QuestionQUESTION: i have a 95 grand am 4 door and I'm having trouble with the window switches, well I'm thinning its the switch because it started in the back windows out of the blue, they would stop half way up or down and after a rest of a couple minutes they would continue when i re pressed the buttons,but now it ended up moving to the front windows and now the windows are stuck closed,with no sound when trying to open my car did have a water leakage problem at one point but its fixed now ,,, how can i tell for sure if its the switch or moder ? please help me I'm going nuts
ANSWER: Hi Russ,
The most common problem I see on your model & year of Pontiac is window motor failure. The typical symptom of impending motor failure is similar to what you describe. The window moves (up or down) for a few inches and then stops. After waiting a few minutes, (there is a thermal overload in the motor that cools off and resets) it moves a little more. On the other hand, it is very unusual for all four motors to fail at exactly the same time. So, if you will answer a couple of questions for me, I will try to help determine what is wrong.
1. Do any of the four windows move, even a little bit?
2. If the answer to #1 is "no", did they all stop moving at exactly the same time, or did they fail one by one?
3. Do you have a 12 volt test light or an electrical meter?
Ben .... the power window guy.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: well like i said at first the two back windows where the ones that gave me the problem but it switched to the two front windows ,the back now opens and closes just fine ,,its weird, i agree it i thought it was strange that the two noders would fail at the same time and has me stumped ,,,I'm sorry i didn't tell you that the master switch unit is in the center console in one unit
AnswerHello Again Russ,
The only sure way to resolve this problem is to test the switch. It is fairly simple to do if you have a twelve volt test light or electrical meter and know how to use it. Below is a brief outline of the steps necessary to test the switch.
1. Remove the switch from its place in the console by prying on the front and back edges of the switch bezel (frame) with a small straight blade screwdriver.
2. Turn the vehicle ignition on.
3. Operate the rear windows to confirm that you have power into the switch.
4. The wires that bring power to the passenger front window are light blue and tan. Light blue rolls the window up and tan rolls it down. Place your test light on the tan wire's metal lead at the back of the switch wire connector and move the switch button "down." If the test light glows you have power coming out of the switch. Keep your test light on the tan wire and move the switch button "up." The test light should not glow.
5. Now do the same on the light blue wire.
6. The process is the same for the driver's door except the wire colors change. Dark blue rolls the window up and dark brown roles it down.
Let me know how things turn out.
Ben .... the power window guy.
