# Power Window master switch problem, replaced -> still have problem!?



## ka24e (Jan 31, 2008)

Hi all,

My '92 Stanza GXE (ka24e) has some electrical problems:
1) Front-passenger window works up/down from passenger switch, but UP-ONLY from master switch.

2) If I try front-passenger window DOWN from master switch, all the lights go dim, the window does not move, and sometimes there is the smell of warm plastic (electrical insulation?). If I persist, there is sometimes a click, after which the window will not go up or down with any switch for several minutes (thermal / circuit breaker?).

3) The power-window lock-out switch on the master switch panel no longer prevents the other three sub-switches from moving their windows UP or DOWN.

I replaced the master switch with a used one believed to be working, but there was no change in symptoms.

I replaced the master switch with a DIFFERENT used one also believed to be working, but still no change in symptoms.

I replaced the front-passenger switch with a used one, and also tried leaving the front-passenger switch disconnected, but still no change in symptoms.

I disassembled the original master switch and one of the replacement master switches, and the contacts all appear clean and the circuit board appears clean.

One symptom I had from the time the car was brand new: If I lower both rear windows all the way down simultaneously from the master switch and not release the buttons immediately after both windows reached bottom, the power locks would all lock. This symptom was somewhat intermittent, but appears to have completely gone away recently. Maybe or maybe not related?

Anyone know how I can isolate the problem and/or fix it?

Thanks!
Ken


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## PapaCap (Dec 8, 2007)

Well, if it's not the switch, it's a wire. Heh. Has the car been wrecked? Or is it a northern car (lots of salt/corrosion)? Because I worked on a 91 Cadillac years ago that had similar problems. Turned out the ground wire in the driver's door had a short in it. I reground the wire (it comes from the switch box) and voila, everything worked. If the car was wrecked, it's possible the ground has become dislodged. Or if it's a northern car, it may have rusted. Just a thought.

pc


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## ka24e (Jan 31, 2008)

Hi PC,

Never wrecked. Just a few parking-lot door-dings and a butt-shaped dent in the hood from when my neighbor's kid sat on it. ;-)

13 of the car's 15 years were spent in & around Portland, OR. That's definitely north from where we are now (Texas), but they don't salt the roads there.

Even so, I have a hunch you are correct about there being a grounding problem, or maybe more than one bad wire. I'll buzz-out the connector for a good ground and inspect both ends (if I can find the other end!) and take a look at where the wire passes from the door to the frame near the hinge to see if anything is worn, broken or shorted.

Any other suggestions on how to isolate it? If I could get a cheap-but-working replacement wiring harness AND find the opposite end from the switch, I could try swapping out the wires without routing through the door, just as a test....

Thanks!
Ken


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## PapaCap (Dec 8, 2007)

Did you replace the wiring harness to the faulty switch? What I mean is, you could go to a junk yard and cut the harness that plugs into the switch, then wire that into a working switch. I know it's a pain, but it could be the harness leading to that particular switch. Or you could just create a harness from wires and clips and attach it to a working switch. Also, visual inspection of a ground may not be an absolute as rust will accumulate underneath the ground bolt. You just gotta take that bolt off, sand it down a bit, then reattach (that's assuming the wire is not fried/damaged). That should show up on a mulitmeter though, as a 'jumpy' ground. Now that I think about it, I would clean the ground to the door frame, reattach it, test the continuity from the DOOR FRAME to the other end of the ground, then create a makeshift wiring harness (you gonna be clipping some wires . Sounds more and more like a damaged harness, but who knows. Let us know how you progress.

pc


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## PapaCap (Dec 8, 2007)

After thinking about it, it could be the continuity wire between the master switch and the passenger side. Oh, that'll be fun. I'm not sure how it's wired, but I'm sure it runs through a junction box. That didn't take me long to become a flip-flopper. Let's hope it's just a short in the wiring harness. Tracking down a wire underneath the dash and across the car will not be fun. Zoinks!

pc

BTW--I'm only guessing, but I assume each window switch has a hot wire, a ground, and a polarity line. Can anyone verify this? Because if it is so, the polarity line is the one that seems to be bonking out.


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## ka24e (Jan 31, 2008)

Hi PC,

My date with a chainsaw & some tree limbs ran over today, so I'm no wiser about my wiring. Except for some good suggestions from you (thanks!).

I have some wiring diagrams from my AllDataDIY.com subscription. Looks like hot, ground, polarity as you said, and then the "polarized" (Up/Down) power coming out on two separate wires from the switch to the regulator for that window. Same for all three non-driver switches. Here's a snapshot...









And here's a schematic of the master switch...









Since all three non-driver (non-master) switches work fine, I'm thinking it might be a short on the polarity wire - or maybe the down wire - coming from the master switch for the right-front passenger window. With most of the wiring burried behind the dash or other hard-to-reach places, I'm hoping to come up with a short list of likely problems that I can buzz-out quickly with a meter once I pop the switches and/or door panels out.

Thanks again for the help!
Ken


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## JJStanza (Oct 23, 2005)

Look at the door harness in the area between the door and the front door post. The wires have been known to break and short out from all of the flexing while opening and closing the doors. I have seen several times.


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## purefunk54 (Jun 20, 2008)

I was having problems with a 91 stanza. Drivers window worked intermittently. Replaced power window amplifier (little white box that wiring harness goes into separate from master window switch). Apparently these can burn burn out. You may be able to pry it open and see if circuit board has fried. I found a guy on ebay who sells these for about $30. search nissan power window amp and you should find a link to a possible repair job.

Hope this helps


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## ka24e (Jan 31, 2008)

The problem somehow went away during my testing. Annoying that I can't duplicate the problem now and have no idea what the "solution" was. But the switches are all working now, so I'm guessing it was (is?) a bad connection/connector or bad insulation/short somewhere that got bumped "favorably" while I was poking around.

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions!
Ken


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## ka24e (Jan 31, 2008)

I confirmed today that the problem is EXACTLY where JJStanza indicated: The door harness in the area between the door and the front door post!

Currently working okay after I pushed and twisted on the bundle of wires going through the door jam area near the hinge. If it starts failing consistently again, I'll have to replace the wiring harness. At least now I know what to fix!

Thanks JJ, PC and PF54 for the help!

Ken


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