How to Repair a Power Window on Vehicles

Issues that occur with your Vehicles power windows can be caused by simple wear and tear from use and age, or by a short in the wiring. It is important to make sure that you locate the source of the problem before attempting to make the repair, or you run the risk of causing further damage or repairing the wrong part. This repair project is challenging and requires you to set aside a few hours of your time to ensure that you make the repair properly.

Under The Hood:

• How to Repair a Power Window on a Dodge Dakota
• How to Repair a Power Window on a Windstar 2002
• How to Repair a Power Window on a 2004 Honda Civic

 How to Repair a Power Window on a Dodge Dakota

Removal

Disconnect the Dakota's battery, loosening the cable clamp nut on the negative (black) cable and removing the cable from the battery terminal.

Pry out the window control switch panel with a trim stick; on the Dakota this is usually placed diagonally above the door's inner pull handle. Disconnect the electrical connector, making sure the window is all the way down.

Pull out the weatherstrip along the upper window slot. This may be in two pieces; pry up the inner strip's rear end and slide it toward the rear to remove that strip.

Unscrew the trim panel's mounting screws -- look for them along the top and bottom edges and inside the handles -- and then lift the panel off its clips and pull it off the door.

Peel away the plastic water shield that blocks access to the window and other in-door components. Make sure you don't tear the plastic material.

Disconnect and remove the window's vertical run channel, removing its two bolts with your wrench.

Remove the nuts connecting the window glass to the regulator at the bottom with your wrench and slide the glass up and out of the door through the slot. Use caution and wear gloves if the glass is cracked or broken.

Unplug the regulator's electrical connector and remove the regulator's bolts to remove the regulator through the door's access hole. Remove and replace the wiring from the door if it needs replacing.

Installation

Insert the replacement regulator into the door through the access hole and bolt it in place with your wrench. Connect the electrical connector.

Slide the glass -- new or replacement -- into the door and connect it to the regulator using the same nuts as before.

Install either the old run channel or its replacement -- making sure it engages with the window glass -- and bolt it into place.

Reconnect the trim panel with its clips and then the screws. Reinstall the weatherstripping to the door slot; install new strips if the old ones were worn out and cracked.

Connect the power switch plate to its electrical connector and reinstall it on the door trim panel.

Reconnect the negative battery cable.

 How to Repair a Power Window on a Windstar 2002

Disconnect the van's negative battery cable with the window down.

Pry out the trim cover for the inside handle with a small flat screwdriver, then pull out the switch control plate, disconnecting its electrical connector. Replace the control plate and skip to Step 8 if that's all you need.

Pull out the side mirror cover, then remove all the screws on the door panel along the edges and behind the switch plate. Pull the panel off its clips and off the door, then peel away the watershield.

Disconnect the electrical connector for the window regulator. If the wiring is damaged and this is the only issue, install a new wiring harness and skip to Step 7.

Drill out the rivets holding the window glass to the regulator and lift the glass out of the door. Drill out the regulator's rivets, then pull the arm bracket and regulator out through the service hole.

Install the new regulator within the door and fasten it with a rivet gun. Slide and lower the door glass into the door and regulator and apply rivets to it, then connect the electrical connector.

Paste the watershield back onto the door and reinstall the door panel with its clips and screws.

Plug in the electrical connector and install the switch plate followed by all other small trim panels you removed.

Reconnect the battery cable.

 How to Repair a Power Window on a 2004 Honda Civic

Stick the starter key into the Civic's ignition. Turn the key to the "On" position. Press down on the automatic window button and listen carefully. Listen for some type of buzzing or other type of noise. In the absence of noise, look under the dashboard and locate the vehicle's fusebox. Remove the window fuse and replace it. Try the window button again.

Turn the engine off. Remove the armrest cover from the door panel. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws that secure the paneling under the vehicle's window. Pull the plastic setting out and put it to the side.

Disconnect the coiled wire that connects the window to the metal window regulator. Remove it from the vehicle. Place a new wire in the door panel and connect it to the regulator and the window.

Turn the car back on. Press the window button to check for movement. If the window is still not responding, disconnect the regulator and replace it with a new one.

Replace the plastic setting. Reinstall the door panel and secure it in place using the screws you removed earlier. Replace the armrest cover by snapping it in place.