2000 SE -- Window inoperative

No rivets, its a bolt on. The hardest part is reaching the bolts that attached the window to the regulator if the window is stuck all the way up. I managed to squeeze my arm in the door and reach the bolts. I have heard of others cutting the cables that raise and lower the track and sliding it down but that didn't work for me. I did think about cutting the old track in half with a die grinder but I got to the bolts. Took me about an hour total. This site helped alot.

GM Power Window Motor & Regulator Replacement Guide - Pictures Illustrated Vehicle Maintenance Instructions

Wow, thanks for that!

I'm seeing something I don't understand. Before replacing this RF window motor, I decided to check voltage at the RF switch. The switches both at LF and RF seem to be working OK, but I'm only seeing 7.5 - 8.5 VDC when I back probe the RF switch, both from the LF switch to the RF switch and from the RF switch to the RF motor. The other 3 windows are all working fine. I'm seeing ~12VDC on the line that passes through the RF switch to the other window controls. So, while the car is showing signs that its time for a new battery (which I'm about to do), I don't think that's the problem here.

So the questions are:

1. Why would I have such low voltage at this switch? Note, this window was working fine until not long ago, so something has changed.

2. Is ~8VDC too low to run the window motor (I would think it would be).

Thanks for any and all replies, especially the fast ones! I've got one Saturday here that isn't 15 degrees outside to try to get this resolved. :th_shakinghead2:

And now, with a new battery, I'm still only getting ~9VDC at the RF switch when in the up or down positions. WTF? I don't know whether to proceed with the motor change or if something else is wrong. I checked voltage at the LF switch for comparison, and it has ~11.5VDC on the wires going to the LF motor.

Help!

Never mind, problem solved.

well what was the prob?

Once I got the door opened up (I hate doing that), I checked voltage at the motor connector and had a full 12V. I don't know what the ~8V was about, but apparently the mis-colored wiring diagram in my Haynes book, combined with my usual over-analysis, put me on the wrong path. The engine lugging told me the motor was trying to run, and I still think the motor itself may have been fine. In order to get the old motor and track out, the window has to be lowered enough to get to the bolts holding the glass to the track. Being inoperable, I wound up cutting the steel cables between the motor and the track - which should have allowed the window to move freely. It was jammed tight, I couldn't budge it.

In the process of getting all the old hardware out I destroyed the old motor so it wasn't possible to ever determine whether it was still running - but I'd bet it was.

I think the moving parts of the track had worn to the point where they had enough play in them that the whole thing just got all bound up. With the motor cables cut and the track hardware all loosened from the door, I fiddled with the glass, beat on the door, and cussed at it enough different ways that the glass finally freed up. The rest of it was a piece of cake by comparison, although I did have to figure out how to take the polarized plug apart on the motor connector so I could reverse the contacts; the motor ran backwards relative to the switches, as delivered.

Bottom line, a new motor/track assembly did the trick, even though the motor itself was probably still fine.

glad ya got it back to working order again. ;)