
When you have the fault you need to work if you have 12V in the right places. It would be handy to test the motor when you have the fault. Something handy which I should get is a device called power probe 3. It makes this sort of diagnosis easier. I'm sure auto electrician would have one and maybe you could take the car to them when (and only when) you have the fault.

[Richard B]

The motors can use a bit of help as things get old and stiff. A few years ago I lubed the the channels and everything I could get to. And cleaned the switches as they were getting uncooperative. I used (a lot of) silicone spray lube in the channels.

Is there any movement / sound / lights dimming at all when you move the switch lever?

I have gotten stuck windows moving again by "helping" the motor by pressing / pulling both sides of the glass with the door open, wearing rubber gloves to get good grip on the glass and pushing the window down with someone else activating the switch.

Reading the posts above, I'd pay attention to the switch. Old switches can accumulate deposits at the contact points, and the driver window switch makes ten times more contact initiations than the others.

Other than that, there are a tonne of videos online steering you through all sorts of Honda power window issues.

[steve747]

Thanks guys for the tips. I pulled the switch assembly apart and the drivers window switch out and there were black soot deposits on the little copper contacts so I cleaned them, put it back together and it didn't work again. The window was fully up and I heard little "clunks" from the motor as if it was trying to work. So I gave up and went out for a few hours then came back and the window worked perfectly, so it's a mystery to me what the problem was, hopefully I'll have no more trouble but watch this space.

[Martin77]

My gut feeling tells me that the motor is on its way out. The brushes is probably worn.
In saying this, we should not trust gut feelings and need to test it out. Are you able to supply 12 V power (maybe from a DC plug pack) to the motor?

[steve747]

It's all back together now and the window seems to be working normally, that's not to say it won't work again soon