Driver side window stuck down again

[InFiD3ViL]

So I had this issue last year where the driver side window was stuck in the down position. After much diagnosis and work trying to get it figured out, replacing the entire door harness, BCM, and window switch, it wound up being a broken ground in the 'A Pillar' that was caused by clogged sunroof drains, causing corrosion of the ground. I had taken it to the after weeks of trying to figure it out and gave up. But dealer who could not figure it out either. It was ONLY due to a few awesome Camaro5.com members that I got it solved and traced it to the grounding issue that it got fixed. Sucks having to tell the dealer expert technicians how to fix your car, but I am so thankful for this site because of it. That 'fix' cost me $1000. Anyhow...

This time it is different. The window is stuck down again, but I do get partial movement. It is kind of weird as you can see by the video. The problem started randomly where it would get stuck down, but the normal 'fix' was to turn the car off, remove the key and let it sit for 15 minutes or more. The next startup, the window would work fine in both directions.

Knowing this, you would think I would be smart enough to not touch the window until I got it fixed or figured out. Well, that is clearly not the case. I touched it and of course now it will not go up. I just got back from a week in upstate New York having left the car in my driveway with the window down for a week. My daughter tried to get it up for me everyday and covered it while I was gone, but no luck. I am back now and it is very cold in Florida. So unless I am going for a joyride, the car is useless as I cannot leave it in a parking lot to go to the store or anything like that, but I digress.

I am suspicious of the window regulator and/or motor assembly. I can get a brand new AC Delco replacement for $170 (Kit with regulator and motor), but I don't want to just start throwing parts at it. I am going to be honest here, troubleshooting electronics is not my strongest skill set, but I do have basic electrical knowledge and a very good multimeter. Swapping the parts and doing the install myself is nothing. I do nearly all my own work, it is just the electrical diagnosis and CanBus experience where I am weak. Is it possible it is the ground again? Sure, but the behavior was totally different then. I was also having 'Ghost' locking of the doors, loss of door speaker functions, and door position sensor function. This time is strictly the window.

Also, I want to leave this bit of info. Ever since the dealer fixed the ground issue last year, the window has worked great except I would always get the 'Open/Close - Index Windows' error on the DIC on every single startup. I could re-index and make it go away, but it would always come back on the next key cycle. That is why I think it is a regulator issue. Something is making the computer unhappy and detecting a different position than it is expecting.

In the video you can see and hear the window try to go up/down 3 times. This is done all by itself with just one press of the down switch. Every time I press down, it does this. When I press 'Up', in person you can hear it is trying, like the motor is getting the signal but it is obviously not activating the motor up.

Sorry for making this thread so wordy, but I wanted to make sure everything was clear. Thanks in advance.

[Sxren_Camaro'13]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

So I had this issue last year where the driver side window was stuck in the down position. After much diagnosis and work trying to get it figured out, replacing the entire door harness, BCM, and window switch it wound up being a broken ground in the 'A Pillar' that was caused by clogged sunroof drains, causing corrosion of the ground. I had taken it to the after weeks of trying to figure it out and gave up. But dealer who could not figure it out either. It was ONLY due to a few awesome Camaro5.com members that I got it solved and traced it to the grounding issue that it got fixed. Sucks having to tell the dealer expert technicians how to fix your car, but I am so thankful for this site because of it. That 'fix' cost me $1000. Anyhow...

This time it is different. The window is stuck down again, but I do get partial movement. It is kind of weird as you can see by the video. The problem started randomly where it would get stuck down, but the normal 'fix' was to turn the car off, remove the key and let it sit for 15 minutes or more. The next startup, the window would work fine in both directions.

Knowing this, you would think I would be smart enough to not touch the window until I got it fixed or figured out. Well, that is clearly not the case. I touched it and of course now it will not go up. I just got back from a week in upstate New York having left the car in my driveway with the window down for a week. My daughter tried to get it up for me everyday and covered it while I was gone, but no luck. I am back now and it is very cold in Florida. So unless I am going for a joyride, the car is useless as I cannot leave it in a parking lot to go to the store or anything like that, but I digress.

I am suspicious of the window regulator and/or motor assembly. I can get a band new AC Delco replacement for $170, but I don't want to just start throwing parts at it. I am going to be honest here, troubleshooting electronics is not my strongest skill set, but I do have basic electrical knowledge and a very good multimeter. Swapping the parts and doing the install myself is nothing. I do nearly all my own work, it is just the electrical diagnosis and CanBus experience where I am weak.

