Window wont roll up

[Taylor513]

I've tried to find this exact problem but wasn't able to. Most of the posts I've seen is about the auto up/down. I have a 2015 and my rear passenger window wont roll up. I tried jostling the connections and that didn't do anything. I tried to manually pull the window up and it only moves a inch or so. Has anyone had this issue before? Due to my work schedule I wont be able to mess with it for a couple days. So ideally someone can tell me if they think it's a regulator issue, motor issue etc. and I can order the parts now so when my schedule allows I can tackle it.

Thank you for any input. You don't realize how much of an inconvenience it is to have a window that wont go up until it happens. Also being in AZ the nice warm air blowing in isn't exactly the best.

 

[Dean2]

Hard to say until you can actually do the diagnostic work of, will it roll up using the drivers switches, will it roll up using the passenger switch, do all the other windows work etc. Once you know that you can move to the next stage and check for power at the window motor when switch activated, if yes then etc. Otherwise we are pretty much just shooting in the dark.

 

[Taylor513]

Hard to say until you can actually do the diagnostic work of, will it roll up using the drivers switches, will it roll up using the passenger switch, do all the other windows work etc. Once you know that you can move to the next stage and check for power at the window motor when switch activated, if yes then etc. Otherwise we are pretty much just shooting in the dark.

It won't roll up from the drivers side door panel or the from the passenger door switch. It will roll down from both the switches. All other windows work and other functions work as well. I have been lucky in my life and never had to deal with this issue before and I know it sort of is a crap shoot without taking the door panel off. I do notice that out of all my doors / windows that when I do shut that door that window does have a little wiggle / play in it. All the other windows are solid when shutting.

 

[Dean2]

It won't roll up from the drivers side door panel or the from the passenger door switch. It will roll down from both the switches. All other windows work and other functions work as well. I have been lucky in my life and never had to deal with this issue before and I know it sort of is a crap shoot without taking the door panel off. I do notice that out of all my doors / windows that when I do shut that door that window does have a little wiggle / play in it. All the other windows are solid when shutting.

If it rolls down from both switches then there is nothing wrong with the motor or likely the switches themselves. I would be inclined to wait to buy parts till you can take the door panel off and see if there is something jamming the up action on the window. Does the window at least move a hair when you hit up? If it does, the motor is trying to push it up but there is a safety system that only allows so much up pressure and you have too much resistance. If it doesn't move at all, it could also be that this safety is tripped and needs to be reset. The antipinch usually works to disable auto up, which then has to be reset, but it also works as a safety when you are holding the button to raise the window.

 

[Taylor513]

If it rolls down from both switches then there is nothing wrong with the motor or likely the switches themselves. I would be inclined to wait to buy parts till you can take the door panel off and see if there is something jamming the up action on the window. Does the window at least move a hair when you hit up? If it does, the motor is trying to push it up but there is a safety system that only allows so much up pressure and you have too much resistance. If it doesn't move at all, it could also be that this safety is tripped and needs to be reset. The antipinch usually works to disable auto up, which then has to be reset, but it also works as a safety when you are holding the button to raise the window.

Interesting.. I didn't consider something jamming up the window. We had a nice spring here and I had my windows down a lot so rolling them up and down and something getting in there is possible. The window when trying to roll it up from both switches doesn't move at all. I was able to manually pull it up just about a half inch - inch but it settles back to it's window position before I pulled on it. I will go off of your suggestion and wait until I can check it out before throwing parts at it.

 

[Dean2]

It could be as simple as the window is off or partly off the track and jamming the regulator. Look forward to hearing what you figure out.

 

[Taylor513]

That's what I'm hoping for and now that I'm thinking about the symptoms I'm leaning that way. If I can, I'll work on it tonight after work otherwise it might not be for 2 days. I will let you know once I get into it. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it!

 

[Jeepwalker]

Does it also affect how the doors lock/unlock, and the alarm? I've been through almost the exact same thing on my H3 ...a few times. It's real common among H3's. Here is the fix that worked 100% of the time. (as suggested by the previous owner of my Hummer H3 ...who notified me of the problem just as I was leaving his driveway after I bought the vehicle ("Oh by the way, I almost forgot ...." LOL). And by the way, this seems to occur with other modern vehicles that have window/lock modules:

Unhook the battery cables and tie them together with some string for ...like a couple hours so they are touching. Overnight is best. But you can try for a couple hours. In the meantime, put the charger on your truck's battery ..no more than 10A. Make sure the cable ends are NOT touching the battery posts. The goal is to completely discharge your computer and modules. Even better is to remove & unplug the driver's side switch (window module assembly) for several hours or ideally overnight. Bringing my truck's module into the house overnight worked 100% of the time.

