Driver Electric Window Kaput!

.....just happened tonight. Had noticed the last couple of days that the one-touch switch was not responding very well. Today it stopped operating the window. I've just undone the door trim and closed the window directly from the motor cable, with current from the battery. Motor is OK, with 0 resistance.
Whenever you press the one-touch, wichever of the 4 buttons on it, it results in one (1) audible "click", similar to a relay click. I confirmed with the trim off that the "click" comes from the Bitron box that's attached to the trim, near the bottom. So, what's the diagnosis?? Broken solder in the Bitron?

thanks very much
George

ps. an equally important question: last week I caught "the usual suspect" (who do u think?) using the one-touch as a normal switch, i.e. holding down the one-touch buttons to lift or open the window. Could this have damaged the Bitron given that she's been doing it since last July?

The usuaul problem is the switches themselves, they will just suddenly stop working. The usual way of testing them is to swap with another door, but of course if you have a 'one touch' type, you dont have another one. Having said that, the switch is connected to a box called 'window control unit' but it doesn't give a circuit, just a box. I have never had one of these fail...but theres always a first time. Does the passenger window work?, only there is a fuse just for the front windows.

Peter.N.

Hi Peter, thanks for your reply,

I wouldn't think it's the switch because all of the 4 buttons on the one-touch became unoperative at the same time, and they all have the same result when depressed, ie. the "clicking" in the Bitron box, which must be the "control unit" you describe. Wouldn't the "clicking" in this box be indicating that the one-touch switch is sending the message but the break is in this box? The passenger window and everything else works normally.

G

Does someone drink coffee or tea while driving? Could someone have spilt their morning cuppa and cleaned up obvious spills but liquid has seeped inside the switch?

Not that I know of...but the occasional water (rain) finds its way around the area.

George

You are probably right. I dont know whats in that box, I would imagine its a relay and over current sensor. The easiest thing to do would be just to try fitting another one, I'm sure someone on here has one. UFOs point about spilling things into it is quite valid, but I don't think you would be getting the response you described if thet were the case.

Peter.N.

Just missed that one!....yes, rain water can upset them, mine would only go up so far and then went down again after I foolishly left the window open, in fact it still does occaisionally.

Peter.N.

Yes, but what about the window?

Sorry, couldn't resist?

lol !!!!

Hi George and All

First you need to apologise to the usual culprit. Holding the one touch buttons down cannot do any damage to the control box.

Note that this control box is NOT fitted to most MK2's except the SX models. If anyone wants to check their car they do not need to remove the inside door trim, just pull out the red/white courtesy light from the base of the trim and look or feel around in the hole. There is a black plastic light shield and the presence/lack of the control box behind and slightly above this is easily determined.

The box contains a small uncased relay and a little bit of 74LS control logic to turn the switch signals into a single electrical pulse whatever you do to the switch. If you can then borrow a known working switch to check your system. Treat the connectors (switch and control box) to a clean up. If the box has packed up I can find one to send to you provided I get your old one to repair.

The rest of the MK2's have a winder drive motor with integrated control electronics for one touch and an Anti-pinch system. As far as I know no Mk1's were fitted with anti-pinch. It sounds as though it is the anti-pinch that is playing up on Peters car as it can get out of sync. It then refuses to close completely but keeps stopping as the glass raises requiring an extra button push each time to restart it going up or keeps going up and down a couple or so times. There is a reset sequence to put it back in full operation. I seem to recall that this is somewhere in Noz's manual.

It may be worth mentioning that these more upmarket Mk2's do have a similarly positioned control box fitted behind the passenger door trim panel. This is the dipping wing mirror control box.

Regards

XMexc

This post has been edited by xmexclusive on May 22, 2007 12:53 pm

The anti pinch is usually reset by starting with the window fully down, then you have to keep pushing the UP for the one touch as the window raises about 1.5cm at a time. When it reaches the top push it once more to be sure. Then push one touch DOWN till it is down then one touch UP and all should be fine.

I remember when one touch was all it took.......

Thank you all for your input. Xmexclusive, I've pm'd you. Hey, BTW, congratulation, I see you are now an "Andre's mate"!!

regards
George

Hi George,

Don't know if this will be of any help to you, but it could have a bearing none the less.

My 2.1TD S2 has had the exact same issue you describe with the driver's window since I bought it. I've not found the time to look at it yet!

Anyway, someone off XM-L kindly sent me a new window switch a while back, and I then acquired two further ones from that S1 I got the leather interior from.
Even with all three of these working switches, the symptoms remain exactly the same as yours, i.e nothing but a faint 'click' from the bottom of the door when the buttons are pressed. After a while the light on the button turns off too, and the (presumably the bitron box) no longer produces any clicking. Does yours do this?

I was thinking perhaps the box was overheating, so maybe someone's earlier suggestion of resoldering it would help you.

I really must get round to checking it out, hope maybe the switch thing could help you gain some insight into yours...

When you say your motor reads '0' resistance, do you mean '0' or very low. It should read a few ohms or maybe it is short circuit, in which case it wont work and has probably burnt something out.

Peter.N.

This post has been edited by Peter.N. on May 23, 2007 11:57 am

Hi Ciaran,

that's very good info, it makes the case of the Bitron being on fault stronger. I can't comment on subsequent behaviour though because I stripped things off the day it happened. I had to shut the window for the night !!

Peter, the motor read an absolute 0 ohms, it made me wonder as well, however as it has worked as per normal (i.e. up/down speed) afterwards when I fed it with current from the battery, I assumed it was alright. I'll go measure it again, just in case.

For now xmexclusive is sending a working Bitron box to try on, so soon I'll report back.

regards
George