Also, I want to leave this bit of info. Ever since the dealer fixed the ground issue last year, the window worked great except I would always get the 'Index Windows' error on the DIC on every single startup. I could re-index and make it go away, but it would always come back on the next key cycle. That is why I think it is a regulator issue.

In the video you can see and hear the window try to go up/down 3 times. This is done all by itself with just one press of the down switch. Every time I press down, it does this. When I press 'Up', in person you can hear it is trying, like the motor is getting the signal but it is obviously not activating the motor up.

Sorry for making this thread so wordy, but I wanted to make sure everything was clear. Thanks in advance.

yeah i had this last yr when i got it it was the passenger and had to replace the window actuator it was like $300 to fix fro me. i also had my front jumper cable red thing not work or "ground" like you said still cant get it in yet cause labor is outrageus hope you get that fixed

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by Sxren_Camaro'13

yeah i had this last yr when i got it it was the passenger and had to replace the window actuator it was like $300 to fix fro me. i also had my front jumper cable red thing not work or "ground" like you said still cant get it in yet cause labor is outrageus hope you get that fixed

Yup, labor and dealer work is ridiculous cost wise. I normally do all my own work, but I am weak when it comes to the electrical problems that can arise, especially in a CanBus managed car. When these cars have electrical issues they can act like they are haunted.

[Sxren_Camaro'13]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

Yup, labor and dealer work is ridiculous cost wise. I normally do all my own work, but I am weak when it comes to the electrical problems that can arise, especially in a CanBus managed car. When these cars have electrical issues they can act like they are haunted.

[InFiD3ViL]

Update: Window went up last night like nothing ever happened after nearly 2 weeks fully down. I don't get it. Now I just need to keep my damn finger off the button until I can get this diagnosed.

Only problem is that every single time I open and close the door the window will power down a half of an inch or so. So after getting in and out of the car a few times, it is back down fully again.

I'm telling you, this thing is haunted.

[HDRDTD]

If you haven't done it already (and I suspect you already have), is to replace the car battery. There is a whole list of weird/strange things that go awry when the battery gets old.

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by HDRDTD

If you haven't done it already (and I suspect you already have), is to replace the car battery. There is a whole list of weird/strange things that go awry when the battery gets old.

Yea its brand new, just a couple months old. That was one of my suspicions last year when this started the first time. I know these cars can act nuts when the battery gets weak.

The reason it goes down a little each time I open the window is that it is trying to index like normal, but it never does the 'Up' stage of the index. So it just works it's way down in multiple steps.

[radar1972]

If it were mine, my next step would be to replace the regulator/motor assembly. Sounds like the “up” function part of it has gone kaput.

[CamaroBarb]

Temp fix would be pull the door panel off, wait till window is up and pull the plug to the motor. At least it will be up until you can change it out.

[Cpt. Ray T]

If it is all the way up, wont it stop you from opening the door due to the window being in the seal? or if you disconnect it while open, it won't get the bump up to seal when closed. Haven't had mine that long, so I haven't paid much attention to that detail, but may be something to consider.

[drew peacock]

yeah that will be a problem i think

[Sxren_Camaro'13]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

Update: Window went up last night like nothing ever happened after nearly 2 weeks fully down. I don't get it. Now I just need to keep my damn finger off the button until I can get this diagnosed.

Only problem is that every single time I open and close the door the window will power down a half of an inch or so. So after getting in and out of the car a few times, it is back down fully again.

I'm telling you, this thing is haunted.

so you mean it indexes like it goes down a inch when you open the door and vice versa ?

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by Sxren_Camaro'13

so you mean it indexes like it goes down a inch when you open the door and vice versa ?

Exactly. But when the window is acting up it doesn't index back up, so the window eventually works itself all the way down. I might let it go down a tiny bit just so the air pressure can vent when I open/close the door and then pull the J fuse under the hood. I just need to determine if I will still have passenger window control from the driver's seat as that is the master switch.

[Sxren_Camaro'13]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

Exactly. But when the window is acting up it doesn't index back up, so the window eventually works itself all the way down.

TF ive never heard that lol on any camaro forums