Window lubrication?

[Elessee]

88 Mk7.
One day, without any warning, my passenger window rolled up very slowly, and died. At least I thought it died.
But yesterday I hit the button accidentally, and the window moved down a hair. But it moves very, very slowly. I opened it an inch. Not wanting to chance it being stuck open, I rolled it back up.

I'm still on the road, and can't really work on this car. Hotel parking lot with no tools. But I'm wondering if the problem might be lubrication? (It's probably not electrical.)
Do I just saturate the glass channels and the door's interior with WD40, and hope to get lucky? If someone is familiar with the symptoms, and pointed to a likely spot that needs grease, I may be able to remove the door panel.

 

[OldSchool1]

This sounds like a bad window motor to me.
Have you ever replaced one?

 

[Elessee]

hey Old School... You asked the perfect question, so I don't need to start a new thread. No, never replaced one.. Haven't touched the car for a few years. (can't really work on it, hotel parking lot with limited tools) Now I want to fix this passenger window.

Removed all the door trim. Everything looks fine. The door latch / lock mechanism did jam on me a few weeks ago.. Cold weather.. Never lubed it before.. WD 40 got it working.

The motor's connector in the door gets 12 volts (and -12V) when the window switch is activated. So it would appear to be a bad motor... However, as I mentioned, this thing was operating. It moved the window, slowly, but it did move. So, imo, the motor was functional.

Granted, it might be rusted solid by now, or internal wiring, or its circuit breaker failed. Autozone has new motor for ~30 bucks.

Now... Questions. I see 4 factory(?) motor rivets. ... nix that..

EDIT: The motor is held on by three 8mm hex head bolts deep inside. Factory put 3 dimples at the bottom of the door, to guide drill holes. Have no hole saws, but I used a step-drill. A half-inch diameter was big enough to get an 8mm socket in there. Stuff lost inside a door needed a magnetic retriever, which I had on hand.

Motor is removed. 12 volts does nothing. Gears appear ok. I may look inside the motor. Service manual says there's a resetting circuit breaker that trips if you press the button too long.

Any advice you might provide is much appreciated.

Right now it's jammed solid. I'll try to move the window down with the motor removed.

I have some good lube for the tracks and mechanism, Lithium / teflon grease, resists washing off... Manual says use a "polyethylene" but I doubt it's available to consumers.

[edit: I just found the two window pdfs, and I'm reading. powerWindowMotorRepair and powerWindowMotorReplacement.

Evening update:
The regulator and glass was jammed. I sprayed grease along the glass channel and on the internal mechanism, pulled on the big half-gear inside the door. Eventually it broke free. Window up / down is pretty smooth after working it.
I wanna get lucky with this motor. It "looks" healthy. Grease is still clean. Slight surface rust. You'd never guess it spent 34 years inside the door.

 

[Elessee]

No luck. The motor is just worn out. Brushes wore down to their wires, one to the point of disconnection. The commutator is literally worn down. The case is full of debris. Gear box looks OK, but I suspect everything is worn.
There is an internal, bimetallic safety circuit breaker, like the manual says...
Time for a new window motor.

 

[OldSchool1]

hey Old School... You asked the perfect question, so I don't need to start a new thread. No, never replaced one.. Haven't touched the car for a few years. (can't really work on it, hotel parking lot with limited tools) Now I want to fix this passenger window.

Removed all the door trim. Everything looks fine. The door latch / lock mechanism did jam on me a few weeks ago.. Cold weather.. Never lubed it before.. WD 40 got it working.

The motor's connector in the door gets 12 volts (and -12V) when the window switch is activated. So it would appear to be a bad motor... However, as I mentioned, this thing was operating. It moved the window, slowly, but it did move. So, imo, the motor was functional.

Granted, it might be rusted solid by now, or internal wiring, or its circuit breaker failed. Autozone has new motor for ~30 bucks.

Now... Questions. I see 4 factory(?) motor rivets. ... nix that..

EDIT: The motor is held on by three 8mm hex head bolts deep inside. Factory put 3 dimples at the bottom of the door, to guide drill holes. Have no hole saws, but I used a step-drill. A half-inch diameter was big enough to get an 8mm socket in there. Stuff lost inside a door needed a magnetic retriever, which I had on hand.

Motor is removed. 12 volts does nothing. Gears appear ok. I may look inside the motor. Service manual says there's a resetting circuit breaker that trips if you press the button too long.

Any advice you might provide is much appreciated.

Right now it's jammed solid. I'll try to move the window down with the motor removed.

I have some good lube for the tracks and mechanism, Lithium / teflon grease, resists washing off... Manual says use a "polyethylene" but I doubt it's available to consumers.

[edit: I just found the two window pdfs, and I'm reading. powerWindowMotorRepair and powerWindowMotorReplacement.

Evening update:
The regulator and glass was jammed. I sprayed grease along the glass channel and on the internal mechanism, pulled on the big half-gear inside the door. Eventually it broke free. Window up / down is pretty smooth after working it.
I wanna get lucky with this motor. It "looks" healthy. Grease is still clean. Slight surface rust. You'd never guess it spent 34 years inside the door.

It's good to read that you found the Tech Articles for our window motors. From what I read from above, you've found your answers.

 

[OldSchool1]

No luck. The motor is just worn out. Brushes wore down to their wires, one to the point of disconnection. The commutator is literally worn down. The case is full of debris. Gear box looks OK, but I suspect everything is worn.
There is an internal, bimetallic safety circuit breaker, like the manual says...
Time for a new window motor.

View attachment 828577021

Thank you for the hands on experience and pictures!

 

[Elessee]

Thank you for the hands on experience and pictures!

Yes, found my answers. The tech articles were a calming influence. This job is easier than one might anticipate.
I had to get a pic of the disconnected brush. Never seen that before on a motor, simply due to wear.

Local parts stores are priced higher (~$50), with fewer choices. Amazon has the motor/gear assemblies, one for $33, or the pair for $60. May as well service the driver side while I'm at it.

I'll update this if anything interesting happens. Have a good one!

 

[OldSchool1]

Yes, found my answers. The tech articles were a calming influence. This job is easier than one might anticipate.
I had to get a pic of the disconnected brush. Never seen that before on a motor, simply due to wear.

Local parts stores are priced higher (~$50), with fewer choices. Amazon has the motor/gear assemblies, one for $33, or the pair for $60. May as well service the driver side while I'm at it.

I'll update this if anything interesting happens. Have a good one!

You also!