Windows no longer working within a week of one another

[RVAWagon]

Thank you for the help. I'm hoping to get back to it this weekend.

Any other tips or things to check?

[RVAWagon]

OK another day and another failure.



I knew the dash switch was bad and so I replaced it today but it still does not actuate the motor. Although now the switch does draw current, which it did not do before. The stitch does heat up when it's being used, but cools down when it's in the normal state. I've tested the switch with a test light as well as a voltmeter. The battery is supplying 12v to the switch and when the switch is actuated either the brown or the tan is getting 12v.

I have now bypassed the safety switch AND the tailgate door switch. I was thinking that the door switch went bad and since it seems to be a PITA to get to the tailgate window switch, I decided to simplify the circuitry and I spliced the brown and tan wires that come from the dash switch directly to the brown and tan wires that go to the motor connector. When I hook up the test light, both wires will show to be getting steady current with the test light. If I put 12v from the battery directly to the motor, the motor powers up and goes up and down.

I have replaced both the 30A/12V circuit breakers under the dash.

When I crawl in the back with the voltmeter, I can't seem to get a steady/measurable voltage on the brown or tan wires where I spliced them together.....

So I'm thinking that somewhere there is a broken connection that is allowing some power to get to the tailgate motor, but not enough to power the motor. Does that sound right?

Is there anything else I should check?

I'm unsure where to go next....

[SJTD]

There's C157 that I mentioned above, three pin connector with BRN, TAN and WHT wires.

The other connector feeding the tailgate is C105 that's 8" or so from the firewall. It's the other end of the harness from C157 in back. It's got the BRN and TAN wires, the big ORN wire that feeds the key switch and some other wires for the tailgate like lights, defroster, maybe others.

From there it goes to the switch itself and the circuit breaker.

The dash switch provides the ground path for the tailgate motor so verify the BLK wire on the switch is a good ground.

The way it works is in the center position both BRN and TAN are grounded. When you move the switch one wire gets the 12V and the other stays grounded.

The rear switch in the center position passes both the BRN and TAN straight through. When you move it one wire gets the 12V and the other still goes through to provide the ground through the front switch.

[wiley-moeracing]

Keep in mind the wiring from your switch to the motor, you can have only 1 strand of copper wire connected and it will show 12 volts but can not feed the correct amps through the wiring, so carefully check your harness all the way back and then your connections for good contact. Maybe easier to run new wires all the way back and safer too.

[babywag]

like sjtd stated check voltage @ connectors.

many many times the wiring inside tailgate is damaged.
either from being decades old, water intrusion damage or broken/damaged where it enters into tailgate.
the later being the most common.
similar to what you found on rear door.

[RVAWagon]

So I'm unsure exactly HOW... but it works now!

I had bypassed the safety switch as well as the tailgate switch and I was running power from the new dash switch and harness to the motor.

I had not completely cut the wires on the new harness and I had them connected with wire nuts while I was testing things out and the switch wasn't powering the motor. On Sunday night I went to put the dash back together so I could dive it and I had decided that I would check the remaining connections the following weekend. Well In order to put the dash back together I cut the longer wires on the harness and used wire connectors and crimped them and put the dash back. The the dash switch operates the motor!

I'm hoping it's fixed, but I'm also trying to keep an eye out for the connectors under the dash and in the tailgate. I still have to but the interior tailgate access panel and carpet back on.

But right now.... I'm happy!