Window swtich not working

[coopns]

06 GMC Sierra

Driver side window stopped working. Friend and I had door panel off. (He is capable, I'm helper, tool holder) Changed the window motor/regulator to a new unit. The only thing that doesn't work on the driver door switch panel is the driver side window. Everything else works. So after putting on the new motor, same thing, driver side window didn't work. So I leave off door panel and figure I will try junk yard for a new window control and the window starts working on the ride home. What the ..... Hasn't worked for 2 weeks.


We looked for a fuse but couldn't find it, didn't specify in owners manual.


Any thoughts? Must be the unit that contains the windows, locks.

 

[CT8]

Usually diagnosis is done before the parts are changed.

 

[eljefino]

Probably a wire broke inside the hinge area where it flexes.

So the passenger windows work both with the drivers' switch and the passenger switches, both up and down?

 

[danthaman1980]

Probably the switch - it is replaced as an assembly that contains the lock switch and window switches.

Pretty common problem - I just replaced the drivers side switch assembly in my Silverado - around $100-150 online IIRC, depending on the model and options.

 

[mk378]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Usually diagnosis is done before the parts are changed.

Those were the days, weren't they.

The motor is seldom the problem, and there are easy checks to confirm that. Now that switches are a little more reliable, the most common problem is broken wires between the door and the main part of the car. I think this will have a LAN system(*) like my friend's 2006 Buick does. In that car the only thing that did not work was the driver's window, and it was the power wire in the door harness.

Open the door and see if window works. Window working with the door closed but not open (or vice versa) is a very solid sign that it is the harness. Grab the wire harness between the door and the car (in a black rubber tube) and shake it around while holding the button to see if that makes the window work and stop.

* In this system, unlike older cars where all the power for all the windows goes through the driver's panel, it uses data communication. Pressing the passenger's window button on the driver's door sends a data signal through a small wire to the switch panel in the passenger door, which decodes this signal and turns on the motor locally.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: mk378
Originally Posted By: CT8
Usually diagnosis is done before the parts are changed.

Those were the days, weren't they.

The motor is seldom the problem, and there are easy checks to confirm that. Now that switches are a little more reliable, the most common problem is broken wires between the door and the main part of the car. I think this will have a LAN system(*) like my friend's 2006 Buick does. In that car the only thing that did not work was the driver's window, and it was the power wire in the door harness.

Open the door and see if window works. Window working with the door closed but not open (or vice versa) is a very solid sign that it is the harness. Grab the wire harness between the door and the car (in a black rubber tube) and shake it around while holding the button to see if that makes the window work and stop.

* In this system, unlike older cars where all the power for all the windows goes through the driver's panel, it uses data communication. Pressing the passenger's window button on the driver's door sends a data signal through a small wire to the switch panel in the passenger door, which decodes this signal and turns on the motor locally.
AKA "Can Bus"

 

[Kuato]

Check wiring also, know a guy that had a broken wire between the switch and the control.

 

[super20dan]

silverado window switch is very common to fail -mine did