Window won't go up

[Jasn]

After a period of no use, my Z3 has developed some new issues.

Most pressing is that when I tried to put the driver's side window up, pressing the up button just made it go down further. It is now all the way down and will not go up.

Is this most likely to be an issue with the switch or an issue in the mechanism in the door? I have bought some new clips for the window mechanism and am prepared to pull the door apart to grease the mechanism. However, it just seems odd to me that pushing the up button resulted in the window going down, so I am wondering if it might be an electrical problem — either in the switch or in the door.

Any thoughts?
Jasn

 

[colb]

Swap the passenger side switch over to the drivers side and see if the window works with that. If it dosn't then door card off and check wiring and motor in there. using a test light or voltmeter on the motor connections see if it gets 12volts when the switch is operated. If the switch swap works then problem will be inside the switch.

 

[SteveYYZ]

I would swap the switches, leave pulling the door apart as the last option, putting the panel back on is a real pain. There are a number of switches available, dont just go by the part number, do a visual comparison. Used on ebay is your best bet, new from the dealer is expensive.

 

[Jasn]

Things move slow...I have swapped the switches and it made no difference so it looks like I am going into the door, hopefully soon rather than months from now.

In the meantime, I need to remove the hazard-light switch. My Bentley service manual seems to suggest it pulls down and out from underneath, but what I've seen on YouTube shows people pushing it up and out. What is the correct way?

 

[t-tony]

Have you tried lubricating the rubber window slides/guides with a spray silicone grease? If not, do that first.

Tony.

 

[137699]

Have you tried resetting the windows? As I had the same issue and resetting cured it.

From memory this is how to reset:

Get out of the car and close all the doors. Don't use the fob to lock but actually insert the key in the drivers door - turn the key to lock & continue to hold for 5 seconds. You may find your window returns to closed and then functions correctly thereafter.

 

[Jasn]

Have you tried resetting the windows? As I had the same issue and resetting cured it.

From memory this is how to reset:

Get out of the car and close all the doors. Don't use the fob to lock but actually insert the key in the drivers door - turn the key to lock & continue to hold for 5 seconds. You may find your window returns to closed and then functions correctly thereafter.

The drivers door lock is a bit temperamental. I gave it a go, but I'm not sure it did what it was meant to. In any case, the window didn't come back to life.

 

[Jasn]

As a last measure before pulling the door apart, I checked whether my scanner allowed me to control the windows. It enabled me to put the window up (I had to activate it twice — once to go two-thirds up, and then again to fully close).

The window sounds fine and travels smoothly, so I think the mechanical function is OK. I think it must be an electrical fault. I tried with the switch again. When I press up or down on the switch, the window goes down. I have swapped the switch with the passenger side, so it's not just the switch.

So this leads me to believe there's two possibilities. One is that there is something wrong with the wiring between the switch and the relay (I assume the scanner bypasses this wiring). The other is that the anti-trap mechanism, when activated, is causing the issue (because my scanner says the 'anti-trap ping' is deactivated when testing).

Any ideas what to try next? Resetting the windows might be the answer, but I think I have to fix my key lock to do that, in which case I believe the door has to come apart anyway.