THen, hook everything back up and try. You might want to close the hood & lock/unlock the doors with the fob after you hook the cables up before you enter the vehicle (to reset the alarm).

 

[Jeepwalker]

I did quite a bit of digging into the problem on my H3. The root cause most of the time doesn't seem to be a new switch. Several owners would remove the switch/module assembly, and replace it with a new one. It would work great for a while then reoccur. Then they'd put the old switch (which sat unhooked for days/weeks on their workbench) and BINGO! it worked again, no problems! And maybe it would be good for a while, or forever. Usually wasn't forever.

Here is what I've come up with, take it for what it's worth ..just my thoughts:

1) Battery - If the battery or connections happen to be low that seems to trigger it. Or bad ground (more on that in a second). Your issue might be an indicator of a weak or failing battery, or connections. You might have it load tested at a parts store to verify it's charged & good. Make sure connections and grounds (esp body grounds too) are very good.

2) Window Switch Module - I don't think the root cause is the actual module. On my H3's module...which is very simple to pry up & remove thankfully, I disassembled & did a little electronic analysis. It all looked good, nothing stood out. Mine had 2x electrolytic capacitors which were *at* or slightly below their rated ESR values. But they weren't toast. I replaced them with exact capacitors that measured 'good'. The switch worked for a while ....but I still had the window problem occur like you're experiencing, a time or two afterwards (couple times over many months ..not a chronic problem). At the end of the day, IDT the root problem is caused by the window switch module. Sure, if you go to the dealer and they put in a new $300 module that's been sitting on the shelf, it'll probably work right. But on many other H3 vehicles where owners did that, it didn't solve the problem long-term.

3) Bad Ground - My H3 had several water leaks (like they all do), prior to me buying it ...and even afterwards. I finally fixed the leaks. When I removed the interior and carpet to let everything dry out, one thing which caught my attention is the number of wire harness grounds all over the place, screwed to the floor. Grounds are real critical on modern vehicles. The ground on the floor below the driver's feet (closest to the driver's door module) was the only one which was VERY RUSTY due to moisture under the carpet. I cut it back a bit, crimped on a new connector and cleaned everything off so it made a good connection.

I have "Never" since (in 3 yrs knock on wood) had the window problem reoccur since I did that. I surmise that the ROOT issue with window module issues are usually poor grounds/battery connections ...and weak batteries. Not saying modules can't fail, but ... If your truck has ever had the 3rd brake light leak, or batt recently go weak/dead, there could be something like that going on. Bad body grounds (and floor gnds) etc.

.

 

[Socalramfan]

Swap the switches that operate in both directions to at least get them up

 

[Taylor513]

I did quite a bit of digging into the problem on my H3. The root cause most of the time doesn't seem to be a new switch. Several owners would remove the switch/module assembly, and replace it with a new one. It would work great for a while then reoccur. Then they'd put the old switch (which sat unhooked for days/weeks on their workbench) and BINGO! it worked again, no problems! And maybe it would be good for a while, or forever. Usually wasn't forever.

Here is what I've come up with, take it for what it's worth ..just my thoughts:

1) Battery - If the battery or connections happen to be low that seems to trigger it. Or bad ground (more on that in a second). Your issue might be an indicator of a weak or failing battery, or connections. You might have it load tested at a parts store to verify it's charged & good. Make sure connections and grounds (esp body grounds too) are very good.

2) Window Switch Module - I don't think the root cause is the actual module. On my H3's module...which is very simple to pry up & remove thankfully, I disassembled & did a little electronic analysis. It all looked good, nothing stood out. Mine had 2x electrolytic capacitors which were *at* or slightly below their rated ESR values. But they weren't toast. I replaced them with exact capacitors that measured 'good'. The switch worked for a while ....but I still had the window problem occur like you're experiencing, a time or two afterwards (couple times over many months ..not a chronic problem). At the end of the day, IDT the root problem is caused by the window switch module. Sure, if you go to the dealer and they put in a new $300 module that's been sitting on the shelf, it'll probably work right. But on many other H3 vehicles where owners did that, it didn't solve the problem long-term.

3) Bad Ground - My H3 had several water leaks (like they all do), prior to me buying it ...and even afterwards. I finally fixed the leaks. When I removed the interior and carpet to let everything dry out, one thing which caught my attention is the number of wire harness grounds all over the place, screwed to the floor. Grounds are real critical on modern vehicles. The ground on the floor below the driver's feet (closest to the driver's door module) was the only one which was VERY RUSTY due to moisture under the carpet. I cut it back a bit, crimped on a new connector and cleaned everything off so it made a good connection.

