Help: rear window will not go up

E28 technical advice asked and given! Troubleshooting, modifications and more.
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thrty8street
Posts: 577
Joined: Feb 21, 2011 1:13 AM
Location: Maryland

Help: rear window will not go up

Post by thrty8street »

My driver's side rear window is stuck all the way down and will not go up. All other windows work, including the passenger side rear.

I have already done the following procedures:

1. Taken apart and cleaned all switches with sandpaper and Deoxit. The contact points look virtually new.
2. Interchanged the center console and door switches. No change.
3. Changed the center console "square" rear window lockout switch for a known good one.
4. Lubricated the motor slider and the window guides.

Other notes:
1. When I press the window switch (up or down) I hear a clicking in the door panel but no movement occurs.
2. Rear window switch is hot. The center console rear switch is less hot. The rear window motor is HOT, even with the switch not plugged in.

Is there any way to get the window back up manually?

I've searched other threads for answers.
https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=115310
https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=71935
https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=21169

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RonW
Posts: 5319
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by RonW »

thrty8street wrote: Jun 13, 2021 12:16 PM
  1. When I press the window switch (up or down) I hear a clicking in the door panel but no movement occurs.
  2. Rear window switch is hot. The center console rear switch is less hot. The rear window motor is HOT, even with the switch not plugged in.
If the motor is hot even when the rear switch is not plugged in there's a real problem. That should not happen, and I don't see how it can happen. (It was the rear switch you removed, right?)

With the switch removed, the motor should not be powered, and should not be hot. In the connector, there's a blue wire and a black wire. These are the wires that go across the motor. With the switch removed, those wires should be connected to each other through the motor, but should be floating relative to the chassis of the car.

If either of the two window switches is bad and is powering the motor downward at all times, swapping the two switches won't change that. Swap both switches for good ones, e.g. the passenger side switches.

But that doesn't explain why the motor would be hot with the rear switch removed.

And by the way, if you can electrically disconnect the motor, your car's toolkit has a gadget that will supposedly let you manually raise the windows. I say "supposedly" because these cars are so old that the gadget might not actually work. It involves loosening the mechanical connection so the motor is disconnected from the window. If you do that, and the motor starts running, well, you know you have an electrical problem - probably a switch that's stuck closed.
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by Mike W. »

Read RonW's post carefully, I'm an electrician and have done considerable electronics work, but Ron is the absolute E28 electrics master.

But in the keep it simple dept, to roll/motor up the window you can always take the door panel off, again, and hook up 12V to the window motor. If it goes up, fine, if it goes down or lurches, reverse the wires and try to motor it up. If it just gets hot, then pull the wires off before they catch fire. You might even be able to tap into the window switch plug, but I don't have the wiring diagrams with me at the moment so I can't say for sure.
SteveKerwin
Posts: 78
Joined: Oct 16, 2020 9:42 AM
Location: Tampa, FL

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by SteveKerwin »

Yup, Ron has the best explanation so far. Better follow his advice.
thrty8street
Posts: 577
Joined: Feb 21, 2011 1:13 AM
Location: Maryland

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by thrty8street »

Thank you all for your responses, the issue has been resolved!

Solution:

As I was following RonW's instructions for swapping both switches for known good ones, I noticed an inconsistency in how the LR switch was wired. The black/yellow wire had been removed from the LR switch (on the center console) and placed on the rear window kill switch for some reason? Weird. I removed the pin from the kill switch and placed it back on the LR switch, where it should go, and now all windows are in perfect working order!

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Here is a picture of how the kill switch should be wired from my 533i, for reference.

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BTW, the window motor cooled down after the rear switch was removed.

Thanks again for everyone's help!
RonW
Posts: 5319
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by RonW »

That's the problem with working on 35-year-old cars with multiple previous owners. Weird stuff may have transpired.

I've done it myself. On my car, I can raise or lower the windows even if the car is off as long as a door is open. I have a headlight warning so I don't run down the battery by leaving the lights on after I shut the car off. I installed a keyless entry system.

I keep a modification sheet in the glovebox that documents all this stuff, for the benefit of myself, any future owner, and anyone who works on the car.
Blue Shadow
Posts: 10195
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: SE PA

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by Blue Shadow »

I had a switch that was bad causing the rear window to not operate properly. Wasn't a cleaning issue, don't know, just swapped it out for another switch and the window responded properly to both the front and rear switch for that window.

That is odd that you needed to disconnect the window lock out switch and use one of those wires to make the window work. I would look into the wiring for those switches, both rear and the lock out and see about putting it back to correct. But not having an overheated motor is a good step in the right direction.
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by Mike W. »

That's nuts, but not surprising, glad to see you got it resolved.

You should have seen what I had to do to clean up the wiring on a diesel car converted to gas. :facepalm:
singh_city
Posts: 1
Joined: Jun 16, 2023 4:52 PM
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by singh_city »

Hi guys, reviving an old thread here.

I went to put my rear passenger side window down and it went halfway and stopped, tried swapping the switches around to see if it was a problem with the switches, but no change. There are no noises at all from the motor or anything, I also took off the door card and tried putting 12v on the blue and black wires but got nothing again. Is there anyway to raise the window manually? Is there anything else I can try or is it definitely a dead motor?
dzack
Posts: 3
Joined: Jul 06, 2011 7:32 AM
Location: NY City area

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by dzack »

Hi

I have a 1984 533i (original owner) and my both my rear windows stopped working about a year apart. After troubleshooting and tearing things apart I found that the all switches and motors were working. It turned out to be a short in the door harness at the bottom of the harness fold between the doors. It was hard to get to it but was able to put a few wire straps (zip ties) on the bend of the harness and got both rear windows working fine. I am hoping that it will solve the problem for an extended period as I will eventually need to replace or try to repair the door wiring harness.
Shawn D.
Beamter
Beamter
Posts: 21991
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Contact:

Re: Help: rear window will not go up

Post by Shawn D. »

singh_city wrote: Jun 16, 2023 4:58 PM Hi guys, reviving an old thread here.
That's an interesting way to make your first post here! Please read and heed the Forum and Tech FAQ sections.
singh_city wrote: Jun 16, 2023 4:58 PMI went to put my rear passenger side window down and it went halfway and stopped, tried swapping the switches around to see if it was a problem with the switches, but no change. There are no noises at all from the motor or anything, I also took off the door card and tried putting 12v on the blue and black wires but got nothing again. Is there anyway to raise the window manually? Is there anything else I can try or is it definitely a dead motor?
Yes, you can unbolt the window from the horizontal track and hold it up with a piece of wood.
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