I have "Never" since (in 3 yrs knock on wood) had the window problem reoccur since I did that. I surmise that the ROOT issue with window module issues are usually poor grounds/battery connections ...and weak batteries. Not saying modules can't fail, but ... If your truck has ever had the 3rd brake light leak, or batt recently go weak/dead, there could be something like that going on. Bad body grounds (and floor gnds) etc.

.

Interesting.. thank you for the info. Do you think that it's mainly a H3 issue? I'm going to dig into tonight or tomorrow morning and if I can't figure it out I'll run through these 3.

 

[Taylor513]

Swap the switches that operate in both directions to at least get them up

Haha I don't think the switch is the issue

 

[Taylor513]

Does it also affect how the doors lock/unlock, and the alarm? I've been through almost the exact same thing on my H3 ...a few times. It's real common among H3's. Here is the fix that worked 100% of the time. (as suggested by the previous owner of my Hummer H3 ...who notified me of the problem just as I was leaving his driveway after I bought the vehicle ("Oh by the way, I almost forgot ...." LOL). And by the way, this seems to occur with other modern vehicles that have window/lock modules:

Unhook the battery cables and tie them together with some string for ...like a couple hours so they are touching. Overnight is best. But you can try for a couple hours. In the meantime, put the charger on your truck's battery ..no more than 10A. Make sure the cable ends are NOT touching the battery posts. The goal is to completely discharge your computer and modules. Even better is to remove & unplug the driver's side switch (window module assembly) for several hours or ideally overnight. Bringing my truck's module into the house overnight worked 100% of the time.

THen, hook everything back up and try. You might want to close the hood & lock/unlock the doors with the fob after you hook the cables up before you enter the vehicle (to reset the alarm).

It does not affect the doors to lock or unlock or the alarm. Everything works just as normal. Except for it to roll back up of course. Just because that window seems to want to move / jiggle some when shutting the door I'm leaning towards it being off the track or not sitting right in the window. Or maybe some debris need to be cleaned out that may have gotten in there.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Does the window 'feel' loose? They're really not on a track per-se like in the old days. But there is a cable and usually a break-away plastic piece (for your protection). Usually when they break the glass falls to the bottom. But yeah, maybe. Looks like below:

Also, You could pull the rubber boot back between the door and the door jamb ...and inspect the wires for fray or broken. On my Jetta I had some wierd door/window issues. I thought maybe there could be a frayed wire. Well guess what out of of the 20 wires in the bundle ALL (Every one of them) the plastic jacket was cracked and about 4 were broken (apart). Amazing it worked at all. It gets real cold up here and that takes a toll on wires. But still worth a look.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Theres some videos about Ram window issues. Here are two, but search out some more ...maybe you'll find exactly the answer you're looking for:

2014 Dodge Ram front windows not working (trick to make work)

Bypass switch to make windows go up or down

www.youtube.com

Ram Power Window Reset/Fix

More than once now my driver side Dodge Ram Power Window would not go up with the one touch like it is suppose to do. There is an easy reset/fix solution th...

www.youtube.com

 

[18CrewDually]

I'd suspect a broken wire for that control that is not working. Probably in the rubber body to door boot. But without being there and proper diag it's a guess. You'd have to pull the panel and check with a meter, or test light at the least.
Alot of times the wire breaks where the boot bends. Sometimes you can hold the switch on and wiggle the harness and it might start working since the copper wire breaks inside the wire insulation. Maybe someone has a schematic so you know what wire is suspect.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Yeah, once the door panel is removed, there are a bunch of screws around the perimeter of the black panel (in picture above). Then you can see what is going on with the mechanism, what the problem might be, or if nothing else prove it's all good and look elsewhere. There's youtube videos on how to do it. Not as difficult as it sounds.

 

[Taylor513]

I’m in process of doing it right now. All the wires in the boot seemed to be fine and nothing is frayed or cut

 

[GTyankee]

this is a quad cab rear door

issues usually can be found in the wiring harness, between the door & the "B" Pillar

Just for the heck of it
look below the door latch, i think that is where the Child Safety Lock is located, it may or may not cause an issue

Good Luck

 

[Taylor513]

Currently in this stage of it. Accidently hit the down button so the window is almost completely down now.

Debating on how far I should go because I’m not sure exactly what I’m looking for if I’m being honest and I don’t have a volt meter handy. I’ll have to get one tomorrow.